Ghana

The earliest known states in what is now Ghana were the Dogomba and Mamprussi kingdoms in the north, which flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. About that time groups of Akan speakers-among them the Ashanti and the Fanti-migrated from the savanna and established their predominance below the forest line, forming a series of small states. By the early 15th century these communities carried on a lively trade with the sub-Saharan peoples to the north. The first Europeans to visit the region, subsequently called the Gold Coast, were Portuguese explorers. In 1482 they established a trading settlement on the site of present-day Elmina. The region became a major supplier of gold to Europe. In addition, the developing slave trade during the 16th century whetted the interest of several European nations. By 1642 the Dutch had forced the Portuguese out. The ocean-directed European trade aided the ascendancy of the Ashanti, who had gradually moved and settled at the junction of trade routes around Kumasi that enabled them to dominate commerce both north and south. By 1670 their supremacy in the Kumasi area was unchallenged, and further expansion left the Ashanti Empire unquestionably predominant among the native states by the middle of the 18th century. British Dominance Among the European invaders who soon challenged the Dutch were the British, who established forts at Kormantine and Cape Coast. The ensuing rivalry between the two powers culminated in war, from which the Dutch emerged victorious. Government-sponsored British companies, however, continued to pursue their interest, developing by 1750 a flourishing slave trade. Forts also were established by the Danes at Christiansborg and elsewhere, but by the end of the 18th century the British dominated the region. In 1821, 14 years after the abolition of the slave trade, the British settlements were taken over by the Crown. The British purchased the Danish forts in 1850, and in 1871 the Dutch settlements also were transferred to them. The coastal area, by then entirely under British control, was designated a crown colony in 1874. In the early 19th century Ashanti tribes had invaded the coastal territory inhabited by the Fanti, thereby posing a threat to British forts. This led to a series of Ashanti-British wars that continued sporadically until the end of the century. The boundaries of the colony were established in 1901; at the same time the Ashanti and the northern territories were annexed to the colony. Part of the German Togoland was added in 1922. Three years later the first elections for a legislative council were held. Rapid political development, however, began only after World War II (1939-1945), when the British, faced with sustained agitation for national independence, allowed increasing measures of self-government, with the object of gradually establishing an independent country. Accordingly, the British Parliament in January 1957 passed the Ghana Independence Act, and on March 6 of that year the National Assembly of Ghana issued an independence proclamation. Two days later it joined the United Nations. The Nkrumah Years The dominant political party of the new nation was the Convention People's party (CPP), headed by Kwame Nkrumah, who was the country's first prime minister. There was, however, marked dissension between the CPP and various disaffected political groups. A prime source of resentment was Nkrumah's desire to create a centralized rather than a federated state. The government retaliated harshly against its critics, and in October 1957 six opposition groups formed a coalition known as the United party. The Ghana Constitutional Amendment Bill of 1958 made it possible for the National Assembly to alter the constitution by a simple majority. A new republican constitution was drafted early in 1960 and approved by the electorate. At the same time, Prime Minister Nkrumah was elected the first president. The country was proclaimed a republic on July 1, 1960. During the following years Nkrumah became increasingly dictatorial. The opposition was severely limited in its freedom of action, leaders of the United party were imprisoned without trial, and defamation of Nkrumah was made a crime. The government decreed a state of emergency in 1961 and again in 1962. In late 1963 Nkrumah began to limit the freedom of the judiciary. A one-party system was introduced in 1964. Political Instability On February 24, 1966, Nkrumah, who was on a state visit to China, was ousted in a military coup. He took refuge in Guinea, but his supporters in Ghana were arrested, and Soviet and Chinese technicians, whom Nkrumah had brought in, were expelled from the country. For the next three years Ghana was ruled by the National Liberation Council. In 1969 power was transferred, under a new constitution, to a civilian government headed by Kofi A. Busia. Busia, however, was ousted by another army coup in 1972, this one headed by Colonel Ignatius K. Acheampong. Acheampong suspended the constitution, banned political activity, and curbed freedom of the press and union activities. Military control was relaxed slightly in 1974, and a civilian political affairs advisory council and an economic planning council were set up. Acheampong, however, was forced to resign in 1978, giving way to General Frederick W. Akuffo, who ruled for less than a year before he was overthrown by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings. Dedicated to uprooting corruption, Rawlings had both Acheampong and Akuffo executed for that offense. In September 1979 Rawlings stepped down in favor of an elected civilian president, Hilla Limann. When economic conditions worsened, Limann was deposed in a second coup led by Rawlings on December 31, 1981. Ruling as chief of the Provisional National Defense Council, Rawlings imposed an austerity plan that helped control inflation and attract financial aid from the West, including support from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The currency was devalued three times in the 1980s in order to stimulate exports. Despite the revival of the economy and Rawlings's popularity with the people, his regime had to suppress many coup attempts during the decade. A referendum in April 1992 reestablished constitutional government, and Rawlings, running as a civilian, won the presidency in multiparty elections in November. He was reelected in December 1996.