Gold Coast (British colony)

The first Europeans to reach the appropriate coast were the Portuguese ; this happened in 1471 . They faced many African kingdoms, and some of these countries had rich gold reserves in their territories. In 1482, the Portuguese built the Elmina Fortress, the first European fort on this coast. From here they traded in slaves, gold, knives, beads, mirrors, rum and weapons. News of successful trading spread quickly, and ultimately British, Dutch, Danish, Prussian and Swedish merchants also arrived in the region. European merchants built several forts along the coastline. The name "Gold Coast" has long been the name of the region used by Europeans due to the large gold resources found in the region. The slave trade has been the basis of trade for many hundreds of years.

The British Gold Coast was created in 1867 when the British government abolished the African Trading Company and seized private land along the coast. They also appropriated the territories remaining in the hands of other European countries, capturing the Danish Gold Coast in 1850 and the Dutch Gold Coast , including Fort Elmina, in 1872 . Great Britain also steadily expanded its colony through an invasion of local kingdoms, especially in the confederation of Ashanti and Fanti. Ashanti ruled over much of Ghana before the Europeans arrived, and were often in conflict with them. They are the largest ethnic community in Ghana. Four wars - the Anglo-Ashantine Wars - were fought between Ashanti and the British, who sometimes united with the Fanties.

During the First Anglo-Ashantine War ( 1863 - 1864 ), these two groups fought because of disagreements over the ruler of the state of Ashanti and slavery. Tensions increased in 1874 , during the Second Anglo-Ashantine War (1873-1874), when the British captured the capital of Ashanti, Kumasi. The third Anglo-Ashanti war ( 1893 - 1894 ) occurred because the new ruler of ashanti, asantihen, wanted to defend his new title. In 1895 - 1896, the British and the Ashanti fought each other during the Fourth and Last Anglo-Ashanti War, in which the Ashanti fought for their independence, but lost it. In 1900, the Ashanti uprising took place, which led to the capture of the city of Kumasi by the British and the capture of the Golden Throne, the throne of Ashantihene. After the end of this last war with Ashanti, these people began to live under the British protectorate from January 1, 1902 .

By 1901, the entire Golden Coast was a British colony with the local kingdoms, and the tribes were considered as one. The British exported many natural resources: gold , metal ores, diamonds , ivory , pepper , wood , cereals , cocoa . British colonists built railways and sophisticated transport infrastructure, which formed the basis for transport infrastructure in modern Ghana. They also built Western-style hospitals and schools to provide modern amenities to British citizens who moved to the colony.

The indigenous population began to demand more autonomy after the end of World War II and the beginning of the process of decolonization throughout the world. The influential leader of the Gold Coast, Kwame Nkrumah, demanded immediate independence and demonstrated his intention to achieve it. Fearing a general rebellion, the British agreed to most of his demands. In 1956, the British Togo ( Togoland ), protectorate Ashanti and protectorate Fanti were combined with the Gold Coast to create a single colony, which became known as the Gold Coast. In 1957, the colony gained independence under the name of Ghana , becoming the first black state within the British Commonwealth.

• McLaughlin, James L. and David Owusu-Ansah. “Historical Setting” (and subchapters). In A Country Study: Ghana (La Verle Berry, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (November 1994). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . [one]
• Quartey, Seth. Missionary Practices on the Gold Coast, 1832–1895: Discourse, Gaze and Gender in the Basel Mission in Pre-Colonial West Africa. Cambria Press, Youngstown, New York, 2007

• Why did the British colony Gold Coast, becoming independent, took the name "Ghana"?
• GOLDEN SHORE