History

Farming began earliest on the southern tips of the Sahara before 500 A.D, eventually giving rise to village settlements. Toward the end of the classical era, larger regional kingdoms were formed in West Africa, one of which was the Kingdom of Ghana, north of what is today the nation of Ghana. After its fall at the beginning of the 13th century, Akan migrants southward then founded several tribal empires including the Ashanti federation and Fante states. Much of the area was united under the Ashanti confederation by the 16th century. The Ashanti government operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralized kingdom with a highly-specialised bureaucracy centred in Kumis.

The first contact between tribal peoples of the Gold Coast and Europeans occurred in 1470, when a party of Portuguese landed and met with the King of Elmina. In 1482, the Portuguese built Elmina Castle, known in Portuguese as Castelo da Mina, as a permanent trading base. The first recorded English trading voyage to the coast was made by Thomas Windham in 1553. During the next three centuries, the English, Portuguese, Swedish, Danes, Dutch and Germans controlled various parts of the coastal areas.

British Control

In 1806, the Ashanti-Fante War broke out as the Fante abandoned their allegiance to the Ashanti in favour of the British. This sparked a long series of wars, as the Ashanti tried to minimise European power in the region.

In 1821, the British Government took control of the British trading forts on the Gold Coast, and in 1844, Fanti chiefs in the area signed an agreement with the British, which became the legal stepping-stone to colonial status for the coastal area. The town Cabo Corso was renamed Cape Coast and became the first capital of the Gold Coast.

From 1826 to 1900, the British fought a series of campaigns against the Ashantis, eventually establishing firm control over the Ashanti region and making the northern territories a protectorate in 1902. The four territorial divisions were administered separately until 1946, when the British Government ruled them as a single unit.

In 1951, a constitution was promulgated that called for a greatly enlarged legislature composed principally of members elected by popular vote, directly or indirectly. An executive council was responsible for formulating policy, with most African members drawn from the legislature, and including three ex officio members appointed by the governor.

A new constitution, approved on April 29, 1954, established a cabinet comprised of African ministers drawn from an all-African legislature chosen by direct election. In the elections that followed, the Convention People's Party (CPP), led by Kwame Nkrumah, won the majority of seats in the new Legislative Assembly. In May 1956, Prime Minister Nkrumah's Gold Coast government issued a white paper containing proposals for Gold Coast independence. The British Government stated it would agree to a firm date for independence if a reasonable majority for such a step were obtained in the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly after a general election. This election, held in 1956, returned the CPP to power with 71 of the 104 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Ghana became an independent state on March 6, 1957, when the United Kingdom relinquished its control over the Colony of the Gold Coast and Ashanti, the Northern Territories Protectorate, and British Togoland.

Independence

In subsequent reorganisations, the country was divided into 10 regions, which were subdivided into districts. The original Gold Coast Colony (now Ghana) comprised the Western, Central, Eastern, and Greater Accra Regions; a small portion at the mouth of the Volta River was assigned to the Volta Region; the Ashanti area was divided into the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Regions; the Northern Territories into the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions; and British Togoland essentiallybecame the same area as the Volta Region.

On 6 March 1957, Ghana was declared independent and Nkrumah (hailed as 'Osagyefo' or 'victorious leader') accepted the role of Prime Minister. After independence, the CPP government under Nkrumah sought to develop Ghana as a modern, semi-industrialised, unitary socialist state. The government emphasised political and economic organisation, endeavouring to increase stability and productivity through labour, youth, farmers, cooperatives, and other organisations integrated with the CPP.

The CPP's control was challenged and criticised, and Prime Minister Nkrumah used the Preventive Detention Act (1958), providing for detention without trial for up to 5 years (later extended to 10 years). On July 1, 1960, a new constitution was adopted, changing Ghana from a parliamentary system with a prime minister to a republican form of government headed by a powerful president. In August 1960, Dr. Nkrumah was given authority to scrutinise newspapers and other publications before publication. Meanwhile, Ghana became a charter member of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963. This political evolution, continued into early 1964, when a constitutional referendum changed the country to a one-party state, with Nkrumah as Life President.

On February 24, 1966, the Ghanaian Army and police overthrew Nkrumah's regime, allegedly with the help of the American CIA. Nkrumah and all his ministers were dismissed, the CPP and National Assembly were dissolved, and the constitution was suspended.

A series of subsequent coups ended with the ascension to power of Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings in 1981. His changes resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992, and Rawlings was elected in free elections of that year and also in 1996. The constitution prohibited him from running for a third term. John Kufuor, the current president, is now in his second term. 2007 will mark Ghana's Golden Jubilee celebration of 50 years of independence.