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Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated with the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to the east. Ghana covers an area of 239,567 km2 (92,497 sq mi), spanning diverse ecologies, from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With 35 million inhabitants, Ghana is the thirteenth-most populous country in Africa, and the second-most populous country in West Africa specifically. The capital and largest city is Accra; other significant cities include Tema, Kumasi, Sunyani, Ho, Cape Coast, Techiman, Tamale, Bolga, Wa, and Sekondi-Takoradi.
The earliest kingdoms to emerge in Ghana were Bonoman in the south and the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north, with Bonoman existing in the area during the 11th century. The Asante Empire and other Akan kingdoms in the south emerged over the centuries. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, followed by other European powers, contested the area for trading rights, until the British ultimately established control of the coast by the 19th century. Following more than a century of colonial resistance, the current borders of the country took shape, encompassing four separate British colonial territories: Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland. These were unified as an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations. On 6 March 1957 Ghana became the first colony in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sovereignty. Under President Kwame Nkrumah, it became influential in decolonisation efforts and the Pan-African movement.
Ghana is a multi-ethnic country with diverse linguistic and religious groups; while the Akan are the largest ethnic group, they constitute a plurality. Most Ghanaians are Christians (71.3%); almost a fifth are Muslims; a tenth practise traditional faiths or report no religion. Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is head of state and head of government. For political stability in Africa, Ghana ranked seventh in the 2022 Ibrahim Index of African Governance and fifth in the 2024 Fragile States Index. Since 1993, it has maintained one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and performs relatively well in healthcare, economic growth, and human development. It has a significant influence in West Africa and Africa as a whole. Ghana is highly integrated in international affairs, being a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the African Union, and a member of the Economic Community of West African States, the Group of 24 and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The name Ghana comes from Wagadu, an empire in west Africa from the 3rd to 12th centuries; Wagadu was termed Ghana by Arab traders involved in the trans-Saharan trade. Ghana is thought to originate from the title Kaya Maghan of the rulers of Wagadu, which translates as ruler of gold. As the Gold Coast colony prepared for independence, the nation's leader and first prime minister later first president Kwame Nkrumah who together with five others known as The Big Six, led Ghana to independence, settled on Ghana, aiming to evoke a sense of unity and liberation among the Ghanaian people. The name was a powerful reminder of their shared heritage and the legacy of the ancient empire that once thrived in the wider region. It encapsulated the aspirations of the Ghanaian people for self-governance, progress, and a future marked by dignity and resilience.
The earliest kingdoms to emerge in Ghana were Bonoman in the south and the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north, with Bonoman existing in the area during the 11th century. From the 17th century, different Akan states began to emerge from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, mainly based on gold trading. These states included Bonoman (Brong-Ahafo region), Adansi and Asante (Ashanti Region), Denkyira (Western North region), Mankessim Kingdom (Central region), Akyem and Akwamu (Eastern region). By the 19th century, the territory of the southern part of Ghana was included in the Asante Kingdom. The government of the Ashanti Empire operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralised kingdom with a specialised bureaucracy centred in the capital city of Kumasi. Prior to Akan contact with Europeans, the Akan people created an economy based on principally gold and gold bar precious metals, which were traded with other states in Africa.
The Ga-Dangme and Ewe migrated westward from south-western Nigeria. The Ewe, formerly known as Dogbo, migrated from Oyo area with their Gbe-speaking kinsmen (Adja, Fon, Phla/Phera and Ogun/Gun) and, in transition, settled at Ketou in Benin Republic, Tado in Togo, and Dogbo Nyigbo in Benin Republic, with Nortsie (a walled town in present-day Togo) as their final dispersal point. Their dispersal from Nortsie was necessitated by the high-handed rule of King Agorkorli (Agɔ Akɔli), who was the reigning monarch of the tribe at that time. The Ewe in Ghana speak three principal dialects: Anlo (along the coast), Tongu (along the Volta river) and Ewedome (in the hill country side). The Ga-Dangme occupy the Greater Accra Region and parts of the Eastern Region, while the Ewe are found in the Volta Region as well as the neighbouring Togo, Benin Republic and Nigeria (around Badagry area).[citation needed]
Akan trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century. European contact was by the Portuguese people, who came to the Gold Coast region in the 15th century to trade. The Portuguese then established the Portuguese Gold Coast (Costa do Ouro), focused on the availability of gold. The Portuguese built a trading lodge at a coastal settlement called Anomansah (the perpetual drink), which they renamed São Jorge da Mina. In 1481, King John II of Portugal commissioned Diogo de Azambuja to build the Elmina Castle, which was completed in three years. By 1598, the Dutch had joined the Portuguese in the gold trade, establishing the Dutch Gold Coast (Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea – 'Dutch properties at the Guinea coast') and building forts at Fort Komenda and Kormantsi. In 1617, the Dutch captured the Elmina Castle from the Portuguese and Axim in 1642 (Fort St Anthony).
European traders had joined in gold trading by the 17th century, including the Swedes, establishing the Swedish Gold Coast (Svenska Guldkusten), and Denmark–Norway, establishing the Danish Gold Coast (Danske Guldkyst or Dansk Guinea). European traders participated in the Atlantic slave trade in this area. More than 30 forts and castles were built by the merchants. The Germans established the Brandenburger Gold Coast or Groß Friedrichsburg. In 1874, Great Britain established control over some parts of the country, assigning these areas the status of the British Gold Coast. Military engagements occurred between British colonial powers and Akan nation-states. The Kingdom of Ashanti defeated the British some times in the 100-year-long Anglo-Ashanti wars and eventually lost with the War of the Golden Stool in 1900. In the late 19th century, cocoa cultivation spread through the tropical forests, with the British administration actively supporting the growth of the commercial cocoa industry.
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Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated with the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to the east. Ghana covers an area of 239,567 km2 (92,497 sq mi), spanning diverse ecologies, from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With 35 million inhabitants, Ghana is the thirteenth-most populous country in Africa, and the second-most populous country in West Africa specifically. The capital and largest city is Accra; other significant cities include Tema, Kumasi, Sunyani, Ho, Cape Coast, Techiman, Tamale, Bolga, Wa, and Sekondi-Takoradi.
The earliest kingdoms to emerge in Ghana were Bonoman in the south and the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north, with Bonoman existing in the area during the 11th century. The Asante Empire and other Akan kingdoms in the south emerged over the centuries. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, followed by other European powers, contested the area for trading rights, until the British ultimately established control of the coast by the 19th century. Following more than a century of colonial resistance, the current borders of the country took shape, encompassing four separate British colonial territories: Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland. These were unified as an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations. On 6 March 1957 Ghana became the first colony in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sovereignty. Under President Kwame Nkrumah, it became influential in decolonisation efforts and the Pan-African movement.
Ghana is a multi-ethnic country with diverse linguistic and religious groups; while the Akan are the largest ethnic group, they constitute a plurality. Most Ghanaians are Christians (71.3%); almost a fifth are Muslims; a tenth practise traditional faiths or report no religion. Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is head of state and head of government. For political stability in Africa, Ghana ranked seventh in the 2022 Ibrahim Index of African Governance and fifth in the 2024 Fragile States Index. Since 1993, it has maintained one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and performs relatively well in healthcare, economic growth, and human development. It has a significant influence in West Africa and Africa as a whole. Ghana is highly integrated in international affairs, being a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the African Union, and a member of the Economic Community of West African States, the Group of 24 and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The name Ghana comes from Wagadu, an empire in west Africa from the 3rd to 12th centuries; Wagadu was termed Ghana by Arab traders involved in the trans-Saharan trade. Ghana is thought to originate from the title Kaya Maghan of the rulers of Wagadu, which translates as ruler of gold. As the Gold Coast colony prepared for independence, the nation's leader and first prime minister later first president Kwame Nkrumah who together with five others known as The Big Six, led Ghana to independence, settled on Ghana, aiming to evoke a sense of unity and liberation among the Ghanaian people. The name was a powerful reminder of their shared heritage and the legacy of the ancient empire that once thrived in the wider region. It encapsulated the aspirations of the Ghanaian people for self-governance, progress, and a future marked by dignity and resilience.
The earliest kingdoms to emerge in Ghana were Bonoman in the south and the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north, with Bonoman existing in the area during the 11th century. From the 17th century, different Akan states began to emerge from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, mainly based on gold trading. These states included Bonoman (Brong-Ahafo region), Adansi and Asante (Ashanti Region), Denkyira (Western North region), Mankessim Kingdom (Central region), Akyem and Akwamu (Eastern region). By the 19th century, the territory of the southern part of Ghana was included in the Asante Kingdom. The government of the Ashanti Empire operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralised kingdom with a specialised bureaucracy centred in the capital city of Kumasi. Prior to Akan contact with Europeans, the Akan people created an economy based on principally gold and gold bar precious metals, which were traded with other states in Africa.
The Ga-Dangme and Ewe migrated westward from south-western Nigeria. The Ewe, formerly known as Dogbo, migrated from Oyo area with their Gbe-speaking kinsmen (Adja, Fon, Phla/Phera and Ogun/Gun) and, in transition, settled at Ketou in Benin Republic, Tado in Togo, and Dogbo Nyigbo in Benin Republic, with Nortsie (a walled town in present-day Togo) as their final dispersal point. Their dispersal from Nortsie was necessitated by the high-handed rule of King Agorkorli (Agɔ Akɔli), who was the reigning monarch of the tribe at that time. The Ewe in Ghana speak three principal dialects: Anlo (along the coast), Tongu (along the Volta river) and Ewedome (in the hill country side). The Ga-Dangme occupy the Greater Accra Region and parts of the Eastern Region, while the Ewe are found in the Volta Region as well as the neighbouring Togo, Benin Republic and Nigeria (around Badagry area).[citation needed]
Akan trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century. European contact was by the Portuguese people, who came to the Gold Coast region in the 15th century to trade. The Portuguese then established the Portuguese Gold Coast (Costa do Ouro), focused on the availability of gold. The Portuguese built a trading lodge at a coastal settlement called Anomansah (the perpetual drink), which they renamed São Jorge da Mina. In 1481, King John II of Portugal commissioned Diogo de Azambuja to build the Elmina Castle, which was completed in three years. By 1598, the Dutch had joined the Portuguese in the gold trade, establishing the Dutch Gold Coast (Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea – 'Dutch properties at the Guinea coast') and building forts at Fort Komenda and Kormantsi. In 1617, the Dutch captured the Elmina Castle from the Portuguese and Axim in 1642 (Fort St Anthony).
European traders had joined in gold trading by the 17th century, including the Swedes, establishing the Swedish Gold Coast (Svenska Guldkusten), and Denmark–Norway, establishing the Danish Gold Coast (Danske Guldkyst or Dansk Guinea). European traders participated in the Atlantic slave trade in this area. More than 30 forts and castles were built by the merchants. The Germans established the Brandenburger Gold Coast or Groß Friedrichsburg. In 1874, Great Britain established control over some parts of the country, assigning these areas the status of the British Gold Coast. Military engagements occurred between British colonial powers and Akan nation-states. The Kingdom of Ashanti defeated the British some times in the 100-year-long Anglo-Ashanti wars and eventually lost with the War of the Golden Stool in 1900. In the late 19th century, cocoa cultivation spread through the tropical forests, with the British administration actively supporting the growth of the commercial cocoa industry.
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