Ghana History 19th Century

Colonization and Independence

• Southern Ghana, including Anloland, became a British colony on September 12, 1874.
• The capital was moved from Cape Coast to Accra two years later.
• The British strengthened their power over Asante by deporting the Asantehene to the Seychelles Islands in 1896.
• The British signed friendship treaties with chiefs in the northern part of the country, referred to as the Northern Territories.
• The British, French, and Germans agreed on common boundaries, defining a box-like country called British Gold Coast.

Post-WWI and Independence

• After WWII, the British and French drove the Germans out of German Togoland and shared the territory between themselves.
• The part that came under British rule was called British Mandated Togoland, the southern half of which is now known as the Volta Region.
• Ghana gained political independence from Britain on March 6, 1957, and the name was changed from Gold Coast to Ghana.

Regions of Ghana

• Ghana is currently divided into 16 administrative regions:
  • Ahafo - Goaso
  • Ashanti - Kumasi
  • Bono - Sunyani
  • Bono East - Techiman
  • Central - Cape Coast
  • Eastern - Koforidua
  • Greater Accra - Accra
  • Northern - Tamale
  • North East - Nalerigu
  • Oti - Dambai
  • Savanna - Damango
  • Upper East - Bolgatanga
  • Upper West - Wa
  • Volta - Ho
  • Western - Sekondi
  • Western North - Sehwi Wiawso

Ethnic Groups and History

• The Akans are believed to have entered modern Ghana after wandering for some years, settling in an area in current-day Western Gonjaland.
• The Ga-Adangbe people are supposed to have arrived from Nigeria over 400 years ago.
• The Ewe people are supposed to have arrived from Nigeria or Benin after the Ga-Adangbe.
• Ga-Adangbe and people of northern Ghana, including the Moshie, Dagomba, Mamprusi, and Gonja, are said to have come originally from a country to the north or north-east of their present home in modern Ghana.

European Contact and Trade

• The Portuguese were the earliest Europeans to arrive in the 15th century, and they built the first castle in the Gold Coast at Elmina in 1482.
• The Dutch arrived in 1598 and built forts along the coastal areas, including the Komenda fort.
• Many other European traders, including the British, Danes, and Swedes, came to the Gold Coast to trade.

Socio-economic Facts

• Ghana is classified by the World Bank as a Lower Middle-Income country (2013).
• GDP: 37.86billion(2015),37.86 billion (2015), 37.86billion(2015),42.80 billion (2016).
• GNI per capita: $1,480 (2015).
• Poverty headcount at national poverty line (% of population): 50.0% (1992), 39.5% (1999), 28.5% (2006), 24.20 (2012).
• Life expectancy at birth (total years): 52.27 (1980), 56.75 (1990), 56.99 (2000), 60.92 (2010), 62.74 (2016).
• Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above): 76.6% (2015).
• Improved water source, rural (% of rural population with access): 84% (2015), 81% (2012), 79% (2011), 77% (2010), 75% (2009), 73% (2008).