Ghanaian officials of the United Nations

Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east.Jackson, John G. (2001) ''Introduction to African Civilizations'', Citadel Press, p. 201, . Ghana covers an area of , spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With nearly 31 million inhabitants (according to 2021 census), Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. The capital and largest city is Accra; other major cities are Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi.

The first permanent state in present-day Ghana was the Bono state of the 11th century. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful were the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north and the Ashanti Empire in the south. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, followed by numerous other European powers, contested the area for trading rights, until the British ultimately established control of the coast by the late 19th century. Following over a century of colonisation, Ghana's current borders 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, becoming the first colony in West Africa to achieve sovereignty. Ghana subsequently became influential in decolonisation efforts and the Pan-African movement.

Ghana is a multi-ethnic country with a diverse population, linguistic and religious groups; while the Akan are the largest ethnic group, they constitute only 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 both head of state and head of government. Ghana has maintained since 1993 one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and it performs relatively well in healthcare, economic growth, and human development, so that it has significant influence in West Africa and is highly integrated in international affairs, being a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Group of 24, and the Commonwealth of Nations.

Etymology

''Ghana'' means "strong warrior king" and was the title accorded to the kings of the medieval Ghana Empire in West Africa—not to be confused with today's Ghana, for the empire was further north, in modern-day Mali, Senegal and southern Mauritania, as well as in the region of Guinea. Ghana was known for its large gold usage and hence was named the ''Land of Gold''

History

Medieval kingdoms

Most of what is now Ghana was inhabited in the Middle Ages and the Age of Discovery by different ethnic groups. The earliest known kingdoms to emerge in modern Ghana were the Mole-Dagbani states. The Mole-Dagomba came on horseback from present-day Burkina Faso under a single leader, Naa Gbewaa. With their advanced weapons and based on a central authority, they easily invaded and occupied the lands of the local people ruled by the ''tendamba'' (land god priests), established themselves as the rulers over the locals, and made Gambaga their capital. The death of Naa Gbewaa caused seccession among his children, some of whom broke off and founded separate states including Mamprugu and Nanung. Whiles Gbewaa was still alive, his daughter Yennenga, travelled north and founded the Mossi Kingdoms, who constitute majority of present day Burkina Faso. Other kingdoms that emerged from Dagbon include the Bouna Kingdom of Ivory Coast, and the Dagaaba states of Upper West Region.

Although the area of present-day Ghana has experienced many population movements, the Akan-speaking peoples began to move into it toward the end of the 15th century. By the early 16th century, the Akans were firmly established in the Akan state called Bonoman, for which the Brong-Ahafo region was named. From the 17th century, Akans emerged from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, to create several Akan states, mainly based on gold trading. These states included Bonoman (Brong-Ahafo region), Ashanti (Ashanti Region), Denkyira (Western North region), Mankessim Kingdom ( Central region), and Akwamu (Eastern region). By the 19th century, the territory of the southern part of Ghana was included in the Kingdom of Ashanti, one of the influential states in sub-saharan Africa prior to the onset of colonialism. The government of the Ashanti Empire operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralised kingdom with an advanced, highly specialised bureaucracy centred in the capital city of Kumasi. Prior to Akan contact with Europeans, the Akan people created an advanced economy based on principally gold and gold bar commodities then traded with the states of Africa.

The Ga-Dangme and Ewe migrated westward from south-western Nigeria because of pressure from incessant tribal wars. 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 neighboring Togo and Benin.

European contact and colonialism

Akan trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century. Early European contact by the Portuguese people, who came to the Gold Coast region in the 15th century to trade and then established the Portuguese Gold Coast (Costa do Ouro), focused on the extensive 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) and building forts at Fort Komenda and Kormantsi. In 1617, the Dutch captured the Olnini Castle from the Portuguese and Axim in 1642 ( Fort St Anthony).

Other European traders had joined in gold trading by the mid-17th century, most notably the Swedes, establishing the Swedish Gold Coast (Svenska Guldkusten), and Denmark–Norway, establishing the Danish Gold Coast (Danske Guldkyst ''or'' Dansk Guinea). In addition to the gold trade, European traders participated in the Atlantic slave trade in this area. More than 30 forts and castles were built by the merchants. The Germans also 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 British Gold Coast.MacLean, Iain (2001), ''Rational Choice and British Politics: An Analysis of Rhetoric and Manipulation from Peel to Blair'', p. 76, . Many military engagements occurred between the British colonial powers and the various Akan nation-states. The Kingdom of Ashanti defeated the British a few times in the 100-year-long Anglo-Ashanti wars but eventually lost with the War of the Golden Stool in 1900.Chronology of world history: a calendar of principal events from 3000 BC to AD 1973, Part 1973, Rowman & Littlefield, 1975, .

Transition to independence

In 1947, the newly formed United Gold Coast Convention led by "The Big Six" called for "self-government within the shortest possible time" following the 1946 Gold Coast legislative election

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