Ghana
Ghana is located on West Africa's Gulf of Guinea only a few degrees
north of the Equator. Half of the country lies less than 152 meters
(500 ft.) above sea level, and the highest point is 883 meters
(2,900 ft.). The 537-kilometer (334-mi.) coastline is mostly a low,
sandy shore backed by plains and scrub and intersected by several
rivers and streams, most of which are navigable only by canoe. A
tropical rain forest belt, broken by heavily forested hills and many
streams and rivers, extends northward from the shore, near the Cote
d'Ivoire frontier. This area produces most of the country's cocoa,
minerals, and timber. North of this belt, the country varies from 91
to 396 meters (300 ft.-1,300 ft.) above sea level and is covered by
low bush, park-like savanna, and grassy plains.
The climate is tropical. The eastern coastal belt is warm and
comparatively dry; the southwest corner, hot and humid; and the
north, hot and dry. There are two distinct rainy seasons in the
south--May-June and August-September; in the north, the rainy
seasons tend to merge. A dry, northeasterly wind, the Harmattan,
blows in January and February. Annual rainfall in the coastal zone
averages 83 centimeters (33 in.).
Volta Lake, the largest manmade lake in the world, extends from the
Akosombo Dam in southeastern Ghana to the town of Yapei, 520
kilometers (325 mi.) to the north. The lake generates electricity,
provides inland transportation, and is a potentially valuable
resource for irrigation and fish farming.
Ghana's population is concentrated along the coast and in the
principal cities of Accra and Kumasi. Most Ghanaians descended from
migrating tribes that probably came down the Volta River valley at
the beginning of the 13th century. Ethnically, Ghana is divided into
small groups speaking more than 50 languages and dialects. Among the
more important linguistic groups are the Akans, which include the
Fantis along the coast and the Ashantis in the forest region north
of the coast; the Guans, on the plains of the Volta River; the Ga-
and Ewe-speaking peoples of the south and southeast; and the Moshi-Dagomba-speaking
tribes of the northern and upper regions. English, the official and
commercial language, is taught in all the schools. |
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The history of the Gold Coast before the last quarter of the 15th
century is derived primarily from oral tradition that refers to
migrations from the ancient kingdoms of the western Soudan (the area
of Mauritania and Mali). The Gold Coast was renamed Ghana upon
independence in 1957 because of indications that present-day
inhabitants descended from migrants who moved south from the ancient
kingdom of Ghana. The first contact between Europe and the Gold
Coast dates from 1470, when a party of Portuguese landed. In 1482,
the Portuguese built Elmina Castle as a permanent trading base.
Thomas Windham made the first recorded English trading voyage to the
coast in 1553. During the next three centuries, the English, Danes,
Dutch, Germans, and Portuguese controlled various parts of the
coastal areas.
In 1821, the British Government took control of the British trading
forts on the Gold Coast. In 1844, Fanti chiefs in the area signed an
agreement with the British that became the legal steppingstone to
colonial status for the coastal area.
From 1826 to 1900, the British fought a series of campaigns against
the Ashantis, whose kingdom was located inland. In 1902, they
succeeded in establishing firm control over the Ashanti region and
making the northern territories a protectorate. British Togoland,
the fourth territorial element eventually to form the nation, was
part of a former German colony administered by the United Kingdom
from Accra as a League of Nations mandate after 1922. In December
1946, British Togoland became a UN Trust Territory, and in 1957,
following a 1956 plebiscite, the United Nations agreed that the
territory would become part of Ghana when the Gold Coast achieved
independence.
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 comprising 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.
In subsequent reorganizations, the country was divided into 10
regions, which currently are subdivided into 138 districts. The
original Gold Coast Colony now comprises the Western, Central,
Eastern, and Greater Accra Regions, with a small portion at the
mouth of the Volta River 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 essentially is the same area as the
Volta Region. |
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