History of Ghana
Gold Coast (British colony), History of
Ghana (1966-1979), Elmina Castle, Ghana
Empire, Ashanti Empire, Anglo-Ashanti
wars, John Kufuor, Osei Kofi Tutu I, Kofi
Abrefa Bu
Gold Coast (British colony)
Gold Coast (British colony)
This article is about the British colony in west Africa, 1821-1957. For other uses, see
Gold Coast (disambiguation)
Capital
Language(s)
Government
- 1821-1901
- 1952-1957
Historical era
- Colony established
- Combination with local kingdoms
- Addition of British Togoland
- Independence as Ghana
Colony of Gold Coast
British colony
Flag
Cape Coast (1821-1877)
Accra (1877-1957)
English
Constitutional monarchy
Victoria (first)
Elizabeth II (last)
World War I
1821, 1821
1901
13 December 1956
6 March 1957
Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Mrica that became the
independent nation of Ghana in 1957.
The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese, in 1471. Upon their arrival,
they encountered a variety of African kingdoms some of whom controlled substantial
deposits of gold in the soil. In 1482, the Portuguese built the Castle of Elmina, the first
European settlement on the Gold Coast. From here they traded slaves, gold, knives, beads,
mirrors, rum and guns.
News spread quickly, and eventually, English, Dutch, Danish, Prussian and Swedish traders
arrived as well. These European traders built several forts along the coastline. The Gold
Coast had long been a name for the region used by Europeans, due to the large gold
resources found in the area, although slave trade was the principal exchange for a number
of years.
The British Gold Coast was formed in 1821 when the British government abolished the
African Company of Merchants and seized privately held lands along the coast. The
remaining interests of other European countries were taken over by the British, who took
over the Danish Gold Coast in 1850 and the Dutch Gold Coast including Fort Elmina in
1871.
Britain steadily expanded the colony through the invasion of local kingdoms as well,
particularly the Ashanti Confederacy and Fante Confederacy. The main British problem was
the Ashanti people who controlled much of Ghana before the Europeans arrived and are
still today the biggest community in Ghana. Four wars, the Anglo-Ashanti, Wars were
fought between the Ashanti (Asante) and the British, who were sometimes in alliance with
the Fante.
During the First Anglo-Ashanti War (1863-1864) the two groups fought because of a
disagreement over an Ashanti chief and slavery. Tensions increased in 1874 during the
Second Ashanti War (1873-1874) when the British sacked the Ashanti capital of Kumasi.
The Third Ashanti War (1893-1894) occurred because the new Ashanti Asantehene, ruler of
the Ashanti, wanted to exercise his new title. From 1895-1896 the British and Ashanti
fought in the Fourth and final Ashanti War, where the Ashanti fought for and lost their
independence. In 1900 the Ashanti Uprising occurred and resulted in the capture and loss
of Kumasi. This was due to an attempt to steal the Golden Stool, the Asentehene's throne.
At the end of this last Ashanti War, the Ashanti people became a protectorate on 1 January
1902.
By 1901, all of the Gold Coast was a British colony, with its kingdoms and tribes forming a
single unit. Various natural resources - such as gold, metal ores, diamonds, ivory, pepper,
timber, corn and cocoa - were shipped from the Gold Coast by the British. The British
Colonisers built railways and a complicated transport infrastructure which formed the basis
for the transport infrastructure in modern-day Ghana. Western hospitals and schools were
also .
