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Ghana, until independence from British colonial rule on 6 March 1957, was known as the Gold Coast. The country is named after
one of the ancient Sudanese Empires which flourished between the fourth and 10th centuries. Subsequently, the area was divided
among several kingdoms, of which the most important were the Fanti, who occupied the coastal region, and the Ashanti, whose
territory was further inland. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in the late 15th century. During the next
300 years, the Gold Coast became a major trading centre, mainly in gold and slaves. All the main European colonial powers
were engaged in this type of commerce. From the beginning of the 19th century, an increasingly assertive Ashanti kingdom drove
out many of the European colonists. The important exception was the British who, allied with the rival Fanti kingdom, defeated
the Ashanti in 1874 and took control of the whole of the Gold Coast. The Ashanti-controlled interior was subjugated over the
next 15 years and converted into ‘protectorates’, locally ruled under British supervision. The colony’s lands were supplemented
in 1917 by parts of neighbouring Togoland which was formerly under German control. Together, these formed what in 1957 became
the independent state of Ghana – the first British territory in Africa to be decolonised. Three years after independence (1960)
Ghana became a Republic with Dr Kwame Nkrumah, leader of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) as the first President.
Under Dr Nkrumah, Ghana made rapid and remarkable progress in education, industrial and infrastructure development and in
the provision of social services. At the same time, the country played a leading role in international affairs – especially
the United Nations and Commonwealth – in the struggle for the liberation of other African countries, most of which were still
under colonial rule. However, Nkrumah’s growing dictatorial tendencies at home disaffected many, especially in the armed forces,
and in the end it was they who in February 1966 overthrew the CPP Government in a coup led by Colonel Emmanuel Kotoka. A pattern
of fledgling civilian governments aborted by the intervention of the armed forces has dogged Ghana for much of the time since
then.
The most prominent figure in recent Ghanaian politics is Jerry John Rawlings, a former Air Force Flight Lieutenant, who first
came to prominence as the leader of coups in 1979 and 1981. Rawlings initially promoted radical socialist economic and social
policies but, as Ghana’s fiscal problems worsened during the 1980s, the Government was forced to turn to the IMF. The scheme
devised by the IMF subsequently became the blueprint for the Structural Adjustment Programmes which have since been widely
adopted throughout the developing world on the insistence of the IMF and World Bank. (see Economy). Ghana was the original test-bed.
On the political front, President Rawlings and the ruling party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) introduced a new constitution
in 1992 before submitting themselves to the verdict of the electorate and winning both the presidency and a huge majority
of legislature seats (although most opposition parties boycotted the elections claiming widespread irregularities). Both Rawlings
and the NDC were re-elected in 1996. By 2000, as these terms of office drew to a close, the government became afflicted by
growing mismanagement and corruption. In December 2000, a closely-fought election pitted Rawlings’ former deputy John Atta
Mills, standing for the NDC, against John Kufour, leader of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and several minor
candidates. The contest was dubbed ‘the battle of the bores’, acknowledging the failure of either main candidate to match
the charisma of the outgoing Rawlings. However, charisma is not an essential qualification for governing a country and Kufour
won the run-off against Mills and took office at the beginning of 2001. The NPP also replaced the NDC as the largest party
in the Ghanaian Parliament.
With most of the senior echelons of the government and security forces occupied by long-term Rawlings loyalists, Kufour was
obliged to move cautiously at first. But, growing in confidence, he has since set up a ‘reconciliation commission’ to investigate
human rights abuses during military rule. The Kufour government has also had to deal with inter-communal violence and land
disputes in the north of the country. The greatest controversy, however, has concerned its decision to sell the country’s
largest and most important company, Ashanti Goldfields (see Economy).
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Overview 
