Ghana politics today is structured like many European nations. This includes a head of state who is referred to as the President, and a Parliament which provides a sharing of legislative powers. In the 1980s, this particular system was established in an attempt to prevent another military coup, and to keep Presidents from becoming dictators.
Like so much of the world, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were embedded with colonial rule. Prior to this, Ghanians were the core of the Ashanti Empire. This empire was a military power with over 500,000 soldiers, and a tendency to engage in wars of expansion with neighboring communities.
Primarily fought to collect taxes from neighboring kingdoms and pacify territories under Ashanti rule, these wars also secured trade routes to the interior of Africa. The Ashanti empire was most certainly involved in the slave trade long before the trafficking that took place with European colonialism. They were importers of slaves, however.
Located in this country is the Gold Coast, so named due to the amount of gold that could be found there. They did not engage in the exporting of slaves at that time, but rather, purchased slaves from Portuguese traders who took them from other parts of Africa. The Portuguese were the first to arrive in this country in the fourteen hundreds, and had a continued presence there for a century.
The industrial age of Europe and North America sparked a decline in the world slave trade, finally ending in 1860. Now the British Empire had an eye to the Gold Coast in order to extract the rich abundance of raw materials from the region. A series of wars took place between England and the Ashanti Empire, allowing Europe to take several coastal cities.
There were as many as four wars between the Ashanti Empire and the British Empire, although many Africans living in British occupied towns supported the Europeans. An agreement in 1875 put an end to a lot of the conflict. It required them to acquiesce the southern coastal towns to Britain, and keep the trade road to Kumasi open.
With the twentieth century, there was less conflict with Europe. New food crops were brought into the area, and coffee became the largest cash crop for the Ghanians. With the end of the second world war, people in this part of Africa were wealthy, well educated, and ready to take over the rule of their own lands.
This new sense of nationalism and independence gave rise to a number of totalitarian regimes. The election of Nkrumah in 1960, resulting in him declaring himself president for life, sparked controversy that shook the country to the core. This was the start of an era of economic, political, and social conflict that lasted many years.
The Busia administration was able to overtake Nkrumah, but they did not prove to be any better. Harsh austerity measures were imposed against the people, including those who ran their military. Many foreign businesses and people were evicted from the country. Fed up with the austerity of Ghana politics, a military coup took over the country and maintained power until 1980.
Like so much of the world, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were embedded with colonial rule. Prior to this, Ghanians were the core of the Ashanti Empire. This empire was a military power with over 500,000 soldiers, and a tendency to engage in wars of expansion with neighboring communities.
Primarily fought to collect taxes from neighboring kingdoms and pacify territories under Ashanti rule, these wars also secured trade routes to the interior of Africa. The Ashanti empire was most certainly involved in the slave trade long before the trafficking that took place with European colonialism. They were importers of slaves, however.
Located in this country is the Gold Coast, so named due to the amount of gold that could be found there. They did not engage in the exporting of slaves at that time, but rather, purchased slaves from Portuguese traders who took them from other parts of Africa. The Portuguese were the first to arrive in this country in the fourteen hundreds, and had a continued presence there for a century.
The industrial age of Europe and North America sparked a decline in the world slave trade, finally ending in 1860. Now the British Empire had an eye to the Gold Coast in order to extract the rich abundance of raw materials from the region. A series of wars took place between England and the Ashanti Empire, allowing Europe to take several coastal cities.
There were as many as four wars between the Ashanti Empire and the British Empire, although many Africans living in British occupied towns supported the Europeans. An agreement in 1875 put an end to a lot of the conflict. It required them to acquiesce the southern coastal towns to Britain, and keep the trade road to Kumasi open.
With the twentieth century, there was less conflict with Europe. New food crops were brought into the area, and coffee became the largest cash crop for the Ghanians. With the end of the second world war, people in this part of Africa were wealthy, well educated, and ready to take over the rule of their own lands.
This new sense of nationalism and independence gave rise to a number of totalitarian regimes. The election of Nkrumah in 1960, resulting in him declaring himself president for life, sparked controversy that shook the country to the core. This was the start of an era of economic, political, and social conflict that lasted many years.
The Busia administration was able to overtake Nkrumah, but they did not prove to be any better. Harsh austerity measures were imposed against the people, including those who ran their military. Many foreign businesses and people were evicted from the country. Fed up with the austerity of Ghana politics, a military coup took over the country and maintained power until 1980.
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