For the past several weeks, every morning there has been drumming coming from the school near my office. Walking through town, the beats waft through the air from various schools and classes are sometimes suspended while the children arrange themselves in rows and practice marching. Ghana’s Independence Day, marking 60 years of freedom from colonial rule, is this coming Monday.
Colonization
Ghana, as indeed the majority of Africa, was colonized. At various points throughout history, the Portugese, Dutch, Danes, Swedes and British all laid some kind of claim to a number of locations in present-day Ghana, but ultimately by the end of the 19th century, the British had gained control of the area, though not without resistance from the Ashanti kingdom.
In 1874 the Gold Coast officially became a British Crown Colony. They slowly began to move north, taking control of the Ashanti territories next and then going further north with the intentions of fending off the French and Germans with all of the regions under British rule by 1902.
British Rule
Rule of the Gold Coast colony was by a British appointed governor and two councils: Legislative Council and Executive Council. The Executive Council was comprised of European business officials who made recommendations for laws and taxes to the governor.
The Legislative Council included all the members of the Executive Council and eventually six locals. This brought a singular control over most services and the rest of the country was under indirect rule: chiefs and local administrations remained in place, but answered to Accra rather than their own people.
The Gold Coast prospered economically which in turn allowed for social development. By the end of World War II, the Gold Coast was the richest and most education colony in West Africa. Within this environment, nationalism flourished which led to the independence movement.
As more locals obtained more education, the arbitrary and centralized political system became more and more unacceptable. The initial push came from wanting to have a representative government, rather than the appointed governor, just as was practiced in Britain. Representation was granted, initially only to chiefs and later to a more diverse set of people, but the power still rested with the governor.
Independence
On August 4, 1947 the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was founded by a group of educated men known as “The Big Six” (they are featured on Ghana’s bank notes). The UGCC called for self-government “in the shortest time possible.”
The UGCC opposed colonial rule, however did not seek a revolution; they agitated for more representation by educated individuals rather than chiefs, who at this point viewed themselves as aristocracy and had more fealty to the colonial administration than the people. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president and one of the Big Six, became frustrated with UGCC and broke away to form the Convention People’s Party (CPP) which called for “self-governance now.” The CPP aligned itself with the workers, famers and ex-servicemen while the UGCC was largely align with intellectuals.
In an attempt to appeal to the demands of the people, a Legislative Assembly was created that would be constituted by people from the towns and rural districts as well as traditional councils. However, not being self-government, Nkrumah called upon the CPP members to stage strikes and non-violent direct actions.
He was elected to the assembly and in turn elected to a position similar to prime minister. Throughout his first term, he cooperated with the British governor and helped to implement a parliamentary system. Nkrumah was then elected as the first prime minister while defense and foreign policy were still controlled by the British governor.
In May 1956, the British agreed to grant independence if it was requested by a “reasonable majority” of the legislature. In August 1956, the legislature voted unanimously for independence. London accepted this as a reasonable majority and set the date for independence as 6 March 1957.
Ghana Today
Sixty years on, Ghana has had its ups and downs politically, but it is considered a beacon of democracy within the region. The peacefulness of the most recent election is a testament to that and this year it looks like the Diamond Jubilee will be recognized through events and marketing. It’s certainly neat to be here for this.