History. From Slavery Until Now, Ghana Is Considered One

The Ghana empire held power approximately between 830 and 1230 ( ). The empire arouse beside the Niger river, situated between gold and salt mines. Located in what we know now as the southeastern Mauritania,

Ghana is named after the medieval West African Ghana Empire. It came from the title of its emperor, the Ghana. After the Empire began to break up, it became incorporated into the Mali Empire. People began farming and that gave rise to village settlements and soon groups of people came into the region. The Dagomba states were the earliest kingdoms to come in present-day Ghana and was well established by the 26th century. The earliest humans were hunter-gatherers. Its rulers were renowned for their wealth in gold, the opulence of their courts, and their hunting skills. They traded with the Akan people but they had gold in reach of natural harbors so the European nations wanted to also trade with the Ghanaians. The Portuguese even built tons of

Ghana was called “The Gold Coast” until its independence was gained from the British in the 1900s, due to the abundance of gold. This, along with the eventual slave trade was a catalyst for the arrival of Europeans in the area in 1471. The Ashanti Empire was founded in 1697 by King Osei Tutu I. At its height, the Ashanti Empire was incredibly rich and powerful, larger than modern-day Ghana, and even had European advisors. Dress was extravagant, rituals were important, and courts, tax systems, and military organizations were all being employed. Yet, as is the case with many African nations around this time, conflict with Europeans eventually arose. The first conflict between the Ashanti and Europeans was with the British, and it occurred in 1824. The Ashanti emerged victorious with the death of the British governor. During the second conflict with the British, the Ashanti were defeated and Kumasi was captured. The near fall of the Ashanti Empire came in 1896, when the Ashanti were defeated by the British and King Prempeh was exiled to the Seychelles. After this, the Ashanti attempted one last attack on the British fort, spurred on by the disrespect they were being shown by the British governor, but they were ultimately defeated. However, many of the traditions and cultural aspects of the ancient Ashanti’s still exist today.

Ghana is located in a different place than the modern country of Ghana in West Africa. Ghana was located in the savanna region, and just south of it lay rain forests where there was an abundance of gold found in streams and mine shafts. Ancient Ghana was divided into ten regions, Western Ghana, Central Ghana, Greater Accra, Eastern Ghana, Volta, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Northern Ghana, Upper West Ghana and Upper East Ghana. The Empire of Ghana was located in Western Africa in what is today the countries of Mauritania, Senegal, and Mali. The region lies just south of the Sahara Desert and is mostly savanna grasslands. Major rivers in the region such as the Gambia River, Senegal River, and the Niger River served as the means of transportation and trade.

Even before Europeans came to Africa, the kingdoms in Africa were quite wealthy. As previously mentioned, Ghana was a very strong kingdom in which its people were also incredibly wealthy. Their government appeared to be wealthy as well, which assisted Ghana in being able to control the gold and salt trade. An Arab scholar, Al-Bakri, wrote about the king’s court and how basically everything that the court had was gold (Document 2). The point of view of this document was also positive, and that is because scholars are usually upper class, just like the king’s court. Al-Bakri thought very highly of the court, and explains in detail how every person has some gold on them and how their surroundings also possessed gold. Ghana had a strong army and an intelligent political counsel, which made other countries fear them. Nations around Ghana did not want to start problems and usually just maintained peace with Ghana (Document 3). Ghana was not the only successful kingdom, one of the leaders of Mali, Mansa Musa,

The Kingdom Ghana in western Africa flourished. Ghana gained control of the salt-and-gold trade (Doc. 2). This was important because Gold was used as a currency,

Ghana was no exception to this, as they were said to have food for all its citizens, advanced weapons, and a good government (doc 3). They were more than capable of living good lives and thriving. The city of Timbuktu in the empire of Mali valued written manuscripts and sold them for a higher price than that of any other good (doc 5). Mali also viewed security and justice as very important things to include in a society (doc 6). They were always fair and the citizens and tourists were never afraid. Finally, bronze was important, and went through a very lengthy process to make beautiful and amazing figures (doc 7). Aspects that make a society complex were valued and used during the reign of African

The African societies (like those of the American Indians and the Europeans) were highly dependent on the environmental conditions and varied widely across the continent. Africa very much resembled America in its diversity of cultures across deserts, grasslands, and forests, its established networks of trade, and resource competition. The early use of iron implements raised productivity and subsequently increased the continent's population, which reached about 50 million by the fifteenth century. Much of that population was organized politically under large empires, like the Kingdom of Ghana. Ghana achieved architectural and artistic wealth principally through important trading contacts with the Middle and Far East. Other kingdoms also developed

There is no other way to look at what the African People had for advancements in technology had that kingdom tribes. Europeans arrived in the 15th-16th century, but before that the African people had so many achievements under their belt.These cities became emperors in the 300s. Each empire had their hand in the control of the salt and gold trade. The cities got power from trade and became centers of living. Throughout the 300s cities turned into empires and also fell.The three most known empires in the west are Ghana, Mali, Songhai. Ghana rose to control the power of the trans-saharan gold and salt trade between 700-1067. The Empire of Mali rose around 1235. Within this empire was the city of Timbuktu. Finally the Songhai empire lasted from

The rulers of Ghana controlled the trade of their kingdom and collected taxes on salt from the north. From the south of the kingdom came gold that fed the king's wealth. This gold came from the Senegal and Niger rivers and was in great demand across the Sahara. Ghana was a sort of meeting place in which the north and the south traded. From the north came ceramics, glass, oil lamps, and salt, from the south came kola nuts,palm oil, copper, and gold. Ghana became a wealthy trading empire. Mali and Songhai were also affected because they neighbored Ghana so they were in similar circumstances. When they were at war and Mali took over the Ghana gold mines, they tried to establish salt trades. Several kings later the Songhai took over the gold mines

According to Chuka Obiorah, the Ashanti tribe is located in central Ghana, and is the largest tribe of the region. It is the major indigenous tribe of the Akans of

During the slave trade era, Strong and the healthy breeds of my fore fathers were tied down beaten and dehumanized before being transported to their destinations in faraway foreign lands (Personal communication,2017). To accommodate colonial expansion in Ghana, the Europeans subjugated our people, dominated and altered our economic structures, then later, our political, social and cultural establishments to make new economy based on timber, minerals agriculture and slavery (Uzoigwe and Boahen,

Ghana raised independence from the British in 1957. The kingdom of Ghana gained an immense amount of power and wealth through gold. The kingdom of Ghana was so rich between 9th-11th C.E. that they actually made their dogs wear golden collars. Ghana’s ancient empire grew around the 13th century. Gold is actually Ghana's biggest extractive industry. The british had called Ghana for the longest time “ the Gold Coast”. Ghanaians felt disrespected from the name because they felt like so much more that their export. “Galamsey sites are extremely dangerous for children due to frequent mine collapses, poisonous dust inhalation, and exposure to toxic chemicals used to extract gold from ore. Boys put their health and even survival at risk. For

The Akan people were once a unique group that flourished in the Ivory Coast and in the Ghana regions of West Africa. The Akan’s were a religious group, mostly Christians that strived on order and balance. At a point in time the Akan’s were grouped together in a small kingdom called Bonoman where they took part in many activities like slavery and mining for gold so they can prevail and overcome adversity.

A great leader of Ghana was not solely known by his name but people remember him for what he has done for the nation. Kwame Nkrumah led United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) to gain support and achieve independence for Ghana in 1957. After a conflict in party arises Nkrumah splits because he believed that UGCC goal wasn 't solely to achieve independence and formed a new party, the Convention People 's Party (CPP). After Nkrumah became the first Ghana president through his policies and political strategies it helped Ghana exponentially develop and lead Ghana towards modernization. The period of 1958-1966 would mark as one of the most critical periods for development for many countries in western Africa and Ghana was amongst leading countries in rapid industrialization (Week 3, Economic and political development: Slide 7). To this day, people of Ghana remember Nkrumah not just as the first president but as a great leader for numerous reasons, mainly for his great deal of contribution in gaining independence and post-independence developments.