The Recorded History Of Ghana

In the 1870s, Britain colonized Africa and its coasts for two main interests: gold and slaves. However, gold was limited and therefore, its quantity dried up. Soon enough, palm oil had become the “new gold” and played an immense part in Britain’s growing industrial production. The Gold Coast, in fact, had a long history of merchants and foreigners who seek to extract the many riches the land possessed. Specifically, the British had established its footing on the Gold Coasts through its advancements during the Industrial Revolution and drove out other European competitors. Slowly, Britain had gained control of the Gold Coasts and come to agreements with local rulers to remain independent, but conform to certain rules imposed by the British.

Different cultures, countries, religions, and community with various behaviors and rituals that guides their belief and action when a loved one pass away. Religious and spiritual belief, type of life after death, superstitious beliefs after death and beliefs towards the meaning of life are all based on tradition and death ritual.

The first chapter in Boahen’s book is titled “Eve of Colonial Conquest” and this section gives the readers a background of the colonialism in Africa through a look at the fundamental economic, political, and social changes that occurred just a few decades before colonialism took root. Boahen states that the trade of “natural products” is the most significant economic change in Africa by 1880. Just before the trading of “natural products” slave trades were abolished.

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

My country was one of the places that was colonized by Europeans because of our gold and people to enslave. Ghana originally called the Gold Coast, was one of the slave countries from 1482 to 1957. They were first colonized by Portuguese settlement in 1482. The Portuguese soon left after being defeated by the Dutch in 1598. It soon became the Dutch Gold Coast, and then a possession of Great Britain (Early European Contact and the Slave

Ghana: wealthy because of gold; declined because of loss of trade, drought, and pressure from outside forces

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,

A developed government was another achievement to Africa before the arrival of the Europeans. Ghana, a strong African city, had military forces to maintain peace and

The relationship between the geography of West Africa and the development of the Kingdom of Ghana go hand in hand. It was a great place for civilization because it flourished over time. The Kingdom of Ghana’s development was helped because of trade and wealth.

“. . . Forts built by the Portuguese and Dutch on the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) were captured by the British in 1667” (“Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade”, NA), and later, “. . . New technologies and medicines . . . allowed the Europeans to pursue military and political power further into the interior” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 103) The British fought to control the area specifically for the gold, and palm oil – an ingredient used for the production of soap, and as machine lubricant. “Second, the industrial Revolution enabled Britain in particular to enlarge its military and commercial power to the point that it was able to eventually drive the other European powers out of the region, with the Danish (1850) and Dutch (1871-1872) being the last to leave” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 103). After Britain gained control of the region, new rules were placed into effect. Most Africans adapted to the sudden changes: becoming English-speaking Africans, accepting jobs from the British, trading with the British and even marrying British citizens. “It was this these men who tried to create European-style but independent states such as the Accra Confederation and who wrote a constitution for the Fante Confederation of 1873” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 106). Yet, despite these positive effects, negative effects also existed. In the 1670s, with sugar becoming high demand, the need for slaves increased. “. . . Europeans

How did the polity of Ancient Ghana arise? How did Ghana maintain its strength and what were some of the challenges? The Wagadou Empire was a monarchy, and the king was regarded by the people to be a semi-divine figure who kept order and justice. Ghana was not rich in natural resources as it was located along a major trade route between ivory and gold producing areas and salt miners in the Sahara. Merchants were lured into Ghana by the wealth of gold and prosperity helped the capital, Kumbi Saleh, to be a center of trade. The country will eventually become a prosperous entrepôt. Ancient Ghana derived power and wealth from gold and transportation of camels during the Sub-Saharan trade to increase the quantity of goods that were transported. The traditional Ghanan religions and Islam spread

Consider how Africa’s geography has changed over time. What positive and negative effects would these changes have had on human populations on the continent? As their new homes changed they were able to adapt due to their innovative mindset. This can be attributed to the new found organization thanks to language. Allowing Africans to grow and expand throughout the entire continent. Other factors that can be attributed are the change in geography for some parts such as the Sahara drying out and swamps and lakes disappeared.

In the texts, the Kingdom of Ghana during the 6th and 12th centuries was a very vast Texas sized area north of the Senegal and Niger rivers. The kingdom had a very large population of 200,000 and depended on a diverse economy based on gold, farming, and international trade. In the texts, there were observations that were collected by a Muslim Spaniard named Al-Bakir, who traveled through the kingdom of Ghana in the 11thcentury. Al- Bakir discusses Ghana and how it is divided into two towns. The city itself was very fortified and had a huge fence like wall. The people of the towns wore wrappers of cotton, silk or brocade according to their means. Most men shaved their beards and women their heads. The kingdom was inhabited by Muslims and contained

Ancient Ghana was originally found in the 830 AD. They built their capital on the edge of the Sahara and the city quickly grew into a thriving trade market and became a very wealthy place. the city turned into one of the most wealthy places on earth and made its wealth from gold and silver.

The histories of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai are not well documented. Much of what we know is a mixture of legend, stories and secondhand accounts. North Africa has small coastal areas, some savanna areas, but it is mostly made up of the sahara desert. It is a very dry and hot region. West Africa has some desert areas, wet and dry grasslands, small rainforest, and long rivers, like the Niger River. It has some vegetation areas, but it also has some dry and hot areas. According to legend, Ghana started when a foreigner named Dhinga had to kill a goblin, and marry the goblins pretty daughters. Their offspring became ancestors of the ruling Soninke clans. After he died, his son Dyabe defeated his brother and founded the empire of Ghana somewhere