Ghana, whether an ancient kingdom or centrally governed nation in Western Africa, has been in the fabric of economic development and exchange in Sub-Saharan Africa for the past thousand years (Berry, 1994, p. 63). Known for its abundance of gold, the nation of Ghana, touted as “The Gold Coast” by European traders (Berry, 1994, p. 63), has felt the political and economic aftermath of the world becoming less isolated over the past six centuries by virtue of growing European power. In this essay, by examining the current state of Ghana and drawing upon historical exchanges between Europeans and Ghanaians, I intend to reveal the ramifications of both British colonialism and globalization on Ghana’s political and economic infrastructure.
Political and Economic Conditions in Pre-Colonial Ghana
Before British colonization, Ghana employed a decentralized form of governance such as the Akan political system, where towns were autonomous and leadership was entrusted to local traditional leaders, namely chiefs, elders, and civil militia leaders (Odotei, 2008). The framework of the Akan indigenous political system also involved facets of democracy via the consultative process of electing political officials and each chief’s administration of his town, for which the Akan symbols tumi te se kosua and kurontire ne akwamu give insight (Assanful, 2013). The symbol tumi te se kosua, which translates to “power is like an egg”, describes the fragility of political power if not justly wielded or incorporating accountability, because if power is “held too tightly, it may break, if it is held too loosely, it might fall and break” (Assanful, 2013, p. 202). The symbol kurontire ne akwamu, derived from a saying “one person does not rule a nation”, draws...
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...as introduced to the Gold Coast in 1878 by a blacksmith named Tetteh Quarshie (Ludlow, 2012, p. 7).
After the Dutch withdrew their presence entirely in the Gold Coast by 1872, tensions between the Asante Kingdom and the British began to rise. The Asante, who saw the Dutch as a source of economic support, viewed the recent absence of the Dutch and increasing British presence along the West African coast as a threat to their trade access (Berry, 1994, p. 7). The Asante subsequently orchestrated an invasion of the coast in 1873, which was quickly extinguished by Britain’s military forces. With their defeat to the British in 1874, the Asante were forced to relinquish their southern territories along the coastline to the European empire, and the area soon became a British crown colony with Accra rather than Cape Coast as the new colonial capital (Berry, 1994, p. 8).
In conclusion, during the 15th and 16th centuries Europeans visited the Atlantic Coast in the African states to observe for gold and silvers. They took advantage of the Africans to get their desires when the Africans acknowledged them to be equal which drove into Africa’s downfall.
The Portuguese arrived in Benin, in modern Nigeria, between 1472 and 1486 to find an established and ancient kingdom with remarkable social and ritual complexity, with art that was comparatively naturalistic, and with a political system that was, on the surface, recognizable to the Europeans: monarchy. Even more importantly, they found a land rich in pepper, cloth, ivory, and slaves, and immediately set out to establish trade (Ben-Amos 35-6). Though we often imagine "first contacts" between Europeans and Africans as clashes of epochal proportions, leaving Europeans free to manipulate and coerce the flabbergasted and paralyzed Africans, this misjudges the resilience and indeed, preparedness, of the Benin people. The Benin were able to draw on their cultural, political, and religious traditions to fit the European arrival in an understandable context. Indeed, as the great brass plaques of the Benin palace demonstrate, the arrival was in fact manipulated by the Benin to strengthen, not diminish, indigenous royal power.
Africa is a land of riches like no other, so as expected, European countries would have some sort of desire to conquer properties in whatever way they did. As stated in African Colonies and their Exports Chart, countless of natural resources are found in different areas in Africa. Not only does the data show plenty of resources, but also a variety (Doc D). This confirms that Africa is a wealthy land that Europeans grew fond of and hoped to take over. Specified in Imports and Exports Graph, following the 1900’s, after the conference to divide up Africa was held, Britain decided to use Africa’s natural resources and specialize in many industries. The imports doubled from 4 million pounds, while the exports boosted from 2.5 million all the way to 21 million pounds (Doc. E). With this lucrative increase in trading and selling, it is fair to conclude that not only were resources a factor of beginning imperialism in Africa, but also a successful result.
Prior to colonialism of Africa, it was far from being economically unstable and had a good standing economy compared to the rest of the world. African countries such as Mali were involved in international trade and their wealth depended profoundly on the trade in gold, but also on the collecting of taxes. The Europeans detected how successful the African gold trade was and wanted to use this success for their own self-interested gains. This was a paradox towards Europeans because they were seen as this powerful nation because they colonized Africa, but still depended greatly on Africa’s supply of gold. “Caravans of Gold” expresses how significant Africa was in many situations, including how they contributed to the Europeans success as a nation.
With Europe in control, “the policies of the governing powers redirected all African trade to the international export market. Thus today, there is little in the way of inter-African trade, and the pattern of economic dependence continues.” Europeans exported most of the resources in Africa cheaply and sold them costly, which benefited them, but many Africans worked overtime and were not treated with care.
Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting a land grab on the African continent. Around 1878, most of Africa was unexplored, but by 1914, most of Africa, with the lucky exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, was carved up between European powers. There were countless motivations that spurred the European powers to carve Africa, like economic, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation. Europe in this period was a world of competing countries. Britain had a global empire to lead, France had competition with Britain for wealth and so did other nations like Germany and Russia.
In Kevin Gaines’ book, American Africans in Ghana, Gaines combines both African and African American history together unlike others have done in the past. Gaines’ book gives his audience insight on the relationship that many prominent African Americans in the Mid-nineteenth century had with Africa. Gaines tackles many issues that were prevalent during this time period, for instance, he tackles race, class, citizenship, independence and freedom. Gaines does this to change the narrative that existed about Africa. Many Black Nationalist, had romanticized Africa to be this place that once had thriving empires but lost everything due to colonization, and westernized blacks needed to go to Africa to help liberate it. Gaines dispels these myths, and
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