A brief history of Ghana as told by George Acheampong, an Asante from Kumasi, and the editors father-in-law!
Long before Ghana was a country, there were four empires:
Ghana
Mali
Sokoto
and Sudan
The Ghana Empire was founded around 300AD and its location was about 500 miles Northwest from where
the Country is today. At that time the people were Muslim. It was at the center of trade routes which
included those from the Sahara and also from the south.
Later due to fighting people moved from Sudan to Mali settling at first in a town called Bantuku.
They then later uprooted again finally settling in Ghana.
Recent history started with the Portuguese who arrived in 1471 lead by Diago Azamdugaa,
They carried out petty trading with Ghana locals trading spirits, clothes & other commodities
for such things as gold. In fact because gold was involved in the trade they called Ghana the gold coast.
The Portuguese however never established themselves. They were followed by the Dutch & Germans.
Finally the British arrived around 1660, lead by Captain Wydham.
They must have seen some potential the Portuguese & Dutch didn't since they never left!
Trade with the British included Slaves, & Gold. As time went on communication & interaction
developed; depending on your point of view the British educated the Ghanaians & also conversion to Christianity occurred. A lot of Ghanaians accepted the British ways & ideas but the Asante (also spelt Ashanti) tribe did not.
1760 marked a point in the start of trouble brewing when the British requested a signing over
of lands in Ghana to the British.
The name Nana Yaa Asantewaa stands out in the history of fighting between Ghanaians
& the British. She came from a town called Ejisu near Kumasi, and led a rebellion
against the British, leading to what has been described as the Yaa Asantewaa war!
Every town in Ghana used to have a king, but also a queen mother. The queen mother
would take over responsibility when the king was away. The queen mother did not have
to have any connection or relationship with the king; it was simply a position & a title.
Yaa Asantewaa was enstooled queen mother of Edweso at the age of 45, and she was 60
years of age when she lead a rebellion against the British.
Various events precipitated the rebellion including the arrest of King Prempeh,
and members of the royal family in 1896. The last straw was when Governor Sir Frederick Michell
Hodgson on his arrival in Kumasi on the 28th of march 1900 produced a demand notice for
the Golden Stool; which was used on Asante kings inauguration but much more than that it was
a spiritual figurehead for the Ansantes.
An article in the Times by Captain R.S Rattray dated the 4th of January 1924 quotes that a speech
by Sir Frederic Hodgson was translated to the Asante as follows: " What must I do to the man, whoever he is, who has failed to give to the queen, who is the paramount power in this country, the stool to which she is entitled "
A demand was also made to the chiefs for a sum of 400 ounces of gold to be paid annually. The speech was apparently greeted with stony silence & a few days later the Asante declared war.Sir Hodgson himself escaped unscathed and died at the age of 74 in London SW7 on the 6th of August 1925
Yaa Asantewaa subsequently led an army of 20,000 Asante warriors to besiege the British
Governor in the Kumasi Fort. Yaa Asantewaa was eventually captured & exiled to the Seychelles
where she died in 1921.
The Asante were a difficult tribe to beat, & I have heard it said that even Adolf Hitler
stated that if he ever wanted to conquer Africa he would have to beat the Asante first!
The Kumasi fort is now a military museum situated in the town of Adum, Kumasi.
An arsenal of old rifles, and other weapons are on display, along with other memorabilia
and photographs of the Governor.
Ghana was ruled as a British colony until 1957 when the big six lead by Dr Nkrumah
achieved independence, with Dr Nkrumah being Ghana's first president. After that
there was a slight glitch when Gerry Rawlings carried out a military cue. However
he was instrumental in Ghana being what it is today by stabilising the country,
controlling the military & allowing democracy to occur again. He stood down from
the military to allow himself to take part in the electoral process
& became president himself for two terms.
So far Ghana stands out as one of the few stable & peaceful nations
in the African continent. The editor traveled around Accra during the election process & didn't notice any trouble at all.
I put this question to Moses , George Acheampongs son quite simply-
what is it about the Ghanaian people that they can manage to pull of a
peaceful election & have a country basically safe & stable since 1957
when other African nations can not.
I got two answers:
The peace reflects something in the Ghanaians character.
The Asante have been documented in history as being fierce fighters, but actually they are slow or are reticent to fight. They fear themselves & war. Also there is little friction in the nation being predominantly consisting of the one Asante tribe. The Asante are actually a mix of 30 tribes but fortuitously the tribes where
Reconciled & amalgamated into one a long time ago.
The second answer is that perhaps they got something good out of the British
in that it may be that the British legacy was that the thoughts, & behaviour that
were instilled in them they have been carried on to even today, whereas The British back in Britain
evolved into it could be said the almost melt down in society I experience in London in 2009.
Long before Ghana was a country, there were four empires:
Ghana
Mali
Sokoto
and Sudan
The Ghana Empire was founded around 300AD and its location was about 500 miles Northwest from where the Country is today. At that time the people were Muslim. It was at the center of trade routes which included those from the Sahara and also from the south.
Later due to fighting people moved from Sudan to Mali settling at first in a town called Bantuku. They then later uprooted again finally settling in Ghana.
Recent history started with the Portuguese who arrived in 1471 lead by Diago Azamdugaa, They carried out petty trading with Ghana locals trading spirits, clothes & other commodities for such things as gold. In fact because gold was involved in the trade they called Ghana the gold coast. The Portuguese however never established themselves. They were followed by the Dutch & Germans.
Finally the British arrived around 1660, lead by Captain Wydham. They must have seen some potential the Portuguese & Dutch didn't since they never left!
Trade with the British included Slaves, & Gold. As time went on communication & interaction developed; depending on your point of view the British educated the Ghanaians & also conversion to Christianity occurred. A lot of Ghanaians accepted the British ways & ideas but the Asante (also spelt Ashanti) tribe did not. 1760 marked a point in the start of trouble brewing when the British requested a signing over of lands in Ghana to the British.
The name Nana Yaa Asantewaa stands out in the history of fighting between Ghanaians & the British. She came from a town called Ejisu near Kumasi, and led a rebellion against the British, leading to what has been described as the Yaa Asantewaa war!
Every town in Ghana used to have a king, but also a queen mother. The queen mother would take over responsibility when the king was away. The queen mother did not have to have any connection or relationship with the king; it was simply a position & a title. Yaa Asantewaa was enstooled queen mother of Edweso at the age of 45, and she was 60 years of age when she lead a rebellion against the British.
Various events precipitated the rebellion including the arrest of King Prempeh, and members of the royal family in 1896. The last straw was when Governor Sir Frederick Michell Hodgson on his arrival in Kumasi on the 28th of march 1900 produced a demand notice for the Golden Stool; which was used on Asante kings inauguration but much more than that it was a spiritual figurehead for the Ansantes.
An article in the Times by Captain R.S Rattray dated the 4th of January 1924 quotes that a speech by Sir Frederic Hodgson was translated to the Asante as follows: " What must I do to the man, whoever he is, who has failed to give to the queen, who is the paramount power in this country, the stool to which she is entitled "
A demand was also made to the chiefs for a sum of 400 ounces of gold to be paid annually. The speech was apparently greeted with stony silence & a few days later the Asante declared war.Sir Hodgson himself escaped unscathed and died at the age of 74 in London SW7 on the 6th of August 1925
Yaa Asantewaa subsequently led an army of 20,000 Asante warriors to besiege the British Governor in the Kumasi Fort. Yaa Asantewaa was eventually captured & exiled to the Seychelles where she died in 1921.
The Asante were a difficult tribe to beat, & I have heard it said that even Adolf Hitler stated that if he ever wanted to conquer Africa he would have to beat the Asante first!
The Kumasi fort is now a military museum situated in the town of Adum, Kumasi. An arsenal of old rifles, and other weapons are on display, along with other memorabilia and photographs of the Governor.
Ghana was ruled as a British colony until 1957 when the big six lead by Dr Nkrumah achieved independence, with Dr Nkrumah being Ghana's first president. After that there was a slight glitch when Gerry Rawlings carried out a military cue. However he was instrumental in Ghana being what it is today by stabilising the country, controlling the military & allowing democracy to occur again. He stood down from the military to allow himself to take part in the electoral process & became president himself for two terms.
So far Ghana stands out as one of the few stable & peaceful nations in the African continent. The editor traveled around Accra during the election process & didn't notice any trouble at all. I put this question to Moses , George Acheampongs son quite simply- what is it about the Ghanaian people that they can manage to pull of a peaceful election & have a country basically safe & stable since 1957 when other African nations can not.
I got two answers:
The peace reflects something in the Ghanaians character. The Asante have been documented in history as being fierce fighters, but actually they are slow or are reticent to fight. They fear themselves & war. Also there is little friction in the nation being predominantly consisting of the one Asante tribe. The Asante are actually a mix of 30 tribes but fortuitously the tribes where Reconciled & amalgamated into one a long time ago.
The second answer is that perhaps they got something good out of the British in that it may be that the British legacy was that the thoughts, & behaviour that were instilled in them they have been carried on to even today, whereas The British back in Britain evolved into it could be said the almost melt down in society I experience in London in 2009.