Ghana: The Former British Colony
The modern history of Ghana after gaining independence.
As World War Two drew to a close, President Roosevelt convinced Churchill to grant independence to the European colonies. The United Nations was founded, which provided a forum for international discussion. The colonial powers of Europe vastly underestimated the desire of the colonies to gain independence.
Decolonization of Africa
For centuries, Africa was known to the Europeans as “the Dark Continent.” Beginning in the 1880s, nearly all of Africa had been colonized. The European powers met at the Berlin Conference in 1884 to draw the boundaries of their colonies. Those borders often did not reflect the realities of the people living there. Ethnicities were split apart. Warring tribes were grouped together under the same administrative polity. Decolonization of Africa began in the aftermath of the Second World War. During the war, the European powers recruited soldiers from their African colonies. African veterans of this global conflict became more worldly and educated. This increased their awareness and desire for political rights and freedoms. Protests turned into a mass movement across the African continent. African troops were not always treated equally. Some led a mutiny to demand fair pay, but were put down violently by colonial police. One of those men was Kwame Nkrumah. His arrest turned him into an overnight national hero. Nkrumah came from the African Gold Coast. The Gold Coast was one of the richest colonies in Africa. Diamonds, gold, and cocoa were its main exports. Its early history was scarred by the slave trade. Nkrumah first encountered black nationalist ideas during his studies in the United States in the 1930s. This would shape the trajectory of Ghana’s post-colonial history and politics.
Nkrumah
In Ghana, decolonization efforts were led by Nkrumah. He insisted on the right of Africans for self-government. He founded the Convention People’s Party, which gained soaring popularity through its appeal to ordinary voters. Inspired by Gandhi in India, he called for direct action. He organized a boycott of British goods, as well as a general strike. Nkrumah and his independence movement were met with skepticism by the British. They accused the Ghanaian leader of being under Soviet influence, and jailed him. Nkrumah sought to transform Ghana into a modern nation-state, replacing tribal backwardness with a constitutional system. As unrest grew in Ghana, the British agreed to permit democratic elections. They hoped Nkrumah would lose to more conservative opponents. Few white voters participated, because of the harsh climate. Nkrumah’s party won a landslide electoral victory. Reluctantly, the British colonizers had to release him from jail.
1950s
As Ghana’s first-ever president, Nkrumah embarked on public works projects. During the Suez Crisis of 1956, the British were chastised by the United States for their invasion of Egypt. It marked the beginning of the end of British colonialism. The Gold Coast was renamed as Ghana. It developed a new political system, modeled on Westminster parliamentary democracy. To demonstrate a commitment to civil rights, Ghana’s government commissioned the construction of a large arch. Nkrumah’s government promoted the ideology of pan-Africanism, which was reinforced by Ghana’s participation in new international organizations. The First Conference of Independent African States was hosted in 1958. New airlines appeared. Communications improved. Roads, buildings, schools, and universities were built. Education became more commonplace.
1960s
In an effort to industrialize Ghana, Nkrumah’s regime attempted to construct dams and electrical infrastructure. As the Soviet Union attempted to expand its influence in Africa and the Middle East, the United States sought an alliance with Nkrumah’s Ghana as a bulwark against communism. The Kennedy administration pledged millions of dollars to Ghana in foreign aid. Like many of the newly formed governments of post-colonial Africa, Ghana adopted a socialist system. Ghana’s leadership believed that a centralized economy would be the quickest way to achieve economic progress for the masses. Nkrumah described his ideology as scientific socialism. His government attempted to attract foreign investors and diversify the economy. The giant dam on the River Volta, began construction in 1961. It provided water for irrigation and hydroelectric power. This generated enough electricity for Ghana’s towns, as well as the production of a new aluminum plant. But Nkrumah’s central planning had downsides. Huge silos of cocoa crops went unused. The Ministry of Public Works made lots of mistakes with the allocation of funds. Foreign suppliers sold to Ghana at exorbitant prices. In the early 1960s, Nkrumah’s Ghana became a hotspot for European investors. They often gained influence by bribing officials in Nkrumah’s government. Vast sums of Ghana’s currency were spent on these public projects.
One-party state
Over the course of the 1960s, Nkrumah’s government grew increasingly authoritarian. A cult of personality was crafted around him. He was presented as a messiah and savior. His face was depicted on shirts, coins, and stamps. Streets were renamed in his honor. Ghana became one of the first of many one-party states in post-colonial Africa. Surveillance and secret police were deployed. There was no free speech. Any criticism of Nkrumah became grounds for imprisonment without trial. Many died in police custody. “Ghana is passing through a revolutionary period,” Nkrumah said. “We cannot, under any circumstances, allow imperialists and neo-colonialists to interlock with traitors in our midst to deflect us from our path of duty and progress.” Nkrumah’s government claimed to be a vanguard party to transform Ghana into a socialist nation. But his increasingly autocratic regime left Ghana isolated on the international stage. His country’s economy plunged deep into debt. Nkrumah’s domestic support eroded as well. After a couple of assassination attempts, he grew paranoid.
Banana republic
The world’s cocoa prices slumped. Public projects were growing fewer in number, as foreign investment funds thinned out. The country was bankrupt. The Volta Dam was opened up to the public in 1966, generating enthusiasm both domestically and internationally. But this would be Nkrumah’s last triumph. While he was on a mission to North Vietnam and China, Nkrumah’s regime was overthrown in a military coup. It was led by Joseph Arthur Ankrah and his National Liberation Council. The CIA was secretly involved in it. In the capitalist West, the chaos in Ghana seemed to confirm the failures of a socialist command economy. It cemented the popular image of post-colonial Africa as a land of harsh dictatorships and frequent military coups.
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