THE HISTORY OF GHANA ADVISORY BOARD John T. Alexander Professor of History and Russian and European Studies, University of Kansas Robert A. Divine George W. Littlefield Professor in American History Emeritus, University of Texas at Austin John V. Lombardi Professor of History, University of Florida THE HISTORY OF GHANA Roger S. Gocking The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findiing, Series Editors Greenwood Press Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cocking, Roger. The history of Ghana / Roger S. Gocking. p. cm. — (The Greenwood histories of the modern nations, ISSN 1096-2905) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-313-31894-8 (alk. paper) 1. Ghana—History. I. Title. II. Series. DT510.5.G63 2005 966.7—dc22 2004028236 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2005 by Roger S. Gocking All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2004028236 ISBN: 0-313-31894-8 ISSN: 1096-2905 First published in 2005 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 987654321 Contents Series Foreword vii Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling Preface and Acknowledgments xi Abbreviations xv Orthography xxi Currency xxiii Timeline of Historical Events xxv 1 Introduction: Ghana in Perspective 1 2 Precolonial States and Societies 17 3 Colonial Rule 37 4 Politics and Protest in the Model Colony 51 5 The Model Colony at War and the Aftermath 75 vi Contents 6 The Convention People's Party and the Road to Independence 91 7 Independence: The Nkrumah Years 115 8 From Military Coup to Second Republic 147 9 Return of the Soldiers 165 10 The Third Republic and the PNDC 185 11 The First NDC Administration: 1993-97 217 12 The Second NDC Administration: 1997-2001 237 13 The NPP in Power: 2001-4 257 Epilogue: Moving Forward, Looking Backward 279 Notable People in the History of Ghana 285 Selected Bibliography 299 Index 311 A photo essay follows p. 145 Series Foreword The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations series is intended to provide students and interested laypeople with up-to-date, concise, and analytical histories of many of the nations of the contemporary world. Not since the 1960s has there been a systematic attempt to publish a series of national histories, and, as editors, we believe that this series will prove to be a valuable contribution to our understanding of other countries in our in­ creasingly interdependent world. Over thirty years ago, at the end of the 1960s, the Cold War was an accepted reality of global politics, the process of decolonization was still in progress, the idea of a unified Europe with a single currency was un­ heard of, the United States was mired in a war in Vietnam, and the eco­ nomic boom of Asia was still years in the future. Richard Nixon was president of the United States, Mao Tse-tung (not yet Mao Zedong) ruled China, Leonid Brezhnev guided the Soviet Union, and Harold Wilson was prime minister of the United Kingdom. Authoritarian dictators still ruled most of Latin America, the Middle East was reeling in the wake of the Six-Day War, and Shah Reza Pahlavi was at the height of his power in Iran. Clearly, the past thirty years have been witness to a great deal of historical change, and it is to this change that this series is primarily addressed. viii Series Foreword With the help of a distinguished advisory board, we have selected na­ tions whose political, economic, and social affairs mark them as among the most important in the waning years of the twentieth century, and for each nation we have found an author who is recognized as a specialist in the history of that nation. These authors have worked most cooperatively with us and with Greenwood Press to produce volumes that reflect current research on their nation and that are interesting and informative to their prospective readers. The importance of a series such as this cannot be underestimated. As a superpower whose influence is felt all over the world, the United States can claim a "special" relationship with almost every other nation. Yet many Americans know very little about the histories of the nations with which the Untied States relates. How did they get to be the way they are? What kind of political systems have evolved there? What kind of influence do they have in their own region? What are the dominant political, reli­ gious, and cultural forces that move their leaders? These and many other questions are answered in the volumes of this series. The authors who have contributed to this series have written compre­ hensive histories of their nations, dating back to prehistoric times in some cases. Each of them, however, has devoted a significant portion of the book to events of the last thirty years, because the modern era has con­ tributed the most to contemporary issues that have an impact on U.S. policy. Authors have made an effort to be as up-to-date as possible so that readers can benefit from the most recent scholarship and a narrative that includes very recent events. In addition to the historical narrative, each volume in this series con­ tains an introductory overview of the country's geography, political in­ stitutions, economic structure, and cultural attributes. This is designed to give readers a picture of the nation as it exists in the contemporary world. Each volume also contains additional chapters that add interesting and useful detail to the historical narrative. One chapter is a thorough chro­ nology of important historical events, making it easy for readers to follow the flow of a particular nation's history. Another chapter features bio­ graphical sketches of the nation's most important figures in order to hu­ manize some of the individuals who have contributed to the historical development of their nation. Each volume also contains a comprehensive bibliography, so that those readers whose interest has been sparked may find out more about the nation and its history. Finally, there is a carefully prepared topic and person index. Series Foreword IX Readers of these volumes will find them fascinating to read and useful in understanding the contemporary world and the nations that comprise it. As series editors, it is our hope that this series will contribute to a heightened sense of global understanding as we embark on a new century. Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling Indiana University Southeast This page intentionally left blank Preface and Acknowledgments The main purpose of this work is to present in concise form the history of Ghana from the earliest times to the present. The work describes the emergence of early precolonial states, the increasing contact with Euro­ peans, and eventual colonial rule at the end of the nineteenth century. The remaining two-thirds of the book describes the struggle for independence and the challenges that have followed. Ghana's colonial past and the sub­ sequent struggle to achieve independence shares much in common with other African countries that have passed through similar historical expe­ riences and wrestle with the contemporary challenges of nationhood. In this sense the nation's history can serve as an introduction to the history of many other African countries. Yet at the same time there is a uniqueness to Ghana's particular historical experience that contributed to it being the first former colony in West Africa to achieve independence. Kwame Nkru- mah, Ghana's first president, maintained that Ghana's "independence [was] meaningless unless it [was] closely linked up with the total libera­ tion of Africa."1 Ghana's history also finds meaning in a wider pan-African context, but at the same time it retains its own individual character. It was at the invitation of Professors Frank Thackeray and John E. Find­ ling, the series editors of Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations, that I undertook to write this book. Along with Greenwood's editors Barbara xii Preface and Acknowledgments Rader, Kevin Ohe, and Sarah Colwell, they helped to shape the format that the book has taken. In addition, I owe a major debt of gratitude to many other people who over the years have played important roles in helping me to develop my understanding of Ghana's past and present. I owe special thanks to the staff at the Ghana National Archives, now known as the Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD). Over the years I have benefited from the help of its directors, Mr. C. K. Gadzekpo and Mr. C. A. Azangweo, as well as from its principal archivist, Mr. Anthony Men- sah, and members of the staff, who have helped me to track down files, newspapers, pictures, and biographical material. Most of all I must men­ tion Mr. Kenneth Sowah and Mr. Frank Ablorh. The latter, especially, has been for more years than I can remember my personal archivist in Ghana, collecting local newspapers and documents for me as well as accompa­ nying me on trips to find contemporary material and seek out local in­ formants. His detailed knowledge of Ghana's immediate past has also been invaluable on numerous occasions. In Ghana I have also benefited from the assistance of the staff at the library of the Institute of African Studies as well as the Balme Library, both at the University of Ghana at Legon.