The Decolonisation Of Ghana History Essay

The Decolonisation Of gold coast History Essay1. Abstract This drawn- show up Essay is going to be about the Decolonization of gold coast. I hand over chosen this Topic due to my Interest in that country and because I spend my holidays there cardinal time a year. This essay is supposed to survey the decolonization of Ghana and the reasons and thoughts behind it. This Extended Essay is written for the draw who ar interested into the hassles and affairs in the decompoundization of Ghana. This piece of work is should cross-file the recipients the reasons and problems linked with decolonialization and if the people of Ghana come acrossd the Independence and its afterwardmath with rapture and/or neglecting. The essay can be divided up into a theoretical piece, in which I will write about the decolonization, its problems and reasons and a second part, where I will discuss how Nkrumah was able to get accompaniment. My look for questions are What are the reasons for decoloniza tion and to what extent was Nkrumah successful in gaining support for Ghana and how?Well we know that reasons for the decolonization was due to the fact that nationalism and self-rule were things the people of Ghana were leaseing for, which without removal of the current situation could non attain been realized. The other fact is that Nkrumah was successful in gaining Ghanaian support, with factors being bankruptcy of Britain, hatred for Britain, and thanks to the important papers do.What we are un certified of is how these locomote were shootn in order to counter the problems and to what extent they were able to be successful in removing their problems.2. Introduction During valet state of war 2, colonies from around the terra firma came back to their mother countries in order to cooperate their colonial get the hang contradict against the enemies. While the going to be Prime Ministers, Henrik Verwoerd and B.J. Vorster, of South Africa back up Hitler, the studyity of French colonialists remained loyal to its government until 1943. The wartime propaganda from the Germans had a part in this defiance of British rule. Japans conquests in the Far East caused shortages of heterogeneous products much(prenominal)(prenominal) as minerals etc. Africa was therefore thus used to leave up for this problem and could greatly profit from this decision. U-Boats monitoring the North-Atlantic Ocean restricted the conveyance of raw materials to Europe and so made the industries in Africa come to life. local anesthetic industries in turn caused the creation of overbold towns, and existing towns doubled in size. As urban community and industry grew so did trade unions. In addition to trade unions, urbanization brought about increased literacy, which all(prenominal)owed for pro-independence newspapers.By the 1930s, the colonial designers had carefully cultivated a small elite of leaders educated in Western universities and familiar with ideas such as self- determination. These leaders, including some major nationalists such as Kenyatta (Kenya), Nkrumah (Gold Coast, Ghana), Senghor (Senegal), and Houphouet-Boigny (Cte dIvoire) came to lead the essay for independence.2. What are the reasons for decolonization?Before discussing this policy in these fields, it would be helpful, perhaps, to give a prevalent picture of the kind of government that ruled at the time. The government could gull been described as a mixture of direct rule by the central government and the rule of African institutions. There had been a correct bias towards the latter. Ghana is a classical example of decolonization of an face colony after World struggle Two. A mix of nationalism, a foundation of self-rule and educated elite, men returning from serving in WW2, strong leadership, and a weakening of Europes hold on colonies because of the devastation of World War Two made Ghana the vanguard of sub-Saharan African independence. There was a disease threatening th e cocoa farmers. This disease was detrimental cocoa farms at an extremely high rate and despite scientific research the scarcely solution to this was to cut out the infected trees. This didnt disport the farmers since at the time the price for cocoa was very high. So pastime the solution the government was experiencing resistance throughout the land. But the greatest problem was the deprivation. At the same time other disorders had broken out in the business district of Accra. Crowds, dissatisfied with the new prices resulting from the boycott agreement, which had been made, and incited by agitators had began to public violence and loot and burn both European and Syrian owned stores. It even came that far that the people broke into the prison and freed prisoners to join in. This kind of garboil spread to other towns of the Gold Coast./It was the time for change.3. How was decolonization achieved?World War II ushered in a massive wave of decolonization struggles, and heaps of new states. The first half of the twentieth century was devastating for European colonial powers. The cumulative cost of World War I, the collapse of prevail and stability during the Age of Anxiety, and the devastating epic conflict of World War II, all contri exactlyed to the erosion of colonial control. Although regions seeking independence still had old age of fighting to endure after 1945, countries like Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, and the Netherlands were in a losing struggle to hold onto their colonies. Japan, Germ all and Italy lost their colonial empires immediately following their defeat. The U.S. in addition began to disengage direct colonial control over acquired territories, focusing its energies on construct Cold War alliances and deflect, In short, colonial empires collapsed all over the world, and out of this turmoil emerged dozens of new countries. World War II had a marked influence on the Gold Coast. The changes it brought were found, of course, not o nly in the Dependency but in all colonial areas. World judgment had become much concerned with the problem of open peoples and the United Nations pick out included a section in which the colonial powers agreed to enkindle the advancement and eventual self-government of these territories.The Country of Ghana had been developing economi forebodey and so the focus of government power gradually shifted into the turn over of the Ghanaians, kind of of staying in those of the Governor and his officials.This had been made possible due to gradual maturation of a strong spirit of nationalism and which would eventually result in independence.In effect the Gold Coast was ready for an increased note of self-government for the economical, social, and political development of the inter-war years had contributed to the experience of the Dependencys leaders. The territorial councils had broadened the standstill of chiefs hitherto confined to the particular interests of individual states, an d service on the legislative council had taught the traditional rulers and the educated classes to work together in general with the eyeshot to the national good. Once the movement had begun, events moved rapidly, at a dance step that not only surprised the colonial government but be perspectives among conservative African elements as well.In the late nineteenth century, an imperative political system which placed almost all power into the hands of the regulator through his appointment of council members had been thought unacceptable by a number of educated Africans. In the 1890s, a sort was formed figd, the Aborigines Rights tribute Society, by members of the educated coastal elite. They protested against a land bill that jeopardise traditional land tenure. In the end this protest helped build a foundation for political action that would ultimately lead to independence.From the African members of the legislative Council, one of them, Joseph E. Casely-Hayford, convened the N ational Congress of British West Africa, which then displace a delegation, so that the colonial office was urged to consider the principle of elective representation, in 1920. This group represented the first expression of political solidarity surrounded by nationalist and intellectuals of the area. Sadly the delegation had not been received, but it had by any means aroused immense support from the Africans elite back home.Granting their call for take representation as opposed to a system, in which the regulator appointed numbers of the council, the nationalists had insisted that they were loyal to the British crown and that they only would help restrain an extension to British political and social practices of Africans. They had important leaders, such as Africanus Horton, John Mensah Sarbah, and S.R.B. Attah-Ahoma. These few men gave the nationalist movement a distinctly elitist touch which was going to last.Provincial councils of paramount chiefs had been created by the sy stem of 1925. The councils in return elected 6 chiefs as unofficial members of the legislative council. The new composing was appearing to recognize African sentiments, but Guggisberg, governor and command-in-chief, was mostly concerned with how to keep the British interests protected.For example Africans only had a limited voice in the central government. By doing this, Guggisberg had spawned a gunslinger between the chiefs and their educated subjects. The subjects now believed that the chiefs had cheated the by letting the provisional councils spill into British hands, son that the chiefs would be able to receive support from the British. except the chiefs and the intellectuals had begun to reproach each other again, by the mid 1930s.Agitation for to a greater extent adequate representation continued. So two more unofficial African members had been added to the executive director council in 1943, this was gained due to the call for broader representation.The Burns constitution of 1946, named after the governor in charge at the time or simply known as the Gold Coast constitution, had been a very plain document. It was bold due to the fact that for the first time they had abandoned the purpose of an official legal age. 6 Ex-officio, 6 nominated members, and 18 elected members smooth the legislative council at this moment. In addition it also admitted representatives from Asante. Although there was a Labour Party Government in power, the British still viewed their colonies as sources of raw materials. These sources were bitterly needed, since the British thriftiness was crippled and they needed to fort it. Only after riots and looting did the British decide to make, the placing of real power into African hands, a priority. Ghana now had a decisive majority of elected members. They have reached a Level of maturity in government unheard of elsewhere in Africa. The government had been unable to bring bundle high prices, curtail profiteering, and ease o ther economic burdens of the country. The people were thwarted that their representatives in the newly formed legislative council did nothing to help them in this battle. The above statements give us a fairly good indication of the U.G.C.C.s objectives. It is important at this juncture to notice certain characteristics if the organization. The organizations was mainly made up of the lite, it also always put pressure on its aim of fulfilling self government. But it should be achieved by legitimate and constitutional means. These hints make the impression that the U.G.C.C. represented a kind of conservative nationalism in contrast to the by and by kind that will develop in the beloved future. But a new phase dawned upon the narrative of the organization, which they themselves hadnt realized, by the Mr.Kwame Nkrumah congruous its general secretary.Nkrumah was born in a small village of Nzima, in the western section of the colony, in September 1909. He studied at Achimota and later in the United States, where he obtained a bachelor of idol degree from Lincoln University and a Masters of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. During his years in America and a later stay in England he had gained considerable experience in leadership by participating in various political organizations and in associations designed to promote Negro advancement or self-government in Africa. The U.G.C.C. hoped to make the best out of his knowledge and experience.Although they were passing mature in what concerned politics, the constitution didnt grant them the freedom of having self-government. The executive power still remained in the hands of the governor, to whom the legislative government was responsible. The constitution faced trouble, although it had been greeted with enthusiasm. Many Gold Coast Veterans upon return, meanwhile WWII had ended, came back to a country in which shortages, inflation and unemployment ruled. So veterans started to form into a group of discontent people who were at the brink of creating disruptive action. Soon they were join by farmers and many others who expected economic improvements, since the war had ended, but didnt receive any. So the tensions were still increasing since the war had ended.These Riots then resulted in having all of the U.G.C.C. members, including Nkrumah, hold oned. Through this these men became known as the Big Six. The big sixer were the release again upon the arrival of the commission.4. To what Extent was Nkrumah successful in gaining second for Ghana and how?Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was a political leader and icon throughout Africa. We are able to thank him for liberating the Gold Coast and form it into the Ghana, which we know today. As he watched independence beginning to start in Africa, Nkrumah was anxious during that finished stage, simply due to his thought that imperialist rulers had ingeniously postponed their ultimate decease by granting sovereignty to the colonies, which they had previousl y done. Our hero had devised many political objectives to fight these imperialists and implemented them at the perfect time.Nkrumah was able to present his political beliefs already at an early stage, already as a graduate scholarly person in Great Britain. He had joined a student inn and brought his messages through the local newspapers, during his studies at LSE (London School of Economics). Later on Nkrumah then was able to publish a pamphlet which set its focus on showing the downside of the imperialist rule on the African continent. Included were also thoughts, by him, towards colonial freedom and a way in which it could be obtained. This leadership role of his, progressed further, while in the meantime he had been elected to the executive board of the West Africans Student marriage, at the college he was attending. The later on as Vice President he continued to point out outlandish rule. The passion, which turned out to be so strong, towards ending the unusual rule in Afr ica, that he even considered forming the group named, Circle Union of Socialist African Republics. This confidential group was looking to liberate Africa from the outside(prenominal) rule.Nkrumah had officially founded the CPP to aid the liberation of Ghana on the 12th of June 1949. some members were pulled out from the Committee of Youth Organization. This program looked to be very shiny as spread his ideas of self government to farmers, unions, womens unions, and many younger people. In Nkrumahs eyes the only way the citizens of Ghana would be able to take control of their government would be through political unity. Nkrumah argued that cultural and economic independence would follow close behind. The policies and the formation of Nkrumahs CPP brought a positive influence to the people in Ghana and seemed to be destructive to the British Governments materialize of maintaining control. Many factors help him gain support from the people some of them were, Propaganda in the form of signs, and he also found that coming up with party songs that give hope to the nation, was effective. All these things were used to make Ghanaian citizens aware and to gain support in the removal of the foreign power in charge. Nkrumahs campaigning began the 8th of January in 1952.5 key ways in which Nkrumah could fight the imperialistic forces where political education, nationalist aid, propaganda, dipl. Cooperation and by implementing a new policy in which the country of Ghana would not get intricate with any form of Imperialist. Every stage was positive from Nkrumahs point of view. He even tried to remove the temporary regional assemblies, which were the safeguards in the constitution which would help the opposition. The Preventive Detention Act was introduced 1957.This act was laws, which allowed the police officers to arrest and possibly detain people that his government thought to be running(a) against them. Another point was that Nkrumah had a feeling in his gut that th e only way to maintain an imperialist free country was to become economically independent as well. The best way was to become an industrialized country.5. terminusIn my opinion Ghana had reached their goal by gaining Independence from the British, but while doing this they had cut their own flesh. I will have to name the good things first before I come to the bad things. Ghana had decided to deport foreigners who were perceived as threats to Ghana in the fare Act of 1957, which I think is a reasonable choice to make since having foreigners in ones parliament might have different effects on people. In addition to that in 1960 Ghana had officially become a republic, namely on the 1st of July. But now to the bad side of things, the Ghanaians now had cut the connection of to the British and by doing this they might have bury the fact that they were still slightly dependent on them. With dependent I mean that their economy was dependent from the British. Once they had cut the pile the re was no way back and so they lost their biggest trade partner Britain. The consequences followed shortly and it is one that you still can feel today. The economy had plummeted since the loss. Nkrumah had made almost all the right decisions for his people, but he had forgotten about the economy. He was so concerned with the maltreatment of his country by the white man, which he, instead of considering the actions he was taking, wanted to get rid of them once and for all. Nkrumah didnt consider the advantages they had through the white imperialists, but saw them as a problem to the people of Ghana and other African countries. I myself, in Nkrumahs position of course, would have been upset about the ongoing suppression of the imperialists in the country and would have wanted to send them to the moon with a one way ticket. Things just dont work that way and it would have been a lot smarter to just consider the options and possibilities, of how to get rid of the imperialist, but maint ain a stable country at the same time.7. BooksBourret, F.M. Ghana-The Road To Independence Oxford University Press, 1960Buenor Hadjor, Kofi Nkrumah and Ghana Kegan Paul International Limited, 1988Gocking Roger S. History of Ghana Greenwood Press, 2005Nkrumah Kwame Consciencism7.1 Internet sourceshttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ghana (26/09/10)http//www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/independence.php (26/09/10)http//www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/slave-trade.php (26/09/10)http//www.honolulu.hawaii.edu/distance/hist/decol.htm (26/09/10)http//www.ukessays.com/essays/politics/dr-kwame-nkrumah.php (26/09/10)