Imperialism In Ghana Essay

Imperialism in Ghana

The word ‘Ghana’ originally means ‘Warrior King’ in the Soninke language Mande. In the late 1400s, Ghana was very appealing to European countries because of its profitable natural resources. They were mainly known for their gold but they also had a lot of ivory, timber, and other resources. Europeans found a great deal of gold between the Ankobra and the Volta river, and were given the name the “Gold Coast.” For the British, taking over this area would majorly benefit them. They could gain trade routes of the Gold Coast and also join in with the slave trades that were going on during this time. The British decided to come, meanting that they were going to bring along the traditions and practices that they commonly used.

One of the earlier trade routes for Ghana that brought a lot of revenue, was the Gold coast. They were making most of their money through this trade route, and once the British discovered that they wanted to create their trade routes. Those routes could be larger and much easier to access. At the same time that the British are expanding their trade routes, the trade amongst the Gold Coast is declining. Ghana is experiencing problems with making money while having to adjust to the British influence that is beginning to take over. Ghana’s way of life that they had been using for many years, was all of a sudden exponentially changing. Britannica discusses how, “The new wealth, tools and arms, and techniques and ideas introduced through close contact with Europeans initiated political as well as economic changes” (“Contact with Europe”). The empire had shifted a great number of things much more into a British style. They had not seen many of these things before, and it ended up causing great levels of damage to their economy. When Ghana’s economy was experiencing trouble, that meant the British could come in and take

The Southern side of Ghana, where the British had spent most of their time and money in the 1800s is now doing extremely well. It is very mineral rich and is a well-resourced wetland. The Northern side, on the other hand, is experiencing extreme levels of poverty. The Gold Coast, which was what the British originally wanted to come to Ghana for, was on the Southern end. They had spent all of their time and money on this end of the country because it is where they would have made the superior amount of money. They spent so much time on that side of the country, it left the other side experiencing major problems to this day. After a current researcher from The University of South Carolina had looked at the entire country of Ghana through a satellite, she had conquered that, “An average location in the north is at least 51% less developed than one in the south” (Kambala). Since it is dramatically underdeveloped compared to the southern side, it does not have all the resources needed to be successful. They are not nearly able to make money and have stable