Category: Ghana

Ghana is a country in West Africa, bathed by the Gulf of Guinea. There are 27 million residents (2016). The capital is Accra. In 1471, the Portuguese visited the coast of Ghana and started to call it the Gold Coast, as this metal was the most important item of trade in the area. In 1482, they built the São Jorge da Mina Castle. Portuguese rule in Ghana continued into the 16th century. In the following centuries, other European nations came to control part of the coast, until, in the 19th century, the British dominated the entire region. Independence was achieved in 1957, and the country started to have its current name, derived from an ancient kingdom that existed in the Middle Ages. Ghana became a republic in 1960.