Who can visit Ghana and return home unmoved by the dramatic history, rich culture and bustling energy of this emerging West African nation? Named after the medieval Ghana Empire of West Africa (the title of the kings who ruled the kingdom), the original name of the empire was "Wagadugu."
Some ancestral links for present-day Ghanaians date back to the country formally called the Gold Coast. The Portuguese, who came to Ghana in the 15th Century, found so much gold between the rivers Ankobra and the Volta that they named the place Mina - meaning Mine. The Gold Coast was later colonized by England.
The British set out to make the Gold Coast a showcase African nation, allowing few Europeans to settle or work there. Cocoa exports became the backbone of the economy, followed by gold, timber, manganese, bauxite and diamonds. By WWI, the Gold Coast was the most prosperous colony in Africa, with the best schools and civil service, a cadre of enlightened lawyers and a thriving press. Still, anti-British sentiments ran deep. In 1957, after a period of internal self-government, the Gold Coast became the first African colony to achieve independence under the charismatic leadership of Kwame Nkrumah.
