A brief history of Accra
The Accra area was first settled in the 15th century by the Ga people who called the town Accra – ‘ants’ in Nkran – because of the number of large anthills that still dominate the region. From the beaches of the Atlantic, the Ga traded with the Portuguese, who soon became colonisers and built the first fort in Jamestown
The Accra area was first settled in the 15th century by the Ga people who called the town Accra – ‘ants’ in Nkran – because of the number of large anthills that still dominate the region. From the beaches of the Atlantic, the Ga traded with the Portuguese, who soon became colonisers and built the first fort in Jamestown.
Despite initial resistance – the fort was soon razed to the ground – a succession of other colonial intruders used Accra as one of the gateways to West Africa and its riches; namely gold and slaves. British, Dutch and Danish settlers constructed forts along the coast and soon began to settle beyond the walls. By the time Accra became the capital of the British Gold Coast in 1877, it was one of the largest cities in Africa and the centre of the region.
Two earthquakes in 1862 and 1939 destroyed much of the early colonial architecture but remnants can still be seen, particularly around the neighbourhoods of Jamestown and Ushertown. Osu Castle, Fort James and Ussher Fort, can all be seen today.
Since independence from Britain in 1957, when it became the second African country to emerge as a nation-state, Ghana has been held as a twinkling example of stable democracy in the continent. It was Ghana’s first Prime Minister, Kwame Nkrumah, who popularised the concept of ‘the Black Star of Africa’. Reinforced on the flag, in the name of the football team, and in the central square of Accra, the Black Star is a powerful symbol of the country’s independence.
Although the country’s 61 years of independence have not been without their troubles, Ghana remains one of the continent’s success stories. Accra in the early 21st century is a sprawling urban city splashed with a free-for-all range of architecture that horrifies and delights in equal measure.
There are museums and art galleries to browse, as well as important buildings from Ghana’s colonial past offering an insight into the country’s remarkable history, from a region of tribal societies, through colonisation and the horrors of the slave trade, to become the ‘Black Star of Africa’, a heroic example of one of the first sub-Saharan independent states.
Today, with a burgeoning tourism industry and, yes, all that oil off the coast of Takoradi, now seems the time for Brand Ghana to make the most of its stock around the world. And where Accra is concerned, it is the atmosphere of Accra will reside in most people’s memory long after the souvenirs have been lost or stored in the attic.
