Timeline of European Imperialism in Africa and British Control in Gold Coast/Ghana  

15^th Century

Initial European Contact: European traders, led by the Portuguese, established contact with the peoples of the Atlantic coast of Africa, including the Gold Coast, for the purpose of trading in gold and other commodities.

16^th -18^th Centuries

Growth of Contact and the Slave Trade: European trading posts (including British, Dutch, Danish, and others) are established along across the Gold Coast and other coastal areas of West Africa, primarily for the trade in gold, ivory, and enslaved peoples.

1807

British Abolition of the Slave Trade: Great Britain abolished the transatlantic slave trade, although it continued with other European countries, the United States, and Brazil through the 1880s.

19^th Century

Asante Empire: The Asante (or Ashanti) Empire, a powerful West African state that took power in c. 1680, controlled much of the Gold Coast throughout the 19^th century. Conflicts and tensions arose between the British and the Asante as the British sought to expand their influence. Between 1822 and 1896, four wars were fought between the British and the Asante.

1874

Establishment of Gold Coast Colony: Following the Second Asante War of 1873-74, the British established the Gold Coast Colony along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, which limited Asante power to the inland territories.

1884-1885

Berlin Conference: European powers, including Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and others, attended a conference in Berlin, Germany. At this conference, European powers divided most of Africa into colonial territories under European control, without African input or consent.

1896

Fourth Asante War and Asante Protectorate: British forces occupied Kumasi, capital of the Asante Kingdom, and forced Asante to become a protectorate of the British crown.

1902

Annexation of Asante and Northern Territory: After an Asante rebellion, the British annexed Asante and the Northern Territory and put them under the jurisdiction of the colonial governor of the Gold Coast.

1919

Togoland Mandate: After the First World War, the German colony of Togoland was split between French and British control under the Mandates System of the League of Nations. British Togoland would merge with the other territories of the Gold Coast Colony upon Ghana’s independence in 1957.

1957

Ghana’s Independence: The Gold Coast gained independence from British rule on March 6, 1957, becoming the first sub-Saharan African nation that had been colonized by a European power to win its independence. Upon independence, the Gold Coast changed its name to Ghana.

1960

The “Year of Africa”: Seventeen additional countries on the African continent gained their independence from European empires (French, British, Italian, and Belgian), in the most significant single year in the decolonization of Africa.