KUMASI AND THE ASANTE TRIBE 10/9/11
Ghana is one of the success stories of Africa and is considered the best democracy on the continent. Industry is developing here and the government is working to help its people. Many of the people are considered middle income, which in World Bank terms means, they make more than $1000 per year. It has grown from a population of 6 million in 1957 to 34 million today. However the history of the country is what one must look at in order to uncover the magnitude of this development. Many tribal groups lived in the area that is modern day Ghana. In fact, there have been as many as 46 languages spoken in the area and 76 ethnic groupings. The Akan people make up half of the people of Ghana - two of the tribes in this group are the Asante who speak “twe” and the Fanti There also Ewe in the east of Ghana. Tribal battles through the centuries sometimes forced tribal groups to shift their habitat and rebalance in terms of power. Captives of these wars were traded as slaves. Through the centuries, different European countries stopped on their way around the continent to find food resources for their ships. Portuguese, Dutch and British established footholds here and battled each other and the local population. Gold was taken as a resource for the colonial powers and eventually as they expanded their holdings in the new world, slaves from the area were exported to the Americas. The colonials had built forts on the coastline to protect their forces and these became holding dungeons for the slaves before they were shipped out.
Thousands died in the cramped quarters of the “slave castles” and maybe only half ever made it on the ships. It is estimated that 10 million captured and put in the slave trade. Many of our student trips traveled to these sad locations to hear the story of this devastating industry. I traveled north leaving the coastal savanna area and heading into more hilly rainforest areas. In 1957 there were 8 million hectares of virgin forest and now there are only one million hectares. Resources need to be protected. Water is usually provided by bore holes. A large dam, small dam and a generating plant near Tema, struggle to provide power to industry, Ghana and several neighboring countries. Precious trees like the neem which helps with malaria and the mahogany which can help with anemia need to be guarded. Subsistence farming involves slash and burn techniques to produce: maize, rice, casava, manioc and other food staples.
Ghana is one of the success stories of Africa and is considered the best democracy on the continent. Industry is developing here and the government is working to help its people. Many of the people are considered middle income, which in World Bank terms means, they make more than $1000 per year. It has grown from a population of 6 million in 1957 to 34 million today. However the history of the country is what one must look at in order to uncover the magnitude of this development. Many tribal groups lived in the area that is modern day Ghana. In fact, there have been as many as 46 languages spoken in the area and 76 ethnic groupings. The Akan people make up half of the people of Ghana - two of the tribes in this group are the Asante who speak “twe” and the Fanti There also Ewe in the east of Ghana. Tribal battles through the centuries sometimes forced tribal groups to shift their habitat and rebalance in terms of power. Captives of these wars were traded as slaves. Through the centuries, different European countries stopped on their way around the continent to find food resources for their ships. Portuguese, Dutch and British established footholds here and battled each other and the local population. Gold was taken as a resource for the colonial powers and eventually as they expanded their holdings in the new world, slaves from the area were exported to the Americas. The colonials had built forts on the coastline to protect their forces and these became holding dungeons for the slaves before they were shipped out.
Thousands died in the cramped quarters of the “slave castles” and maybe only half ever made it on the ships. It is estimated that 10 million captured and put in the slave trade. Many of our student trips traveled to these sad locations to hear the story of this devastating industry. I traveled north leaving the coastal savanna area and heading into more hilly rainforest areas. In 1957 there were 8 million hectares of virgin forest and now there are only one million hectares. Resources need to be protected. Water is usually provided by bore holes. A large dam, small dam and a generating plant near Tema, struggle to provide power to industry, Ghana and several neighboring countries. Precious trees like the neem which helps with malaria and the mahogany which can help with anemia need to be guarded. Subsistence farming involves slash and burn techniques to produce: maize, rice, casava, manioc and other food staples.
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