Ghana

===European contact and colonialism===
{{See also|Slave Coast of West Africa|Dutch Slave Coast}}[[File:Elmina_slave_castle.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] established the [[Portuguese Gold Coast]] with the construction of [[Elmina Castle]] (''Castelo da Mina'') by [[Diogo de Azambuja]] in 1482, making it the oldest [[Portuguese colonial architecture|European building]] in [[sub-Saharan Africa]].]]
Akan trade with European states began after contact with the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] in the 15th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/ashanti/ashanti.asp?menu_id=6&sub_menu_id=67&gender=&s=a |title=History of the Ashanti People |publisher=Modern Ghana |access-date=9 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731222849/http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/ashanti/ashanti.asp?menu_id=6&sub_menu_id=67&gender=&s=a |archive-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> European contact was by the [[Portuguese people]], who came to the [[Gold Coast (region)|Gold Coast region]] in the 15th century to trade. The Portuguese then established the [[Portuguese Gold Coast]] (Costa do Ouro), focused on the availability of gold.<ref name="History"/> The Portuguese built a trading lodge at a coastal settlement called Anomansah (the perpetual drink) which they renamed [[Elmina|São Jorge da Mina]].<ref name="History">{{cite web |url=http://www.tonyxworld.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=38 |title=History of Ghana |publisher=TonyX |access-date=20 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501201014/http://www.tonyxworld.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=38 |archive-date=1 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1481, King [[John II of Portugal]] commissioned [[Diogo de Azambuja]] to build the [[Elmina Castle]], which was completed in 3 years.<ref name="History" /> By 1598, the [[Dutch people|Dutch]] had joined the Portuguese in the gold trade, establishing the [[Dutch Gold Coast]] (''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'' - 'Dutch properties at the Guinea coast') and building forts at [[Fort Komenda]] and Kormantsi.<ref name="Ghana book">{{cite book |last=Levy |first=Patricia |author2=Wong, Winnie |title=Ghana |url=https://archive.org/details/ghana0000levy |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/ghana0000levy/page/24 24] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7614-4847-1}}</ref> In 1617, the Dutch captured the Elmina Castle from the Portuguese and [[Axim]] in 1642 ([[Fort Saint Anthony|Fort St Anthony]]).<ref name="Ghana book" />

European traders had joined in gold trading by the 17th century, including the [[Swedes]], establishing the [[Swedish Gold Coast]] (''Svenska Guldkusten''), and [[Denmark–Norway]], establishing the [[Danish Gold Coast]] (''Danske Guldkyst'' or ''Dansk Guinea'').<ref name="History of Ghana">{{cite web |title=History of Ghana |url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215170543/http://ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/ |archive-date=15 December 2010 |access-date=10 January 2011 |publisher=ghanaweb.com}}</ref> European traders participated in the [[Atlantic slave trade]] in this area.<ref name="Emmer">{{cite book |last=Emmer |first=Pieter C. |edition=1st |series=Variorum Collected Studies (Book 614) |title=The Dutch in the Atlantic Economy, 1580–1880: Trade, Slavery, and Emancipation (Variorum Collected Studies) |page=17 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon-on-Thames |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-86078-697-9}}</ref> More than 30 forts and castles were built by the merchants. The Germans established the [[Brandenburger Gold Coast]] or Groß Friedrichsburg.<ref>{{cite web |date=15 September 2008 |title=Bush Praises Strong Leadership of Ghanaian President Kufuor |url=http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2008/09/20080915145840dmslahrellek0.5556452.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512220141/http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2008/09/20080915145840dmslahrellek0.5556452.html |archive-date=12 May 2014 |access-date=26 June 2010 |work=iipdigital.usembassy.gov}}</ref> In 1874, Great Britain established control over some parts of the country, assigning these areas the status of the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|British Gold Coast]].<ref name="colestablish">MacLean, Iain (2001), ''Rational Choice and British Politics: An Analysis of Rhetoric and Manipulation from Peel to Blair'', p. 76, {{ISBN|0-19-829529-4}}.</ref> Military engagements occurred between British colonial powers and Akan nation-states. The Kingdom of [[Ashanti Empire|Ashanti]] defeated the British some times in the 100-year-long [[Anglo-Ashanti wars]] and eventually lost with the [[War of the Golden Stool]] in 1900.<ref>{{cite book |author=Puri, Jyoti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tEL4ToU8JSQC&pg=PA76 |title=Encountering Nationalism |publisher=Wiley |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-470-77672-8 |pages=76– |access-date=27 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915131854/https://books.google.com/books?id=tEL4ToU8JSQC&pg=PA76 |archive-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Chronology of world history">Chronology of world history: a calendar of principal events from 3000 BC to AD 1973, Part 1973, Rowman & Littlefield, 1975, {{ISBN|0-87471-765-5}}.</ref><ref>[https://www.webcitation.org/5kwpwoVQ8?url=http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580620_3/Ashanti_Kingdom.html Ashanti Kingdom], Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009, Archived 31 October 2009.</ref>