The Gold Coast was a British Crown colony on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa from 1821 until its independence in 1957 as Ghana. The term Gold Coast is also often used to describe all of the four separate jurisdictions that were under the administration of the Governor of the Gold Coast. These were the Gold Coast itself, Ashanti, the Northern Territories protectorate and the British Togoland trust territory.
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state that has Charles III as its monarch and head of state. All the realms are equal with and independent of the others, though one person, resident in the United Kingdom, acts as monarch of each. The phrase Commonwealth realm is an informal description not used in any law.
British Togoland, officially the Mandate Territory of Togoland and later officially the Trust Territory of Togoland, was a territory in West Africa under the administration of the United Kingdom, which subsequently entered a union with Ghana, part of which became its Volta Region. The territory was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First World War. Initially, it was a League of Nations Class B mandate. In 1922, British Togoland was formally placed under British rule, and French Togoland, now Togo, was placed under French rule.
Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 in size. During the period known as the "Scramble for Africa", the colony was established in 1884 and was gradually extended inland.
From 1910 to 1961 the Union of South Africa was a self-governing country that shared a monarch with the United Kingdom and other Dominions of the British Empire. The monarch's constitutional roles were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of the Union of South Africa.
The territorial evolution of the British Empire is considered to have begun with the foundation of the English colonial empire in the late 16th century. Since then, many territories around the world have been under the control of the United Kingdom or its predecessor states. When the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707 by the union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England, the latter country's colonial possessions passed to the new state. Similarly, when Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801 to form the United Kingdom, control over its colonial possessions passed to the latter state. Collectively, these territories are referred to as the British Empire. When much of Ireland gained independence in 1922 as the Irish Free State, the other territories of the empire remained under the control of the United Kingdom.
British West Africa was the collective name for British settlements in West Africa during the colonial period, either in the general geographical sense or the formal colonial administrative entity. British West Africa as a colonial entity was originally officially known as Colony of Sierra Leone and its Dependencies, then British West African Territories and finally British West African Settlements.
A list of former and present British colonies, dependencies and dates when they severed legal ties with Britain:
Ashanti Protectorate is alleged to have been established in 1902 from the Ashanti Confederacy, now Ashanti Region. There are multiple references to an "Ashanti Protectorate" in writings. However, so far no legal instrument has been identified that establishes this. This is because, in fact, the territory in question was established as a Crown Colony on 1 January 1902. A Crown Colony is not a Protectorate. They are two different things. After several prior wars with British troops, Ashanti was once again occupied by British troops in January 1896. In 1900 the Ashanti Uprising took place. The British suppressed the violence and captured the city of Kumasi. Ashanti's traditional king, the Asanthene, and his counselors were deported. The outcome was the annexation of Ashanti by the British so that it became part of His Majesty's dominions and a British Crown Colony with its administration undertaken by a Chief Commissioner under the authority of the Governor of the Gold Coast. Ashanti was classed as a colony by conquest. The legislation by which this annexation was effected and the administration constituted was the Ashanti Order in Council 1901 made on 26 September 1901.
The Gold Coast was the name for a region on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa that was rich in gold, petroleum, sweet crude oil and natural gas. This former region is now known as the country Ghana.
A dominion was any of several largely self-governing countries of the British Empire. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of colonial self-governance increased unevenly over the late 19th century through the 1930s, and some vestiges of empire lasted in some areas into the late 20th century. With the evolution of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations, finalised in 1949, the dominions became independent states, either as Commonwealth republics or Commonwealth realms.
Ghana was the first African country colonised by European powers to achieve independence under majority rule. During the first three years after independence, from 1957 to 1960, Ghana was a Commonwealth realm with a Westminster system of government and Elizabeth II, the British monarch, served as Queen of Ghana. Although the country was sometimes referred to as the Dominion of Ghana during this period, it never held the formal status of Dominion within the British Empire.
Ghanaian nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Ghana, as amended; the Ghana Citizenship Act, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Ghana. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. Ghanaian nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus sanguinis, born to parents with Ghanaian nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.
Elizabeth II was Queen of Ghana from 1957 to 1960, when Ghana was an independent sovereign state and a constitutional monarchy. She was also queen of the United Kingdom and other sovereign states. Her constitutional roles in Ghana were delegated to the governor-general of Ghana.
Joseph Henry Allassani was a Ghanaian teacher and politician. He was a member of parliament and a minister of state during the first republic. He was the first health minister in the first republic of Ghana.
The Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, commonly known as the Northern Territories, was a British protectorate in Africa from 1901 until 1957. The protectorate was administered by the Governor of the Gold Coast under a Chief Commissioner residing at Gambaga. A number of treaties were concluded in the name of Her Britannic Majesty with the Chiefs of Bona, Dagarti, Wa and Mamprusi at Gambaga. These treaties were made in 1896. Under the treaties, the Chiefs agreed not to conclude treaties with any other Power or to cede territory or to accept protectorates without the consent of Her Britannic Majesty. The Northern Territories were constituted as a district in 1897. The Northern Territories were formally established as a protectorate in 1901 under the Northern Territories Order in Council 1901 made on 26 September 1901. The Northern Territories remained a protectorate until the Ghana Independence Act 1957 annexed the Northern Territories by providing that the territories included immediately before 6 March 1957 in the Gold Coast should, as from that day, form part of Her Majesty's dominions by the name of Ghana.
The Solomon Islands Act 1978 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act annexed the British Solomon Islands protectorate by providing that as from 7 July 1978 the territories comprised within the protectorate would form part of Her Majesty’s dominions under the name of Solomon Islands. The Act also provided that from the same date, Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom would have no responsibility for the government of Solomon Islands.
Ghana–United Kingdom relations are the diplomatic, historical and trade relations between Ghana and the United Kingdom. Modern state Ghana-UK relations began when Ghana became independent from the UK in 1957.
A British possession is a country or territory other than the United Kingdom which has the British monarch as its head of state.
