Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African colony to gain independence from European rule in 1957.
The former British colony of the Gold Coast became the independent state of Ghana on 6 March 1957. Its independence was led by Kwame Nkrumah, who became the country’s first prime minister and later its first president. The new name honored the medieval Ghana Empire, even though that empire was located farther west than modern Ghana.
Ghana’s independence became a major landmark in the decolonization of Africa. Nkrumah promoted the idea that political freedom in Ghana should help inspire liberation movements across the continent.
Several African countries followed soon afterward, especially during 1960, often called the “Year of Africa.” Ghana’s transition was not the first African independence of any kind, because countries such as Egypt had earlier histories of independence, but it was the first for a sub-Saharan colony ruled by a European power.