The Republic of Ghana celebrates its Independence Day on March 6.
On this day in 1957, Ghana proclaimed its independence from the United Kingdom.
The first Europeans to set foot on the territory of modern-day Ghana were the Portuguese who came to Western Africa in the 15th century.
They established the Portuguese Gold Coast.
Eventually, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and German merchants joined them and established their own colonies.
All of them wanted to seize power over the region because of the petroleum, natural gas, and gold deposits.
After the War of the Golden Stool, the Gold Coast (now Ghana) became a British colony.
The British put much effort into developing the infrastructure.
After World War II, the decolonization process began in the colonies across the world.
The native population of the Gold Coast demanded more autonomy.
In 1951, the Gold Coast legislative election was held.
This was the first election to be held in Africa under universal suffrage.
It was won by Convention People's Party led by Kwame Nkrumah.
On March 6, 1957, Nkrumah renamed the Gold Coast to Ghana and proclaimed its autonomy.
The anniversary of this event is now celebrated as Ghana's national holiday, Independence Day.
