title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: Because of its connection with Flushing Bay, several fish species native to marine habitats regularly swim into and inhabit Meadow and Willow Lakes. Fish species native to Meadow Lake include American eel, largemouth bass, northern snakehead (an invasive species), and white mullet. Willow Lake is named for the many species of willow plants which inhabit the area. Invasive phragmites, a genus of wild grasses, are also abundant. Attempts to kill the phragmites with pesticides have led to further fish kill. Numerous berry-producing trees and shrubs near Willow Lake attract several migratory bird species. The biodiversity of the lakes has been found to be much lower than other water bodies of comparable size.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: Near the northern end of the park, adjacent to Willets Point is the "Sport Center" zone, where the US Open tennis tournament is held. In 2006, the tennis center was named USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center after professional tennis player Billie Jean King. Its center court is Arthur Ashe Stadium, and its secondary stadium court is Louis Armstrong Stadium. Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets since 2009, sits at the far north end of the park. Shea Stadium, the Mets' previous home and prior host to the New York Jets football team, once stood adjacent to the area now hosting Citi Field.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: In addition to the existing stadiums, several other sports venues have been proposed for the park. In the 1950s, Flushing Meadows was one of several proposed sites for the relocation of the Brooklyn Dodgers, until the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1958. A racing circuit to host a Formula One grand prix event was proposed for New York City, with one of the potential circuits to be built around Meadow Lake, first for the 1975 season, and later for the 1983 season. The plans were opposed by the local community and environmental groups, and the race was postponed and ultimately cancelled by 1985. One of the alternate sites, the Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey, would host the Meadowlands Grand Prix Champ Car event in 1984. Also in the 1980s, the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL) proposed to relocate to the park, with a new stadium to be built in Willets Point adjacent to Shea Stadium. The plans dissolved when the USFL folded in 1985. Shortly afterwards, the New York Jets rejected a plan to take over the proposed stadium. In the 2010s, a Major League Soccer stadium was proposed in the park after MLS founded New York City FC, the New York area's second soccer team. After examining several sites in the New York area, New York City FC finally decided on building its proposed 25,000-seat stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park by 2016, deeming the park as the only viable location for a stadium. The stadium, which would have been located on the site of the Pool of Industry/Fountain of the Planets, was heavily opposed by the community, which forced the team to change its plans and play at Yankee Stadium for an unspecified amount of time.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: The park's Meadow Lake contains a boat house, one of two structures that remain from the 1939 World's Fair, the other being the Queens Museum. Rental boats are available at the boathouse for rowing and paddleboating, and Meadow Lake is also the site of rowing activities for non-profit Row New York, with teams practicing on the lake for much of the year. Meadow Lake also hosts the annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York, and teams from New York practice in Meadow Lake during the summer months. The American Small Craft Association (TASCA) also houses a fleet of over a dozen sloop-rigged sailboats, used for teaching, racing, and recreation by the club's members. Bicycling paths extend around Meadow Lake and connect to the Brooklyn–Queens Greenway. The Willow Lake Trail, a nature trail around Willow Lake, was partially reopened in 2013 and is part of the Willow Lake nature preserve. The 78th Avenue gate to the lake remains shuttered and inaccessible despite being the closest gate to the subway station. The chronic lack of maintenance of this portion of the trail has led to ordinary residents to resort to clearing the trail itself. The many recreational playing fields and playgrounds in the park are used for activities that reflect the wide ethnic mix of Queens; soccer and cricket are especially popular.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: Some World's Fair buildings continued to be in use after the 1964 Fair. The Flushing Meadows Carousel, opened as part of the 1964 Fair, operates in the northwestern part of the park. The New York Hall of Science, founded during the 1964 World's Fair, was one of the country's first science museums and still operates in its original location at the park's northern corner. The New York State Pavilion, constructed as the state's exhibit hall for the same World's Fair, is also a feature of the park. However, no new use for the building was found after the Fair, and the structure sits derelict and decaying, although it was repainted yellow in 2015. Next to the New York State Pavilion is the Queens Theatre in the Park, originally the 1964 Fair's "Theaterama" attraction, which moved into its current building in 1993. Terrace on the Park, a banquet and catering facility, was originally the 1964 World's Fair's official helipad. The Queens Museum, which became the headquarters of the United Nations General Assembly after the 1939 Fair, was adapted as the 1964 Fair's New York City Pavilion building. After the fair, it was subdivided into the Queens Center for Art and an ice-skating rink, the latter of which was removed when the museum was expanded in 2013.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: Other buildings remained for a while after the 1964 Fair's conclusion to see if a new use for them could be found, but were subsequently demolished. This included the Travel and Transportation Pavilion, destroyed in 1967 after a failed conversion to a fire station, and the Federal Pavilion, demolished in 1977 after great deterioration. One such parcel became the site of the Playground for All Children, one of the first playgrounds designed to include handicapped-accessible activities. The design competition for the playground was won by architect Hisham N. Ashkouri; the facility was completed in 1984, and it was refurbished and reopened in 1997.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: Immediately outside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a sculpture by Eric Fischl called "Soul in Flight". The sculpture, unveiled in August 2000, is a 14-foot bronze nude statue that serves as a permanent memorial to Arthur Ashe and includes one of his favorite quotes, "From what we get we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life."


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: In January 2022, sculptor Sherwin Banfield unveiled "Going Back to the Meadows", a statue of Queens-born LL Cool J. Located in David Dinkins Circle, the installation depicts him in a Kangol bucket hat and Cuban link chain, holding up a solar-powered boombox loaded with a cassette of his 1985 debut album, "Radio". The sculpture, which is planned to remain through November 2022, features speakers that are timed to play LL Cool J's music for five hours on several days of the week.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: This park also contains three Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) maintenance facilities: the Jamaica subway yard, the Corona subway yard, and the Casey Stengel Bus Depot. The Jamaica Yard is located at the very south end of the park site, beyond Willow Lake, while the Corona Yard and Casey Stengel Depot are located across from Citi Field.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: The New York City Subway and Long Island Rail Road both serve the park's northern end. The IRT Flushing Line subway station at Mets–Willets Point serves the , and the similarly named LIRR station serves the Port Washington Branch. These stations are located at the northern end of the park adjacent to the Corona Yard and bus depot, primarily serving Citi Field and the USTA. The 111th Street subway station is located just outside the park grounds, serving the Hall of Science. The buses all travel through the park, but only the Q48 stops within the park perimeter, serving Citi Field and the USTA. The Q58 and Q88 stop outside either side of the park and cross the park via the Horace Harding Expressway, while the Q64 crosses the park along Jewel Avenue/69th Road.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: The "Valley of Ashes" described in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" (1925) is a fictional location said to have been inspired by the site of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park when it was still a dump, as well as by nearby Willets Point.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: In the movie "Men in Black" (1997), the saucer-shaped restaurants atop the observation towers of the New York State Pavilion were portrayed as real alien UFOs used as a display to disguise its appearance to the public. Edgar the bug attempts to use one to escape the planet, but not before being shot down by the agents, when it then attempts to climb aboard the second ship but is stopped by Jay, who tricks it into coming back down. Scenes for the film "Men in Black 3" (2012) were also filmed at Flushing Meadows. That film features a scene that recreates Shea Stadium, demolished in 2009, during the 1969 World Series.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: The intro to the long-running 1990s sitcom "King of Queens" was partly shot in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. In 2001, during the first season of "The Amazing Race", the Unisphere at Flushing Meadows Park served as the Finish Line. In 2014, it served as a stop on the first leg of Season 25.


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Stark Expo—first featured in "Iron Man 2" (2010)—takes place at the Flushing Meadows–Corona Park and appears in multiple films in the series, including "" (2011) and briefly in "" (2017).


title: Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

text: In early 2018, musician Paul Simon announced that he would perform his final live concert at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park on September 22, 2018. Simon had grown up near the neighborhood and had visited the park frequently.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Burswood. It was completed in late 2017 and officially opened on 21 January 2018. The stadium's total capacity is 61,266, including standing room, making it the third-largest stadium in Australia (after the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Stadium Australia). The stadium can be extended up to 65,000 seats for rectangular sports.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Perth Stadium is primarily used for Australian rules football and cricket. Perth's two Australian Football League (AFL) teams – the Fremantle Football Club and the West Coast Eagles – relocated their home games from Subiaco Oval to Perth Stadium, while the Perth Scorchers play their Big Bash League home games at the venue, having previously played at the WACA Ground.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Perth Stadium was built by a consortium led by Multiplex. The announcement of the Burswood location in June 2011 followed a series of earlier proposals for the stadium, including locations in Subiaco and East Perth.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Perth Stadium was awarded the 2019 World Prix Versailles award in the Sports category. This is the World Architecture and Design Award.


title: Perth Stadium

text: In 2003, the Government of Western Australia commissioned a review to examine the future of major sporting venues in Western Australia. To conduct the review, a taskforce was appointed. It was chaired by John Langoulant, Chief Executive of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, and released its final report in May 2007. The report recommended the construction of a new 60,000-seat stadium at either Kitchener Park (which adjoins Subiaco Oval) or in East Perth, which would be suitable for Australian rules football, cricket and also rectangular-field sports such as soccer, rugby union and rugby league. The taskforce recommended against the further development of Subiaco Oval, which would be demolished. It also recommended against building the new stadium at the site of Burswood, stating that "The development costs at the Burswood site would be significantly higher due to local site conditions and the need for significant upgrades to transport infrastructure."


title: Perth Stadium

text: In July 2007, the Government of Western Australia announced its preference to build a new 60,000-seat stadium rather than re-develop Subiaco Oval, and in early 2008 it confirmed that Subiaco Oval would be demolished for the new Perth super-stadium to be built next door at Kitchener Park. This site was chosen ahead of the other suggested site at the old East Perth Power Station, which was set aside to house a new $500 million museum.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The new stadium at Subiaco was scheduled to be built between 2011 and 2016, with the majority of the stadium to be completed in 2014. Subiaco Oval was to be demolished between 2014 and 2016 to allow the end of construction on Perth Stadium. The staged construction would have allowed for Australian rules football to be played at the new venue by 2014, when the stadium was two-thirds completed with an initial capacity of 40,000 seats. The final stage would be completed in 2016 and expand the stadium's capacity to 60,000.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Stadium plans suggested its playing surface would have been oval in shape to accommodate Australian rules football and cricket games. The stadium was also expected to have retractable seating which would have reconfigured the venue to make it suitable for rectangular-field sports codes, such as soccer, rugby union and rugby league. These retractable seats were to number 22,000, and were to be situated along the touch lines and behind the posts in the rectangular configuration. With an overall planned capacity of 60,000, Perth Stadium would have been Western Australia's largest sports venue, and it was designed to be built such that the capacity could be increased to 70,000 if needed in the future.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The stadium was expected to be primarily used for Australian rules football with the ability to host cricket, rugby union, rugby league and soccer matches. It was planned that it would be the home ground for the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers, the two Western Australian teams in the Australian Football League. It was also planned to host rugby union Test matches, soccer and rock concerts. In reality AFL matches have been joined by the AFLW games and WAFL grand finals.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The cost for the Kitchener Park stadium was expected to reach $1.1 billion, including $800 million on construction of the stadium itself and $300 million on associated infrastructure, property acquisition, escalation, transport infrastructure and other costs. Construction of the new stadium would have involved moving 27 private residences and moving residents from another 66 state housing properties surrounding Subiaco Oval. These state housing tenants would have been relocated within the Subiaco area. The project was going to be funded by the Government of Western Australia.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Following the election of a new State Government under Colin Barnett, the new stadium's plans were scrapped in early February 2009. Barnett stated that a new stadium would not be considered for at least two years. As a result of Australia's failed bid for the 2022 World Cup, $250 million in potential Federal Government funding for a new stadium was also withdrawn in December 2010.


title: Perth Stadium

text: In June 2011, the State Government announced that the new stadium would be built in Burswood on the northern section of the Burswood Park golf course. The government stated that the Burswood site was preferred because it was unconstrained by surrounding developments and had the additional benefit of being government-owned. It would also allow for a special events six-platform Perth Stadium railway station to be built and could be connected to the central business district via a pedestrian bridge across the Swan River to East Perth. A car park was not built to service the stadium, with visitors expected to either park in the city and walk across the bridge or use public transport.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The Government stated that planning for the new stadium at Burswood was due to be completed by mid-2012, with construction commencing in 2014 and scheduled for completion in 2018. It announced Multiplex as the contract holders for the construction of the stadium and appointed the firm Populous as the project's architectural consultants.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Following the Barnett Government's announcement to move the site of the proposed stadium to Burswood, it stated that the stadium would cost around $700 million, with an extra $300 million allocated to public transport works. However, in December 2011 Premier Colin Barnett stated that it was too early to say what the final cost would be, explaining that "No one can put a price on it until it's designed, until it goes out to tender".


title: Perth Stadium

text: The previous Government's Major Stadia Taskforce had earlier put the total cost of the Burswood stadium option, including transport needs, at $1.147 billion. This higher cost, comparative to the sites at Subiaco or East Perth, was mainly "due to the need to provide substantial transport infrastructure as well as the additional costs associated with site conditions (i.e. reclaimed flood plain and site previously used as the Perth Municipal Rubbish Dump which included industrial as well as domestic landfill up until 1971)." In June 2011 the "West Australian" newspaper reported that due to an increase in construction costs since the release of the task force report in 2007, the total cost will be close to $1.5 billion, assuming work begins within two years.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The Australian Football League agreed to help pay for Perth's new stadium at Burswood, although it was not revealed how much money it would contribute. However, the nearby Crown Perth, which is expected to benefit commercially from the presence of the stadium, was not asked by the Barnett Government to help meet the construction costs.


title: Perth Stadium

text: In October 2017 it was reported that the final cost of the completed stadium was $1.6 billion. This equated to an average cost per Western Australian household of $1500, and per person of $600. In February 2018 a State Government inquiry into Western Australia's finances under the former Barnett government found that the full cost of the stadium including transport infrastructure will be $1.8 billion, around $200 million more than previous estimates.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The site is located on the Burswood Peninsula, previously known as the Swan Portland Cement Site. The Swan Portland Cement Company Ltd operated at the site from 1927 and James Hardie Industries operated at the adjacent site from the 1920s up until 1981. In its report and recommendations, "Remediation and Redevelopment of the Swan Portland Cement Site, Burswood", (January 1998) the Environmental Protection Authority, states "The current site is contaminated with asbestos waste from the James Hardie operations and cement kiln dust, kiln bricks and associated contaminated soil and hydrocarbons from the Swan Portland cement operations." In its report it estimates cement kiln dust on the site, the effects of which should be managed, with regard to its effects upon public health, groundwater and surface water. Three zones of asbestos contamination on the site were identified in the report; zone 1 having of broken and loose asbestos, zone 2 having of asbestos contamination up to below ground level and zone 3 being of asbestos contamination within of cement kiln dust.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The EPA report states that while undisturbed in the soil, the contamination poses no threat to public health but disturbing the site will result in airborne asbestos fibres and contamination from the soil. The EPA recommended a management plan for any disturbance of asbestos contamination to be conducted by the Town of Victoria Park.


title: Perth Stadium

text: In November 2012, Victoria Park residents contacted the Health Department to notify them asbestos and other material had been unearthed by work on the southern parking lot of the Casino complex. Alarmed residents feared asbestos exposure to locals, park users and Casino patrons. Although the Health Department advised that no risk had been identified, stock piles were sprayed with hydromulch, windbreaks were put on fencing, contaminant levels were being monitored and paths and loose soil were sealed. The Premier's office advised that the Department of Building Management and Works were undertaking the project. The Health Department assured residents there was "no risk to the general public".


title: Perth Stadium

text: The construction of the stadium affected Aboriginal communities. Although the State Solicitor's Office advises that native title has been extinguished over the site, it has heritage significance for the local indigenous people, the Whadjuk Noongar, being a burial site. Despite the Department of Indigenous Affairs advising the existence of the registered Aboriginal Heritage site affecting the Burswood Peninsula and East Perth foreshore, the site was deregistered by the Barnett Liberal State Government. Following the Supreme Court decision Robinson v Fielding [2015] WASC 108 to reinstate DAA 22874 (Marapikurrinya Yintha – Port Hedland Harbour) after it had been deregistered by the Barnett government, the Burswood Island Burial site was reassessed in October 2016 but remains "Not a Site" under the Aboriginal Heritage Act (AHA). Previously the site was recognised by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (AHA) as DAA site 15914: Burswood Island Burial. "Several culturally significant sites around WA have had their protection withdrawn in the past year on the basis they no longer fit the definition of a sacred site. Guidelines issued by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs stated that to be a recognised as sacred site, a place needs to have been devoted to religious use rather than simply mythological stories, songs or beliefs."


title: Perth Stadium

text: The first event to be held at the stadium was a Twenty20 cricket match between the Perth Scorchers and the England Lions on 11 December 2017, followed by a second match between the same teams two days later. It was officially opened to the public on 21 January 2018 with a free open day for the community.


title: Perth Stadium

text: During construction, then-Premier Colin Barnett had maintained that the government would not be selling the naming rights for the stadium as it would "not be appropriate for such a significant piece of State-owned infrastructure". Instead he suggested a name such as "Swan Stadium" or "River Stadium" – named after the adjacent Swan River – would be more appropriate. Ultimately, the name Perth Stadium was settled on as it was more representative of Western Australia. In the lead up to the state election in March 2017, Labor, then in opposition, announced that it would sell the naming rights for both Perth Stadium and Perth Arena as part of a plan to return the state budget to surplus if it were to win government.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Despite initially suggesting it might retain the Perth Stadium name or at least retain "Perth" in any naming rights arrangement, the new McGowan government announced on 8 November 2017 that the stadium would be officially known as Optus Stadium. Optus, the second-largest telecommunication company in Australia, and the state government agreed to a 10-year naming rights deal that is thought to be worth approximately $50 million in value.


title: Perth Stadium

text: For international cricket matches, the stadium is known as Perth Stadium, due to Cricket Australia’s contractual obligations.


title: Perth Stadium

text: As with the earlier plans for the new stadium at Kitchener Park, the stadium seats over 60,000 spectators, with the ability to seat up to 70,000 in rectangular mode. Initially in the early design stages, it was hoped the venue could have the potential to expand to 80,000 seats in the future by adding a third tier along one wing and another tier on the opposite side of the ground each holding 10,000 seats. Even at 61,266 Perth Stadium still has the third-biggest capacity of any stadium in the country.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The field is long and wide, longer than both the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, but shorter than Subiaco Oval which is . It is a multi-purpose facility able to hold not only sporting events such as Australian rules football and major rugby league, rugby union, cricket and soccer games, but major cultural events such as concerts.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Like WACA, when the Fremantle sea breeze blows across the stadium, it give welcoming relief from the heat. However, due to the stadium seating being a fully enclosed, open roofed dome, the stadium can get hotter than the WACA.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The stadium is serviced by over 50 food and beverage outlets, with patrons able to follow on-field action on TV screens. Fans will never be more than away from a bar or food outlet, with 75 percent of food supplied from locally owned and operated businesses. The Camfield, a large pub, microbrewery and function centre, is located outside the stadium and open seven days a week.


title: Perth Stadium

text: There are two screens on either end of the stadium and over 1,000 TV screens located within it. The stadium has 748 male, 781 female and 60 accessible toilets. Security features include an on-site police station, 650 CCTV cameras around the stadium and surrounding precinct, and freestanding metal detectors at the stadium.


title: Perth Stadium

text: During the Test Cricket match in December 2019, a temporary swimming pool was installed, similar to the one at The Gabba.


title: Perth Stadium

text: In February 2021 a rooftop tour branded "Halo" was opened at the stadium, allowing participants to walk around the stadium's roof. In August 2021 a new viewing platform began construction on top of the roof on the western side of the stadium. The wheelchair accessible platform, which resembles a pull tab from above, projects beyond both sides of the stadium roof and also features a section where visitors can lean over the playing field below while wearing a safety harness. The platform and the attraction - branded "Vertigo" - both opened in March 2022.


title: Perth Stadium

text: As the stadium is located on a peninsula with limited road access, the majority of visitors have to travel to and from the stadium primarily by public transport. The Public Transport Authority aims to have 83 percent of visitors use public transport. The six-platform Perth Stadium railway station and 22-stand Perth Stadium Bus Station located nearby are expected to serve an estimated 28,000 and 8,000 passengers respectively on event days.


title: Perth Stadium

text: For events, 8,600 people typically walk and cycle across the Swan River via the Windan Bridge, and an additional 14,300 walk across the Matagarup Bridge which connects the stadium precinct with public transport and car parks in East Perth. There are 600 bicycle parking spots located around the stadium precinct. The stadium has 1,400 car parking bays, but they are reserved for staff, premium ticket holders and disability parking. A taxi rank is next to the stadium.


title: Perth Stadium

text: A jetty was built near Matagarup Bridge and officially opened on 11 June 2018. The Burswood Jetty allows all public and commercial vessels to drop off or pick up patrons with a 15-minute time limit. The Little Ferry Co. operate a service which stops daily at the jetty, while Captain Cook Cruises operate cruise transfers to and from the jetty on event days.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Perth Stadium is used for Australian rules football matches in the Australian Football League (AFL) from March–September. The stadium was constructed to provide a new home ground for the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle, Perth's two professional AFL clubs. The state government negotiated an agreement with the AFL and the West Australian Football Commission (WAFC) in October 2017, allowing the Eagles and Dockers to play their home matches at the venue from the start of the 2018 season, in exchange for a $10.3 million a year guarantee for the WAFC until 2028. Fremantle's women's team hosted the first Australian rules football match at the venue against on 10 February 2018, and the attendance of 41,975 was the highest stand-alone figure in domestic women's sport. The first AFL premiership match to be played at the new stadium was contested between and on 25 March 2018.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Perth Stadium became the twelfth venue to host a VFL/AFL Grand Final when, due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria precluding travel from the state, it hosted the 2021 AFL Grand Final. The match saw defeat the by 74 points to win its first AFL premiership since 1964. A total of 61,118 people attended, which is the second highest crowd for the stadium and the biggest for an AFL game at the venue.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Cricket matches, such as One Day Internationals (ODI) and Twenty20s, are held at the stadium in the months of October–February. Since late 2017, the Australia national cricket team play most of their Perth-based Tests, One Day and Twenty20 matches at the venue. The stadium is also the home ground of Big Bash League side Perth Scorchers, who relocated from the WACA Ground in 2018. The first major event at the stadium was an ODI match between Australia and England on 28 January 2018, which England won by 12 runs.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Perth Stadium became the 19th venue in Australia to host a One Day International cricket game. The Western Australian Cricket Association later confirmed that the stadium would host its first ever Test match, which began between Australia and India on 14 December 2018.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Perth Stadium became the fourth venue in Australia to host a men's Day/night cricket Test match, when Australia took on New Zealand between 12 and 16 December 2019.


title: Perth Stadium

text: With Australia hosting the 2022 edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, Perth Stadium will be hosting five out of the 45 matches being played around the country, all taking place in October.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The National Rugby League played a double-header in round 1 of the 2018 NRL season in front of 38,842 fans.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The second match of the 2019 State of Origin series between New South Wales and Queensland was played here on 23 June 2019 and marked the first Origin game to be played in Western Australia. New South Wales defeated Queensland 38–6 in front of a crowd of 59,721 spectators.


title: Perth Stadium

text: On 21 April 2021, it was announced that the second match of the 2022 State of Origin series will be held at Optus Stadium after managing to secure the event from the Australian Rugby League Commission for an undisclosed sum.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The Australian game in the 2019 Bledisloe Cup series, which doubled as a Rugby Championship match, was played at the stadium between Australia and New Zealand on 10 August 2019. The match was the first Bledisloe Cup Test to be held in Western Australia (Subiaco Oval had previously hosted Mandela Challenge Plate Tests in the Tri-Nations against South Africa) and set the stadium's current highest single-day attendance rate until February 2020.


title: Perth Stadium

text: On 30 January 2020, the Western Australian state government announced that the Springboks will play the Wallabies at the stadium as part of the 2020 Rugby Championship on 29 August 2020. This was however cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, following the success of the match in 2019, it was announced that the Australian game of the Bledisloe Cup will return to the stadium in 2021.


title: Perth Stadium

text: In July 2022, the Wallabies hosted historic rival, England, in a three-test series; the first match was played at Optus Stadium.


title: Perth Stadium

text: The 2019 A-League Grand Final was played at the stadium on 19 May 2019, which was the first time Perth Glory has hosted the grand final in the League's history. The Grand Final broke the attendance record for an A-League finals series match. Manchester United played two pre-season games at the stadium, one against Perth Glory on 13 July 2019 and the other against historic rival Leeds United on 17 July 2019.


title: Perth Stadium

text: In July 2022, English Premier League clubs Manchester United, Aston Villa, Leeds United, and Crystal Palace will travel to Perth to compete in ICON - Perth's Festival of International Football. Crystal Palace plays Leeds United on 22 July, and Manchester United will play Aston Villa on 23 July.


title: Perth Stadium

text: Perth Stadium is also capable of hosting major concerts and other entertainment events. Both Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift performed at the venue in 2018. Nitro Circus performed at the stadium on 22 April 2018. Eminem performed at the Stadium on 27 February 2019. U2 performed at the Stadium on 27 November 2019 as part of their 2019 Joshua Tree tour. Queen + Adam Lambert performed at the Stadium on 23 February 2020 as part of their Rhapsody Tour. On 18 November 2022, Guns N' Roses will perform at the stadium as part of their 2022 tour. Ed Sheeran will perform at the stadium on 12 March 2023 as part of his +–=÷x Tour. On 12 February 2023, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Post Malone will perform at the stadium as part of their Global Stadium Tour.


title: Santhosh Prathap

text: Santhosh Prathap is an Indian actor working in the Tamil film industry, his feature film debut was in the lead role "Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam" (2014). In 2022, he participated in the popular cooking show Cooku with Comali (season 3) as a contestant in Vijay television. Now Dear Death Film


title: Santhosh Prathap

text: Santhosh made his acting debut with "Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam" (2014) directed by R. Parthiepan. Portraying a struggling director who wants to make a mark in cinema, the film released to positive reviews. After a brief sabbatical, he made his comeback with "Dhayam" (2017), a thriller which was set completely in a single room. He was first seen in a negative role in "Mr. Chandramouli". In 2020, he acted "Oh My Kadavule" opposite to Vani Bhojan.


title: Anvil (band)

text: Anvil is a Canadian heavy metal band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 1978. The band currently consists of founding members Steve "Lips" Kudlow (vocals, guitar), Robb Reiner (drums), and Chris Robertson (bass). As of 2022, the band has released nineteen studio albums, and has been cited as having influenced many notable heavy metal groups, including Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica.


title: Anvil (band)

text: Reviewers have described Anvil as a pioneering heavy metal band that was popular in the 1980s but then faded into obscurity in the 1990s, while refusing to stop playing, recording, and gigging. Anvil's antics on and off stage, the setbacks they suffered, and their determination to keep going have been compared to the fictional band Spinal Tap.


title: Anvil (band)

text: Anvil began in April 1973 in Toronto, when high school friends Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner began playing music together. They met through a friend, guitarist and neighbour Marty Hoffman, but "musical differences" caused his departure after their first show. In 1978, the first full line-up of the band included Kudlow (lead vocals, lead guitar), Reiner (drums), Dave "Squirrely" Allison (rhythm guitar), backing vocals), and Ian "Dix" Dickson (bass). At this point, the band was called Lips.


title: Anvil (band)

text: In 1981, the band released an independent album called "Hard 'N' Heavy". Shortly after, they were signed by Attic Records and changed their name to Anvil. Their independent album was released by Attic as their debut album for the company. Following its release, British rock musician Lemmy asked Kudlow to play guitar for Motörhead, to replace "Fast" Eddie Clarke, but Kudlow declined.


title: Anvil (band)

text: By 1983, Aerosmith manager David Krebs and assistant Paul O'Neill had signed a managing contract with Anvil and convinced Attic to release the band from its contract, so the band could sign with a major label. However, after initial interest, Krebs eventually stopped returning phone calls and did not get the band a major label recording contract; he released the band in mid-1986.


title: Anvil (band)

text: In 1987 the band was signed by American label Metal Blade Records by William Howell, a fan who would become a DJ with KNAC radio. The band released three records with Metal Blade, starting with "Strength of Steel", which was the group's most commercially successful record in the United States, peaking at No. 191 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Anvil (band)

text: In 1991, Anvil was signed by Mausoleum Records which, in 1992, released their sixth album "Worth the Weight". In 1996, they were signed by Hypnotic Records in Canada and Massacre Records in Germany. Hypnotic and Massacre released the albums, "Plugged in Permanent" (1996), "Absolutely No Alternative" (1997), "Speed of Sound" (1999), "Plenty of Power" (2001) and "Still Going Strong" (2002). These albums were not particularly well-received, and Kudlow stated that Anvil would not have continued had it not been for the German fans and the German contract, adding "We'll play gigs sometimes where there's no one there".


title: Anvil (band)

text: In 2006, the band recorded with Chris Tsangarides, who produced their acclaimed 1982 album "Metal on Metal". After failing to find a new label, the album, "This Is Thirteen", was self-released in 2007, and was available exclusively from the band's website. Guitarist Ivan Hurd left the band at this point to settle down with his new wife, Anvil's former tour manager Tiziana Arrigoni.


title: Anvil (band)

text: In 2008, the band was the subject of the documentary film "Anvil! The Story of Anvil", directed by the screenwriter and former Anvil roadie Sacha Gervasi. The film garnered critical acclaim from many major publications; "Rolling Stone" called it "the year's most praised rock doc." At the film's premiere, which took place at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, the band played "Cat Scratch Fever" with Slash and Anthrax's Scott Ian.


title: Anvil (band)

text: The high praise for the movie put Anvil back into the public consciousness, and brought the band opening slots with AC/DC and Saxon, plus appearances at major festivals, including the Download, Hellfest, Bumbershoot and SXSW.


title: Anvil (band)

text: Following the success of the Anvil documentary, VH1 Classic Records re-released "This Is Thirteen" on CD and vinyl on September 15, 2009, with a newly recorded song, "Thumb Hang", which had been written by the band during the 1980s. The double-vinyl LP contains re-recorded versions of Anvil classics "Metal on Metal" and "666".


title: Anvil (band)

text: In 2009, Bantam Press released the book "Anvil: The Story of Anvil", authored by Kudlow and Reiner with a foreword by Slash. On March 28, 2009, Kudlow and Reiner were the featured guests on VH1 Classic's That Metal Show. Anvil played the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma in 2009, and opened for AC/DC at their first few summer Black Ice World Tour shows (North American leg II). They also supported Saxon on a leg of UK shows in November.


title: Anvil (band)

text: Anvil appeared on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" on October 6, 2009, the first network television appearance of their career, to coincide with the release of "Anvil! The Story Of Anvil" on DVD in North America; on the show, the band performed "Metal on Metal".


title: Anvil (band)

text: From June to July 2010, Anvil went on a tour of Europe, selling out venues in the UK, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as festivals in Finland, Sweden, France, Italy and Germany.


title: Anvil (band)

text: The band released "Juggernaut of Justice", their 14th studio album, on May 10, 2011, care of The End Records.


title: Anvil (band)

text: Following the release of the album the band completed yet more tours in Europe and North America, often playing alongside artists such as Alice Cooper and Saxon. The band released a new greatest hits album "Monument of Metal: The Very Best of Anvil". Anvil also started re-releasing their old material, starting with "Strength of Steel", "Pound For Pound", and "Worth the Weight" later that same year.


title: Anvil (band)

text: In January 2012, bassist Glenn Gyorffy quit Anvil, citing creative differences. He was replaced by Sal Italiano, late of Iron Maiden tribute band Live After Death.


title: Anvil (band)

text: Anvil embarked on a 2012 Winter Tour of the US and, in May 2013, released "Hope in Hell", a studio recording produced by Bob Marlette. Kudlow said that in some songs he was inspired by his love of heavy rock'n'roll, which made him feel he "found his way home", to the time when they did their first record. In an interview with The Drummer's Journal, Lips outlined how the record was written "as if it was 1983 again." At this point, the band had signed with Steamhammer, which would release its next two albums. Anvil toured to promote the new album; they opened for Metallica in Singapore, played Wacken Open Air in Germany, swung through Australia and, in 2014, went on an extensive US tour.


title: Anvil (band)

text: In 2014, Raven Banner Entertainment released "Louder Than Hell: Wacken, The Movie", a collector's edition DVD of the Wacken concert, featuring Alice Cooper, Anthrax, Anvil, Annihilator, Deep Purple, Henry Rollins, Lamb of God, Motörhead, Rammstein and Trivium. Also in 2014, Anvil parted ways with Sal Italiano and replaced him with Chris Robertson, who was already acting as the band's rehearsal bassist and a member of their road crew.


title: Anvil (band)

text: The album "Anvil Is Anvil" was released on February 26, 2016; the band toured Europe and Japan in support of it. Anvil continued touring as its seventeenth album, "Pounding the Pavement," was released on January 19, 2018.


title: Anvil (band)

text: Anvil's 18th album, "Legal at Last", was released on February 14, 2020, by AFM Records. On May 20th 2022, Anvil's 19th album "Impact Is Imminent" was released"."


title: 2014 Texas gubernatorial election

text: The 2014 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry, who had served since the resignation of then-Governor George W. Bush on December 21, 2000, declined to run for an unprecedented fourth full term, making this the first open election for governor of the state since 1990.


title: 2014 Texas gubernatorial election

text: The election took place between nominees who were selected on March 4, 2014: Republican State Attorney General Greg Abbott and Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis. Also on the ballot were Libertarian Party candidate Kathie Glass and Green Party candidate Brandon Parmer. Abbott was projected to carry the election, and ultimately won handily with a 20.4 percentage point advantage. Exit polls showed Abbott winning Whites (72% to 25%), while Davis received majorities among African Americans (92% to 7%) and Hispanics (55% to 44%). Abbott won roughly half of Hispanic men, 54% of all women, and 62% of married women.


title: 2014 Texas gubernatorial election

text: In the primary election, Greg Abbott polled 787,766 more votes than Wendy Davis though both were considered certain winners of their party nominations. The Republican turnout overall exceeded the Democrat strength by 786,487, nearly the same gap as that between Abbott and Davis.


title: 2014 Texas gubernatorial election

text: Both parties saw their turnout decline from 2010. The GOP had 151,101 fewer primary voters in 2014 than in 2010; the Democrats declined by 133,354. Republicans had a total turnout of 9.8 percent in 2014; the Democrats, 3.7 percent.


title: 2014 Texas gubernatorial election

text: Political scientist Mark P. Jones of Rice University in Houston, declared that the primary returns "looks bad for Democrats. There also wasn't very much going on [for Democrats] in 2010, yet more people voted in 2010 than voted in 2014. ... Instead of moving toward turning Texas blue, they are moving back towards Texas as an even redder state."


title: 2014 Texas gubernatorial election

text: Davis' intraparty rival and political unknown Ray Madrigal (born c. 1942) of Corpus Christi finished with nearly 21 percent of the vote, but he still outpolled the nominee in two high-profile South Texas counties with large numbers of Hispanic voters, Webb (56-44 percent) and Hidalgo (53-47 percent). In the smaller Willacy and LaSalle counties, Madrigal finished ahead of Davis with nearly 61 and 58 percent, respectively.


title: 2014 Texas gubernatorial election

text: In the 1994 Democratic gubernatorial primary, a candidate similar to Madrigal, Gary Espinosa, polled 22.2 percent of the vote against incumbent Ann Richards, who was thereafter unseated by George W. Bush. Richards remains thus far the last Democrat to have served as governor of Texas. Despite the similarity with 1994, Davis told a candidate forum after the primary that she expected no difficulty in attracting large Hispanic support in South Texas in her campaign against Abbott.


title: 2014 Texas gubernatorial election

text: Davis advisor Matt Angle said that he believed the Republicans performed poorly in the primary and would be damaged in the general election by rhetoric against illegal immigration in the heated primary race for lieutenant governor, which continued to a runoff between the incumbent David Dewhurst and the frontrunner, State Senator Dan Patrick, both of Houston. Conversely, Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak said that the Democrats missed an opportunity to bring voters to the polls in a show of strength: "If they think they can skip the primary and have a stunning victory [in the general election], that's extremely naïve."


title: 2014 Texas gubernatorial election

text: The first of two confirmed gubernatorial debates between Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott took place at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance at 18:00 on Friday, September 19, co-hosted by KGBT-TV, The Monitor and KTLM-TV. KGBT-TV posted the complete video online and can be viewed here. The debate took place in Edinburg, Texas, and it gave both candidates an opportunity to appeal to the Hispanic community, a grouping seen by "Reuters" as an "increasingly important voting bloc in Texas." The second debate took place on September 30 and was also posted online.


title: History of Ghana

text: The Republic of Ghana is named after the medieval West African Ghana Empire. The empire became known in Europe and Arabia as the Ghana Empire after the title of its Emperor, the Ghana. The Empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the Almoravid General Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar. A reduced kingdom continued to exist after Almoravid rule end, and the kingdom was later incorporated into subsequent Sahelian empires, such as the Mali Empire several centuries later. Geographically, the ancient Ghana Empire was approximately 500 miles (800 km) north and west of the modern state of Ghana, and controlled territories in the area of the Sénégal River and east towards the Niger rivers, in modern Senegal, Mauritania and Mali.


title: History of Ghana

text: Central Sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural expansion marked the period before 500 AD. Farming began earliest on the southern tips of the Sahara, eventually giving rise to village settlements. Toward the end of the classical era, larger regional kingdoms had formed in West Africa, one of which was the Kingdom of Ghana, north of what is today the nation of Ghana. Before its fall at the beginning of the 10th century Akans migrated southward and founded several nation-states around their matriclans, including the first empire of Bono state founded in the 11th century and for which the Brong-Ahafo (Bono Ahafo) region is named. The Mole-Dagbon people, who founded the earliest centralised political kingdoms of Ghana, migrated from Lake Chad to present day Ghana. Later, Akan ethnic groups such as the Ashanti, Akwamu, Akyem, Fante state and others are thought to possibly have roots in the original Bono state settlement at Bono Manso. The Ashanti kingdom's government operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralized empire-kingdom with an advanced, highly specialized bureaucracy centred on the capital Kumasi.


title: History of Ghana

text: By the end of 16th century, most of the ethnic groups constituting the modern Ghanaian population had settled in their present locations. Archaeological remains found in the coastal zone indicate that the area has been inhabited since the Bronze Age (ca. 2000 BC), but these societies, based on fishing in the extensive lagoons and rivers, have left few traces. Archaeological work also suggests that central Ghana north of the forest zone was inhabited as early as 3,000 to 4,000 years ago.


title: History of Ghana

text: These migrations resulted in part from the formation and disintegration of a series of large states in the western Sudan (the region north of modern Ghana drained by the Niger River). Strictly speaking, "Ghana" was the title of the king, but the Arabs, who left records of the kingdom, applied the term to the King, the capital, and the state. The 9th-century Berber historian and geographer Al Yaqubi described ancient Ghana as one of the three most organized states in the region (the others being Gao and Kanem in the central Sudan).


title: History of Ghana

text: Its rulers were renowned for their wealth in Gold, the opulence of their courts, and their warrior/hunting skills. They were also masters of the trade in gold, which drew North African merchants to the western Sudan. The military achievements of these and later western Sudanic rulers, and their control over the region's gold mines, constituted the nexus of their historical relations with merchants and rulers in North Africa and the Mediterranean.


title: History of Ghana

text: Ghana succumbed to attacks by its neighbors in the 11th century, but its name and reputation endured. In 1957, when the leaders of the former British colony of the Gold Coast sought an appropriate name for their newly independent state—the first black African nation to gain its independence from colonial rule—they named their new country after ancient Ghana. The choice was more than merely symbolic, because modern Ghana, like its namesake, was equally famed for its wealth and trade in gold.


title: History of Ghana

text: Although none of the states of the western Sudan controlled territories in the area that is modern Ghana, several kingdoms that later developed such as Bonoman, were ruled by nobles believed to have immigrated from that region. The trans-Saharan trade that contributed to the expansion of kingdoms in the western Sudan also led to the development of contacts with regions in northern modern Ghana, and in the forest to the south.


title: History of Ghana

text: The growth of trade stimulated the development of early Akan states located on the trade route to the goldfields, in the forest zone of the south. The forest itself was thinly populated, but Akan-speaking peoples began to move into it toward the end of the 15th century, with the arrival of crops from South-east Asia and the New World that could be adapted to forest conditions. These new crops included sorghum, bananas, and cassava. By the beginning of the 16th century, European sources noted the existence of the gold-rich states of Akan and Twifu in the Ofin River Valley.


title: History of Ghana

text: The Mole-Dagbon Kingdoms are the earliest political kingdoms of Modern Ghana. Found by Naa Gbewaa, numerous kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Dagbon, Gmamprugu, Nanung and others emerged. These kingdoms are spread across the Upper East Region, Upper West Region, North East Region, Ghana, and Northern Region (Ghana) of Ghana. The Kingdom of Dagbon resisted slavery and colonisation fiercely, preferring trade in commodities than humans. As a result, the Kingdom has been significantly influenced by Islam due to trade with neighbouring Kingdoms under the rulership of Yaa Naa Zangina. European and colonial influence was more in Southern and Central Ghana.


title: History of Ghana

text: According to oral traditions and archaeological evidence, the Dagomba states were the earliest kingdoms to emerge in present-day Ghana as early as the 11th century, being well established by the close of the 16th century. Although the rulers of the Dagomba states were not usually Muslim, they brought with them, or welcomed, Muslims as scribes and medicine men. As a result of their presence, Islam influenced the north and Muslim influence spread by the activities of merchants and clerics.


title: History of Ghana

text: In the broad belt of rugged country between the northern boundaries of the Muslim-influenced state of Dagomba, and the southernmost outposts of the Mossi Kingdoms (of present-day northern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso), were peoples who were not incorporated into the Dagomba entity. Among these peoples were the Kassena agriculturalists. They lived in a so-called segmented society, bound together by kinship tie, and ruled by the head of their clan. Trade between Akan kingdoms and the Mossi kingdoms to the north flowed through their homeland, subjecting them to Islamic influence, and to the depredations of these more powerful control.


title: History of Ghana

text: Bono State (or Bonoman) was a trading state created by the Bono people, located in what is now southern Ghana. It was founded sometime around the eleventh century Bonoman was a medieval Akan kingdom in what is now Bono, Bono East and Ahafo region respectively named after the (Bono and Ahafo) and Eastern Ivory Coast.It is generally accepted as the origin of the subgroups of the Akan people who migrated out of the state at various times to create new Akan states in search of gold. The gold trade, which started to boom in Bonoman as early in the 12th century, was the genesis of Akan power and wealth in the region, beginning in the Middle Ages. Various aspects of Akan culture stem from the Bono state, including the umbrella used for the kings, the swords of the nation, the stools, goldsmithing, blacksmithing, Kente Cloth weaving, and goldweighing.


title: History of Ghana

text: Under Chief Oti Akenten (r. ca. 1630–60), a series of successful military operations against neighboring Akan states brought a larger surrounding territory into alliance with Ashanti. At the end of the 17th century, Osei Tutu (died 1712 or 1717) became Asantehene (king of Ashanti). Under Osei Tutu's rule, the confederacy of Ashanti states was transformed into an empire with its capital at Kumasi. Political and military consolidation ensued, resulting in firmly established centralized authority.


title: History of Ghana

text: Osei Tutu was strongly influenced by the high priest, Anokye, who, tradition asserts, caused a stool of gold to descend from the sky to seal the union of Ashanti states. Stools already functioned as traditional symbols of chieftainship, but the Golden Stool represented the united spirit of all the allied states and established a dual allegiance that superimposed the confederacy over the individual component states. The Golden Stool remains a respected national symbol of the traditional past and figures extensively in Ashanti ritual.


title: History of Ghana

text: Osei Tutu permitted newly conquered territories that joined the confederation to retain their own customs and chiefs, who were given seats on the Ashanti state council. Tutu's gesture made the process relatively easy and nondisruptive, because most of the earlier conquests had subjugated other Akan peoples. Within the Ashanti portions of the confederacy, each minor state continued to exercise internal self-rule, and its chief jealously guarded the state's prerogatives against encroachment by the central authority. A strong unity developed, however, as the various communities subordinated their individual interests to central authority in matters of national concern.


title: History of Ghana

text: By the mid-18th century, Ashanti was a highly organized state. The wars of expansion that brought the northern states of Dagomba, Mamprusi, and Gonja under Ashanti influence were won during the reign of Opoku Ware I (died 1750), successor to Osei Kofi Tutu I. By the 1820s, successive rulers had extended Ashanti boundaries southward. Although the northern expansions linked Ashanti with trade networks across the desert and in Hausaland to the east, movements into the south brought the Ashanti into contact, sometimes antagonistic, with the coastal Fante, as well as with the various European merchants whose fortresses dotted the Gold Coast.


title: History of Ghana

text: When the first European colonizers arrived in the late 15th century, many inhabitants of the Gold Coast area were striving to consolidate their newly acquired territories and to settle into a secure and permanent environment. Initially, the Gold Coast did not participate in the export slave trade, rather as Ivor Wilks, a leading colonial historian of Ghana, noted, the Akan purchased slaves from Portuguese traders operating from other parts of Africa, including the Congo and Benin in order to augment the labour needed for the state formation that was characteristic of this period.


title: History of Ghana

text: The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive. By 1471, they had reached the area that was to become known as the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast was so-named because it was an important source of gold. The Portuguese interest in trading for gold, ivory, and pepper so increased that in 1482 the Portuguese built their first permanent trading post on the western coast of present-day Ghana. This fortress, a trade castle called São Jorge da Mina (later called Elmina Castle), was constructed to protect Portuguese trade from European competitors, and after frequent rebuildings and modifications, still stands.


title: History of Ghana

text: The Portuguese position on the Gold Coast remained secure for over a century. During that time, Lisbon sought to monopolize all trade in the region in royal hands, through appointed officials at São Jorge, and used force to prevent English, French, and Flemish efforts to trade on the coast. By 1598, the Dutch began trading on the Gold Coast. The Dutch built forts at Komenda and Kormantsi by 1612. In 1637 they captured Elmina Castle from the Portuguese and Axim in 1642 (Fort St Anthony). Other European traders joined in by the mid-17th century, largely English, Danes, and Swedes. The coastline was dotted by more than 30 forts and castles built by Dutch, British, and Danish merchants primarily to protect their interests from other Europeans and pirates. The Gold Coast became the highest concentration of European military architecture outside of Europe. Sometimes they were also drawn into conflicts with local inhabitants as Europeans developed commercial alliances with local political authorities. These alliances, often complicated, involved both Europeans attempting to enlist or persuade their closest allies to attack rival European ports and their African allies, or conversely, various African powers seeking to recruit Europeans as mercenaries in their inter-state wars, or as diplomats to resolve conflicts.


title: History of Ghana

text: Forts were built, abandoned, attacked, captured, sold, and exchanged, and many sites were selected at one time or another for fortified positions by contending European nations.


title: History of Ghana

text: The Dutch West India Company operated throughout most of the 18th century. The "British African Company of Merchants", founded in 1750, was the successor to several earlier organizations of this type. These enterprises built and manned new installations as the companies pursued their trading activities and defended their respective jurisdictions with varying degrees of government backing. There were short-lived ventures by the Swedes and the Prussians. The Danes remained until 1850, when they withdrew from the Gold Coast. The British gained possession of all Dutch coastal forts by the last quarter of the 19th century, thus making them the dominant European power on the Gold Coast.


title: History of Ghana

text: In the late 17th century, social changes within the polities of the Gold Coast led to transformations in warfare, and to the shift from being a gold exporting and slave importing economy to being a major local slave exporting economy.


title: History of Ghana

text: Some scholars have challenged the premise that rulers on the Gold Coast engaged in wars of expansion for the sole purpose of acquiring slaves for the export market. For example, the Ashanti waged war mainly to pacify territories that were under Ashanti control, to exact tribute payments from subordinate kingdoms, and to secure access to trade routes—particularly those that connected the interior with the coast.


title: History of Ghana

text: The supply of slaves to the Gold Coast was entirely in African hands. Most rulers, such as the kings of various Akan states engaged in the slave trade, as well as individual local merchants. A good number of the Slaves were also brought from various countries in the region and sold to middle men.


title: History of Ghana

text: The demographic impact of the slave trade on West Africa was probably substantially greater than the number actually enslaved because a significant number of Africans perished during wars and bandit attacks or while in captivity awaiting transshipment. All nations with an interest in West Africa participated in the slave trade. Relations between the Europeans and the local populations were often strained, and distrust led to frequent clashes. Disease caused high losses among the Europeans engaged in the slave trade, but the profits realized from the trade continued to attract them.


title: History of Ghana

text: The growth of anti-slavery sentiment among Europeans made slow progress against vested African and European interests that were reaping profits from the traffic. Although individual clergymen condemned the slave trade as early as the 17th century, major Christian denominations did little to further early efforts at abolition. The Quakers, however, publicly declared themselves against slavery as early as 1727. Later in the century, the Danes stopped trading in slaves; Sweden and the Netherlands soon followed.


title: History of Ghana

text: In 1807, Britain used its naval power and its diplomatic muscle to outlaw trade in slaves by its citizens and to begin a campaign to stop the international trade in slaves. The British withdrawal helped to decrease external slave trade. The importation of slaves into the United States was outlawed in 1808. These efforts, however, were not successful until the 1860s because of the continued demand for plantation labour in the New World.


title: History of Ghana

text: Because it took decades to end the trade in slaves, some historians doubt that the humanitarian impulse inspired the abolitionist movement. According to historian Eric Williams, for example, Europe abolished the trans-Atlantic slave trade only because its profitability was undermined by the Industrial Revolution. Williams argued that mass unemployment caused by the new industrial machinery, the need for new raw materials, and European competition for markets for finished goods are the real factors that brought an end to the trade in human cargo and the beginning of competition for colonial territories in Africa. Other scholars, however, disagree with Williams, arguing that humanitarian concerns as well as social and economic factors were instrumental in ending the African slave trade.


title: History of Ghana

text: By the later part of the 19th century the Dutch and the British were the only traders left and after the Dutch withdrew in 1874, Britain made the Gold Coast a protectorate—a British Crown Colony. During the previous few centuries parts of the area were controlled by British, Portuguese, and Scandinavian powers, with the British ultimately prevailing. These nation-states maintained varying alliances with the colonial powers and each other, which resulted in the 1806 Ashanti-Fante War, as well as an ongoing struggle by the Empire of Ashanti against the British, the four Anglo-Ashanti Wars.


title: History of Ghana

text: By the early 19th century the British acquired most of the forts along the coast. About one tenth of the total slave trades that occurred happened on the Gold Coast. Two major factors laid the foundations of British rule and the eventual establishment of a colony on the Gold Coast: British reaction to the Ashanti wars and the resulting instability and disruption of trade, and Britain's increasing preoccupation with the suppression and elimination of the slave trade.


title: History of Ghana

text: During most of the 19th century, Ashanti, the most powerful state of the Akan interior, sought to expand its rule and to promote and protect its trade. The first Ashanti invasion of the coastal regions took place in 1807; the Ashanti moved south again in 1811 and in 1814. These invasions, though not decisive, disrupted trade in such products as gold, timber, and palm oil, and threatened the security of the European forts. Local British, Dutch, and Danish authorities were all forced to come to terms with Ashanti, and in 1817 the African Company of Merchants signed a treaty of friendship that recognized Ashanti claims to sovereignty over large areas of the coast and its peoples.


title: History of Ghana

text: The coastal people, primarily some of the Fante and the inhabitants of the new town of Accra came to rely on British protection against Ashanti incursions, but the ability of the merchant companies to provide this security was limited. The British Crown dissolved the company in 1821, giving authority over British forts on the Gold Coast to Governor Charles MacCarthy, governor of Sierra Leone. The British forts and Sierra Leone remained under common administration for the first half of the century. MacCarthy's mandate was to impose peace and to end the slave trade. He sought to do this by encouraging the coastal peoples to oppose Kumasi rule and by closing the great roads to the coast. Incidents and sporadic warfare continued, however. In 1823, the First Anglo-Ashanti War broke out and lasted until 1831. MacCarthy was killed, and most of his force was wiped out in a battle with Ashanti forces in 1824.


title: History of Ghana

text: When the English government allowed control of the Gold Coast settlements to revert to the British African Company of Merchants in the late 1820s, relations with the Ashanti were still problematic. From the Ashanti point of view, the British had failed to control the activities of their local coastal allies. Had this been done, Ashanti might not have found it necessary to attempt to impose peace on the coastal peoples. MacCarthy's encouragement of coastal opposition to Ashanti and the subsequent 1824 British military attack further indicated to the Ashanti authorities that the Europeans, especially the British, did not respect Ashanti.


title: History of Ghana

text: In 1830 a London committee of merchants chose Captain George Maclean to become president of a local council of merchants. Although his formal jurisdiction was limited, Maclean's achievements were substantial. For example, a peace treaty was arranged with the Ashanti in 1831. Maclean also supervised the coastal people by holding regular court in Cape Coast where he punished those found guilty of disturbing the peace. Between 1830 and 1843 while Maclean was in charge of affairs on the Gold Coast, no confrontations occurred with Ashanti, and the volume of trade reportedly increased threefold.


title: History of Ghana

text: Maclean's exercise of limited judicial power on the coast was so effective that a parliamentary committee recommended that the British government permanently administer its settlements and negotiate treaties with the coastal chiefs that would define Britain's relations with them. The government did so in 1843, the same year crown government was reinstated. Commander H. Worsley Hill was appointed first governor of the Gold Coast. Under Maclean's administration, several coastal tribes had submitted voluntarily to British protection. Hill proceeded to define the conditions and responsibilities of his jurisdiction over the protected areas. He negotiated a special treaty with a number of Fante and other local chiefs that became known as the Bond of 1844. This document obliged local leaders to submit serious crimes, such as murder and robbery, to British jurisdiction and laid the legal foundation for subsequent British colonization of the coastal area.


title: History of Ghana

text: Additional coastal states as well as other states farther inland eventually signed the Bond, and British influence was accepted, strengthened, and expanded. Under the terms of the 1844 arrangement, the British gave the impression that they would protect the coastal areas; thus, an informal protectorate came into being. As responsibilities for defending local allies and managing the affairs of the coastal protectorate increased, the administration of the Gold Coast was separated from that of Sierra Leone in 1850.


title: History of Ghana

text: At about the same time, growing acceptance of the advantages offered by the British presence led to the initiation of another important step. In April 1852, local chiefs and elders met at Cape Coast to consult with the governor on means of raising revenue. With the governor's approval, the council of chiefs constituted itself as a legislative assembly. In approving its resolutions, the governor indicated that the assembly of chiefs should become a permanent fixture of the protectorate's constitutional machinery, but the assembly was given no specific constitutional authority to pass laws or to levy taxes without the consent of the people.


title: History of Ghana

text: The Second Anglo-Ashanti War broke out in 1863 and lasted until 1864. In 1872, British influence over the Gold Coast increased further when Britain purchased Elmina Castle, the last of the Dutch forts along the coast. The Ashanti, who for years had considered the Dutch at Elmina as their allies, thereby lost their last trade outlet to the sea. To prevent this loss and to ensure that revenue received from that post continued, the Ashanti staged their last invasion of the coast in 1873. After early successes, they finally came up against well-trained British forces who compelled them to retreat beyond the Pra River. Later attempts to negotiate a settlement of the conflict with the British were rejected by the commander of their forces, Major General Sir Garnet Wolseley. To settle the Ashanti problem permanently, the British invaded Ashanti with a sizable military force. This invasion initiated the Third Anglo-Ashanti War. The attack, which was launched in January 1874 by 2,500 British soldiers and large numbers of African auxiliaries, resulted in the occupation and burning of Kumasi, the Ashanti capital.


title: History of Ghana

text: The subsequent peace treaty of 1875, required the Ashanti to renounce any claim to many southern territories. The Ashanti also had to keep the road to Kumasi open to trade. From this point on, Ashanti power steadily declined. The confederation slowly disintegrated as subject territories broke away and as protected regions defected to British rule. The warrior spirit of the nation was not entirely subdued, however, and enforcement of the treaty led to recurring difficulties and outbreaks of fighting. In 1896, the British dispatched another expedition that again occupied Kumasi and that forced Ashanti to become a protectorate of the British Crown. This became the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War which lasted from 1894 until 1896. The position of "Asantehene" was abolished and the incumbent, Prempeh I, was exiled. A British resident was installed at Kumasi.


title: History of Ghana

text: The core of the Ashanti federation accepted these terms grudgingly. In 1900 the Ashanti rebelled again (the War of the Golden Stool) but were defeated the next year. On 26 September 1901 the British annexed Ashanti to form part of Her Majesty's dominions constituting the Ashanti as a Crown Colony. The new colony was placed under the jurisdiction of the governor of the Gold Coast. The annexation was made with misgivings and recriminations on both sides. With Ashanti, and golden district subdued and annexed, British colonization of the region became a reality.


title: History of Ghana

text: The Protestant nations in Western Europe, including Britain, had a vigorous evangelical element in the 19th century that felt their nations had a duty to "civilize" what they saw as slaves, sinners, and savages. Along with business opportunities, and the quest for national glory, the evangelical mission to save souls for Christ was a powerful impulse to imperialism. Practically all of Western Africa consisted of slave societies, in which warfare to capture new slaves—and perhaps sell them to itinerant slave traders—was a well-established economic, social, and political situation. The missionaries first of all targeted the slave trade, but they insisted that both the slave trade in the practice of traditional slavery were morally abhorrent. They worked hard and organized to abolish the trade. The transoceanic slave ships were targeted by the Royal Navy, and the trade faded away. The abolition of slavery did not end the forced labor of children, however. The first missionaries to pre-colonial Ghana, were a multiracial mixture of European, African, and Caribbean pietists employed by Switzerland's Basel Mission. The policies were adopted by later missionary organizations.


title: History of Ghana

text: The Basel Mission had tight budgets and depended on child labor for many routine operations. The children were students in the mission schools who split their time between general education, religious studies, and unpaid labor. The Basel Mission made it a priority to alleviate the harsh conditions of child labor imposed by slavery, and the debt bondage of their parents.


title: History of Ghana

text: Military confrontations between Ashanti and the Fante contributed to the growth of British influence on the Gold Coast, as the Fante states—concerned about Ashanti activities on the coast—signed the Bond of 1844 at Fomena-Adansi, that allowed the British to usurp judicial authority from African courts. As a result of the exercise of ever-expanding judicial powers on the coast and also to ensure that the coastal peoples remained firmly under control, the British proclaimed the existence of the Gold Coast Colony on July 24, 1874, which extended from the coast inland to the edge of Ashanti territory. Though the coastal peoples were unenthusiastic about this development, there was no popular resistance, likely because the British made no claim to any rights to the land.


title: History of Ghana

text: In 1896, a British military force invaded Ashanti and overthrew the native "Asantehene", Prempeh I. The deposed Ashanti leader was replaced by a British resident at Kumasi. The British sphere of influence was, thus, extended to include Ashanti following their defeat in 1896. However, British Governor Hodgson went too far in his restrictions on the Ashanti when, in 1900, he demanded the "Golden Stool," the symbol of Ashanti rule and independence for the Ashanti. This led to the War of the Golden Stool against the British. The Ashanti were defeated again in 1901. Once the Asantehene and his council had been exiled, the British appointed a resident commissioner to Ashanti. Each Ashanti state was administered hihihih a separate entity and was ultimately responsible to the governor of the Gold Coast.


title: History of Ghana

text: In the meantime, the British became interested in the Northern Territories north of Ashanti, which they believed would forestall the advances of the French and the Germans. After 1896 protection was extended to northern areas whose trade with the coast had been controlled by Ashanti. In 1898 and 1899, European colonial powers amicably demarcated the boundaries between the Northern Territories and the surrounding French and German colonies. The Northern Territories of the Gold Coast Protectorate was established as British protectorate on 26 September 1901. Unlike the Ashanti Colony, the Northern Territories were not annexed. However, like the Ashanti Colony they were placed under the authority of a resident commissioner who was responsible to the Governor of the Gold Coast. The Governor ruled both Ashanti and the Northern Territories by proclamations until 1946.


title: History of Ghana

text: With the north under British control, the three territories of the Gold Coast—the Colony (the coastal regions), Ashanti, and the Northern Territories—became, for all practical purposes, a single political unit, or crown colony, known as the Gold Coast. The borders of present-day Ghana were realized in May 1956 when the people of the Volta region, known as British Mandated Togoland, a vote was made in a plebiscite on whether British Togoland should become part of modern Ghana; the Togoland Congress voted 42% against. 58% of votes opted for integration.


title: History of Ghana

text: Beginning in 1850, the coastal regions increasingly came under control of the governor of the British fortresses, who was assisted by the Executive Council and the Legislative Council. The Executive Council was a small advisory body of European officials that recommended laws and voted taxes, subject to the governor's approval. The Legislative Council included the members of the Executive Council and unofficial members initially chosen from British commercial interests. After 1900 three chiefs and three other Africans were added to the Legislative Council, though the inclusion of Africans from Ashanti and the Northern Territories did not take place until much later.


title: History of Ghana

text: The gradual emergence of centralized colonial government brought about unified control over local services, although the actual administration of these services was still delegated to local authorities. Specific duties and responsibilities came to be clearly delineated, and the role of traditional states in local administration was also clarified. The structure of local government had its roots in traditional patterns of government. Village councils of chiefs and elders were responsible for the immediate needs of individual localities, including traditional law and order and the general welfare. The councils ruled by consent rather than by right: though chosen by the ruling class, a chief continued to rule because he was accepted by his people.


title: History of Ghana

text: British authorities adopted a system of indirect rule for colonial administration, wherein traditional chiefs maintained power but took instructions from their European supervisors. Indirect rule was cost-effective (by reducing the number of European officials needed), minimized local opposition to European rule, and guaranteed law and order. Though theoretically decentralizing, indirect rule in practice caused chiefs to look to Accra (the capital) rather than to their people for decisions. Many chiefs, who were rewarded with honors, decorations, and knighthood by government commissioners, came to regard themselves as a ruling aristocracy. In its preservation of traditional forms of power, indirect rule failed to provide opportunities for the country's growing population of educated young men. Other groups were dissatisfied because there was insufficient cooperation between the councils and the central government and because some felt that the local authorities were too dominated by the British district commissioners.


title: History of Ghana

text: In 1925 provincial councils of chiefs were established in all three territories of the colony, partly to give the chiefs a colony-wide function. The 1927 Native Administration Ordinance clarified and regulated the powers and areas of jurisdiction of chiefs and councils. In 1935 the Native Authorities Ordinance combined the central colonial government and the local authorities into a single governing system. New native authorities, appointed by the governor, were given wide powers of local government under the supervision of the central government's provincial commissioners, who made sure that their policies would be those of the central government. The provincial councils and moves to strengthen them were not popular. Even by British standards, the chiefs were not given enough power to be effective instruments of indirect rule. Some Ghanaians believed that the reforms, by increasing the power of the chiefs at the expense of local initiative, permitted the colonial government to avoid movement toward any form of popular participation in the colony's government.


title: History of Ghana

text: The years of British administration of the Gold Coast during the 20th century were an era of significant progress in social, economic, and educational development. Communications and railroads were greatly improved. Poverty fell significantly and Ghanaian peasantry flourished. New crops were introduced. A leading crop that was the result of an introduced crop was coffee. However, most spectacular among these introduced crops was the cocoa tree which had been indigenous to the New World and had been introduced in Africa by the Spanish and Portuguese. Cocoa had been introduced to the Gold Coast in 1879 by Tetteh Quashie, a blacksmith from Gold Coast. Cocoa tree raising and farming became widely accepted in the eastern part of the Gold Coast.


title: History of Ghana

text: In 1891, the Gold Coast exported 80 lbs of cocoa worth no more than 4 pounds sterling. By the 1920s cocoa exports had passed 200,000 tons and had reached a value of 4.7 million pounds sterling. By 1928, cocoa exports had reached 11.7 million pounds sterling. From 1890 to 1911, cocoa exports went from zero to one of the largest in the world. Thus, cacao production became a major part of the economy of the Gold coast and later a major part of Ghana's economy.


title: History of Ghana

text: A research using anthropometric methods shows that living standards improved dramatically in the first decade of the twentieth century when cocoa cultivation took off, though that changes occurred under colonial rule does not mean that they occurred because of it. Arguably, the main agents of economic change in colonial Ghana were Africans themselves. Because of being willing to take economic risks of adopting cocoa cultivation, participation of African farmers out-competed European planters.


title: History of Ghana

text: The colony's earnings increased further from the export of timber and gold. Revenue from export of the colony's natural resources financed internal improvements in infrastructure and social services. The foundation of an educational system more advanced than any other else in West Africa also resulted from mineral export revenue. It was through British-style education that a new Ghanaian elite was created. From beginnings in missionary schools, the early part of the 20th century saw the opening of secondary schools and the country's first institute of higher learning.


title: History of Ghana

text: Many of the economic and social improvements in the Gold Coast in the early part of the 20th century have been attributed to the Canadian-born Gordon Guggisberg, governor from 1919 to 1927. Within the first six weeks of his governorship, he presented a ten-year development programme to the Legislative Council. He suggested first the improvement of transportation. Then, in order of priority, his prescribed improvements included water supply, drainage, hydroelectric projects, public buildings, town improvements, schools, hospitals, prisons, communication lines, and other services. Guggisberg also set a goal of filling half of the colony's technical positions with Africans as soon as they could be trained. His programme has been described as the most ambitious ever proposed in West Africa up to that time.


title: History of Ghana

text: The colony assisted Britain in both World War I and World War II. In the ensuing years, however, postwar inflation and instability severely hampered readjustment for returning veterans, who were in the forefront of growing discontent and unrest. Their war service and veterans' associations had broadened their horizons, making it difficult for them to return to the humble and circumscribed positions set aside for Africans by the colonial authorities.


title: History of Ghana

text: As Ghana developed economically, education of the citizenry progressed apace. In 1890 there were only 5 government and 49 "assisted" mission schools in the whole of the Gold Coast with a total enrollment of only 5,000. By 1920 there were 20 governmental schools, 188 "assisted" mission and 309 "unassisted" mission schools with a total enrollment of 43,000 pupils. By 1940, there were 91,000 children attending Gold Coast schools. By 1950, the 279,000 children attending some 3,000 schools in the Gold Coast. This meant that, in 1950, 43.6% of the school-age children in the Gold Coast colony were attending school.


title: History of Ghana

text: Thus by the end of the Second World War, the Gold Coast colony was the richest and most educated territories in West Africa. Within this educated environment, the focus of government power gradually shifted from the hands of the governor and his officials into those of Ghanaians, themselves. The changes resulted from the gradual development of a strong spirit of nationalism and were to result eventually in independence. The development of national consciousness accelerated quickly in the post-World War II era, when, in addition to ex-servicemen, a substantial group of urban African workers and traders emerged to lend mass support to the aspirations of a small educated minority.


title: History of Ghana

text: By the late 19th century, a growing number of educated Africans increasingly found unacceptable an arbitrary political system that placed almost all power in the hands of the governor through his appointment of council members. In the 1890s, some members of the educated coastal elite organized themselves into the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society to protest a land bill that threatened traditional land tenure. This protest helped lay the foundation for political action that would ultimately lead to independence. In 1920, one of the African members of the Legislative Council, Joseph E. Casely-Hayford, convened the National Congress of British West Africa. The National Congress demanded a wide range of reforms and innovations for British West Africa.


title: History of Ghana

text: The National Congress sent a delegation to London to urge the Colonial Office to consider the principle of elected representation. The group, which claimed to speak for all British West African colonies, represented the first expression of political solidarity between intellectuals and nationalists of the area. Though the delegation was not received in London (on the grounds that it represented only the interests of a small group of urbanized Africans), its actions aroused considerable support among the African elite at home.


title: History of Ghana

text: Notwithstanding their call for elected representation as opposed to a system whereby the governor appointed council members, these nationalists insisted that they were loyal to the British Crown and that they merely sought an extension of British political and social practices to Africans. Notable leaders included Africanus Horton, the writer John Mensah Sarbah, and S. R. B. Attah-Ahoma. Such men gave the nationalist movement a distinctly elitist flavour that was to last until the late 1940s.


title: History of Ghana

text: The constitution of April 8, 1925, promulgated by Guggisberg, created provincial councils of paramount chiefs for all but the northern provinces of the colony. These councils in turn elected six chiefs as unofficial members of the Legislative Council, which however had an inbuilt British majority and whose powers were in any case purely advisory. Although the new constitution appeared to recognize some African sentiments, Guggisberg was concerned primarily with protecting British interests. For example, he provided Africans with a limited voice in the central government; yet, by limiting nominations to chiefs, he drove a wedge between chiefs and their educated subjects. The intellectuals believed that the chiefs, in return for British support, had allowed the provincial councils to fall completely under control of the government. By the mid-1930s, however, a gradual rapprochement between chiefs and intellectuals had begun.


title: History of Ghana

text: Agitation for more adequate representation continued. Newspapers owned and managed by Africans played a major part in provoking this discontent—six were being published in the 1930s. As a result of the call for broader representation, two more unofficial African members were added to the Executive Council in 1943. Changes in the Legislative Council, however, had to await a different political climate in London, which came about only with the postwar election of a British Labour Party government.


title: History of Ghana

text: The new Gold Coast constitution of March 29, 1946 (also known as the Burns constitution after the governor of the time, Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns) was a bold document. For the first time, the concept of an official majority was abandoned. The Legislative Council was now composed of six ex-officio members, six nominated members, and eighteen elected members, however the Legislative Council continued to have purely advisory powers – all executive power remained with the governor. The 1946 constitution also admitted representatives from Ashanti into the council for the first time. Even with a Labour Party government in power, however, the British continued to view the colonies as a source of raw materials that were needed to strengthen their crippled economy. Change that would place real power in African hands was not a priority among British leaders until after rioting and looting in Accra and other towns and cities in early 1948 over issues of pensions for ex-servicemen, the dominant role of settler-colonists in the economy, the shortage of housing, and other economic and political grievances.


title: History of Ghana

text: With elected members in a decisive majority, Ghana had reached a level of political maturity unequalled anywhere in colonial Africa. The constitution did not, however, grant full self-government. Executive power remained in the hands of the governor, to whom the Legislative Council was responsible. Hence, the constitution, although greeted with enthusiasm as a significant milestone, soon encountered trouble. World War II had just ended, and many Gold Coast veterans who had served in British overseas expeditions returned to a country beset with shortages, inflation, unemployment, and black-market practices. There veterans, along with discontented urban elements, formed a nucleus of malcontents ripe for disruptive action. They were now joined by farmers, who resented drastic governmental measures required to cut out diseased cacao trees in order to control an epidemic, and by many others who were unhappy that the end of the war had not been followed by economic improvements.


title: History of Ghana

text: Although political organizations had existed in the British colony, the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), founded on 4 August 1947 by educated Ghanaians known as The Big Six, was the first nationalist movement with the aim of self-government "in the shortest possible time." It called for the replacement of chiefs on the Legislative Council with educated persons. They also demanded that, given their education, the colonial administration should respect them and accord them positions of responsibility. In particular, the UGCC leadership criticized the government for its failure to solve the problems of unemployment, inflation, and the disturbances that had come to characterize the society at the end of the war. Though they opposed the colonial administration, UGCC members did not seek drastic or revolutionary change. Public dissatisfaction with the UGCC expressed itself on February 28, 1948, as a demonstration of ex-servicemen organized by the ex-serviceman's union paraded through Accra. To disperse the demonstrators, police fired on them killing three ex-servicemen and wounding sixty. Five days of violent disorder followed in Accra in response to the shooting and rioters broke into and looted the shops owned by Europeans and Syrians. Rioting also broke out in Kumasi and other towns across the Gold Coast. The Big Six including Nkrumah were imprisoned by the British authorities from 12 March to 12 April 1948. The police shooting and the resultant riots indicated that the gentlemanly manner in which politics had been conducted by the UGCC was irrelevant in the new post-war world. This change in the dynamics of politics of the Gold Coast was not lost on Kwame Nkrumah who broke with the UGCC publicly during its Easter Convention in 1949, and created his Convention People's Party (CPP) on 12 June 1949.


title: History of Ghana

text: After his brief tenure with the UGCC, the US- and British-educated Nkrumah broke with the organization over his frustration at the UGCC's weak attempts to solve the problems of the Gold Coast colony by negotiating another new conciliatory colonial constitution with the British colonial authority. Unlike the UGCC's call for self-government "in the shortest possible time," Nkrumah and the CPP asked for "self-government now." The party leadership identified itself more with ordinary working people than with the UGCC and its intelligentsia, and the movement found support among workers, farmers, youths, and market women. The politicized population consisted largely of ex-servicemen, literate persons, journalists, and elementary school teachers, all of whom had developed a taste for populist conceptions of democracy. A growing number of uneducated but urbanized industrial workers also formed part of the support group. By June 1949, Nkrumah had a mass following.


title: History of Ghana

text: The constitution of 1 January 1951 resulted from the report of the Coussey Committee, created because of disturbances in Accra and other cities in 1948. In addition to giving the Executive Council a large majority of African ministers, it created an assembly, half the elected members of which were to come from the towns and rural districts and half from the traditional councils. Although it was an enormous step forward, the new constitution still fell far short of the CPP's call for full self-government. Executive power remained in British hands, and the legislature was tailored to permit control by traditionalist interests.


title: History of Ghana

text: With increasing popular backing, the CPP in early 1950 initiated a campaign of "Positive Action" intended to instigate widespread strikes and nonviolent resistance. When some violent disorders occurred on January 20, 1950, Nkrumah was arrested and imprisoned for sedition. This merely established him as a leader and hero, building popular support, and when the first elections were held for the Legislative Assembly under the new constitution from February 5–10, 1951, Nkrumah (still in jail) won a seat, and the CPP won a two-thirds majority of votes cast winning 34 of the 38 elected seats in the Assembly. Nkrumah was released from jail on 11 February 1951, and the following day accepted an invitation to form a government as "leader of government business," a position similar to that of prime minister. The start of Nkrumah's first term was marked by cooperation with the British governor. During the next few years, the government was gradually transformed into a full parliamentary system. The changes were opposed by the more traditionalist African elements, though opposition proved ineffective in the face of popular support for independence at an early date.


title: History of Ghana

text: On March 10, 1952, the new position of Prime minister was created, and Nkrumah was elected to the post by the Assembly. At the same time the Executive Council became the Cabinet. The new constitution of 5 May 1954 ended the election of assembly members by the tribal councils. The Legislative Assembly increased in size, and all members were chosen by direct election from equal, single-member constituencies. Only defence and foreign policy remained in the hands of the Governor; the elected assembly was given control of virtually all internal affairs of the Colony. The CPP won 71 of the 104 seats in the 15 June 1954 election.


title: History of Ghana

text: The CPP pursued a policy of political centralization, which encountered serious opposition. Shortly after the 15 June 1954 election, a new party, the Ashanti-based National Liberation Movement (NLM), was formed. The NLM advocated a federal form of government, with increased powers for the various regions. NLM leaders criticized the CPP for perceived dictatorial tendencies. The new party worked in cooperation with another regionalist group, the Northern People's Party. When these two regional parties walked out of discussions on a new constitution, the CPP feared that London might consider such disunity an indication that the colony was not yet ready for the next phase of self-government.