Why Ghana’s capital city was moved from Cape Coast to Accra

A Ghanaian historian has elaborated on the reasons behind the relocation of Ghana’s capital from Cape Coast to Accra.

According to him, the relocation is a historical event deeply rooted in the colonial era, shaped by the colonialists’ strategic decisions and their perceptions of the socio-political landscape.

In a video shared by an X user, Scottbolshevik, the historian indicated that, during colonial rule, the British administrators found themselves grappling with a perceived challenge arising from educational advancements among the Fante people in the South.

The introduction of education to the Fante population resulted in a rapid sophistication of the community.

In a short span, the Fante people began producing professionals such as lawyers, doctors, and engineers, leading to increased assertiveness and resistance against the colonial powers, particularly in Cape Coast.

“The colonialists drew an imaginary boundary between the North and the South. And their reason was this, that when they gave education to the Fante people they became sophisticated and within a short time they started producing lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc, and they started fighting the Whites over lands and anything you can imagine in Cape Coast,” he sated.

The escalating conflicts between the Fante people and the colonial authorities over land and various issues compelled the colonialists to make a strategic decision – relocating the capital from Cape Coast to Accra.

By moving the administrative center to Accra, the colonial rulers aimed to mitigate the challenges posed by the educated Fante populace, avoiding confrontations and disputes that had become more frequent in Cape Coast.

The decision to draw an imaginary boundary between the North and the South was driven by a desire to prevent a recurrence of the situation witnessed in Cape Coast.

The colonialists believed that restricting education in the North would ensure a steady supply of labor for the mining and cocoa industries without the potential for educated individuals in the North to challenge their authority.

“That was what forced them to move the capital from Cape Coast to Accra and they felt they should not make that mistake anywhere else. So in the North they made sure there will be no education for the Northerners so that they will get Northern labor for the mining industry and the cocoa industry,” he added.

Frederick Douglass if you teach that black man how to read, there would be no keeping him. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master.

They still keep the black man slave to economic theories, religion, and political stooges. pic.twitter.com/RJ2fkIHfzh

— Scottbolshevik (@scottbolshevik) February 19, 2024