Accra

Accra (əkrä`, ăk`rə), city (1984 pop. 867,459), capital of Ghana, a port on the Gulf of Guinea. It is Ghana's largest city and its administrative, communications, and economic center. The chief manufactures are processed food, beverages, timber and plywood, textiles, clothing, chemicals, and printed materials. A transportation hub, Accra is linked by road and rail with Kumasi, in the interior, and with Tema, a major seaport. The site of present-day Accra was originally comprised of several small villages of a Ga kingdom. It developed into a sizable town around British and Dutch forts built in the 17th cent. In 1877, Accra replaced Cape Coast as the capital of the British Gold Coast colony. After the completion (1923) of a railroad to the mining and agricultural hinterland, Accra rapidly became the economic center of Ghana. Riots in the city (1948), against high retail prices and European control, led to the rise of Kwame Nkrumah as a popular leader and marked an important early step in Ghana's road to independence (1957). It is the site of the national museum, the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Univ. of Ghana, and Ghana's central library. Also of note is Christianborg Castle, built by the Danes in the 17th cent. On Accra's outskirts are Achimota School (1927), the country's leading secondary school, and, in Legon, the Univ. of Ghana (1948).

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Accra

Capital and largest city (pop., 2001 est.: 1,551,200) of Ghana, on the Gulf of Guinea. When the Portuguese first settled on the coast in 1482, the site was occupied by the Ga people. Three fortified trading posts were built 1650–80 by the Danes, the Dutch, and the British. The Danes and Dutch left the region in 1850 and 1872, respectively, and in 1877 Accra became the capital of the British Gold Coast colony. The city became Ghana's administrative, economic, and educational centre after the country gained its independence in 1957. Tema, 17 mi (27 km) east, has taken over Accra's former port functions.