Accra

Accra is the national capital of Ghana, situated along the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. Ga fishing villages occupied the shoreline in the late 16th century. European merchants built fortified trading posts during the 17th century, including the Danish Fort Christiansborg.

The British colonial administration transferred its headquarters from Cape Coast to Accra in 1877. Municipal authorities incorporated the settlement as a town council at the end of the century to manage local sanitation and street networks. In the early 20th century a government railway line opened, linking the coastal depot with inland cocoa farms to speed exports. Following national independence in 1957, Accra became the capital of the sovereign republic of Ghana. Kwame Nkrumah directed the construction of Black Star Square, completed in the early 1960s for national civic assemblies.

Accra serves as the administrative seat of the Greater Accra Region and the junction of the southern Ghanaian highway system. The Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Stock Exchange are both based in the city. Manufacturing plants in the North Industrial Area produce processed foods, textiles, plastic goods, and pharmaceuticals. Telecommunications operators such as MTN Ghana and Telecel Ghana base corporate headquarters in the city. Heavy ocean freight and bulk cargo arrive through the deepwater harbor at Tema, further east along the coast.

The National Museum of Ghana opened just before independence, and keeps historical regalia, musical instruments, and traditional textiles. University teaching began in the late 1940s with the college that became the University of Ghana, now based at Legon northeast of the center. British colonial authorities erected a stone lighthouse beside the old harbor. Athletic events take place at Accra Sports Stadium, where the local football club Hearts of Oak plays home league fixtures. City food vendors prepare kenkey, a traditional dish of fermented ground corn boiled in dried plantain leaves and served with pepper sauce.