Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador

Instituto Pedagógico de Caracas

Departamento de Idiomas Modernos
Introducción a la literatura y la cultura de los países de habla inglesa

THE PEARL OF AFRICA AND THE GOLD COAST

Professor: Adriana González Students: Mijares José

Tábara Miguel

Caracas, February 2020

 INDEX

Content Page

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….... 3

UGANDA THE PEARL OF AFRICA; DEMOGRAPHICAL FACTS AND FIGURES... 4

UGANDAN GOVERNMENT ……………………………………… …………………... 5

LANGUAGES IN UGANDA .…………………………………………………………….. 6

UGANDA - SOCIO-POLITICAL ORGANIZATION; UGANDAN HISTORY.......…….. 7

UGANDA – CULTURE AND LITERATURE …………………………………………... 9

GHANA THE GOLD COAST; GHANA - DEMOGRAPHICAL FACTS AND FIGURES;

GHANA GOVERNMENT …….……………………………..………………..………... 13

LANGUAGE AND RELIGION ……………………………………………………….… 14

GHANA HISTORY ……….……………………………………………………………... 16

CULTURE AND LITERATURE ……………………………………………………….. 17

CONCLUSIONS …………………………………………………………………………. 19

APPENDIX ………………………………………………………………………………. 22

SOURCES ……………………………………………………………………………...… 23

ANNEXES …...…………………………………………………………………………... 28

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 INTRODUCTION

Modern colonialism is simply described as the “conquest and control of other people’s
land and goods” (Loomba, 2015, p. 20). Colonialism, which involved mostly European
empires did not only involve colonizers settling in the colonized countries in order to gain
access to economic resources, but also made the indigenous people a colony of mentally
conquered people that reconstructed the settlers’ identity as superior (The World Bank,
2009). Colonialists also transported the colonized people into their contexts and extended
their political structures, education, culture, and their way of living to the colonized people.
Colonialism comes with cultural changes and movement of professionals to the geographic
colony in order to control the colony (Edu-Buandoh, 2016, p. 2).

So that, colonialism brought with itself the establishment and later development of the
colonizers’ language and their culture in many regions around the world as in America, Asia
and Africa. That is, in regions which were colonized by Spanish, their future generations
eventually speak Spanish, and the same where Portuguese were the colonizers. Nonetheless,
Spanish and Portuguese were not the only powerful colonialist empire. A huge part of Asia
and Africa were colonized by the British Empire, being Africa an important achievement to
British monarchy because of its mineral resources; even Churchill refers to a part of this
African region as the pearl of Africa in his famous book “My African Journey.” So, to recap,
in the African region there were two essential areas, what are currently Ghana and Uganda
that were abrupt taken by colonizers in their early history.

Nevertheless, this paper does not only show the path in which Ghana and Uganda became
in what they are now, English speaker countries. It also focuses on the effects that the British
colonialism left on them and their development as countries in a postcolonial period taking
into account features such as their demography, government structure, religion, history,
language, culture and literature.

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 Uganda – The Pearl of Africa

Uganda or “The pearl of Africa,” as Winston Churchill referred to it in his book entitled
“My African Journey”, is a landlocked African country bordered by Kenya in the east, Sudan
in the north, Democratic Republic of the Congo in the west, Rwanda in the southwest and
Tanzania in the south. (Government of Uganda’s official website, 2019.)

According to the Government of Uganda’s official website, Uganda’s total land area is
241,559 sq. km. About 37,000 sq. km of this area is occupied by open water while the rest is
land. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which
it shares with Kenya and Tanzania. Additionally, Uganda is located on the East African
plateau, averaging about 1,100 meters (3,609 ft.) above sea level. The plateau generally
slopes downwards towards Sudan explaining the northerly tendency of most river flows in
the country. Although generally equatorial, the climate is not uniform since the altitude
modifies the climate.

Uganda’s elevation, soil types and predominantly warm and wet climate impart a huge
agricultural potential to the country. They also explain the country’s large variety of forests,
grasslands and wildlife reserves. Uganda has a total population of about 32 million people.
(Government of Uganda’s official website, 2019)

Hence, after reading all these Uganda’s facts such as the huge forest and the extended
wildlife reserves; plus its generous climate, it is comprehensible the reason why the name
“The Pearl of Africa” became popular.

Uganda – Demographical Facts and Figures

The Republic of Uganda is divided into four regions: Central, Western, Eastern, and
Northern. These regions are sub-divided in districts. According to the most recent studies
published by the official website of The Republic of Uganda, the Central region contained
27% of the country's population, the Western region contained 26%, the Eastern region 25%,
and the Northern region had 22%. This is, the population density by region is of 226 people

4
per square kilometer in the Eastern region, 176 per km2 in the Central region, 126 per km2
in the Western region, and 65 per km2 in the Northern region. (See picture a, appendix
section)

In regard the studies published by the Ugandan Government in 2002, approximately 3

million people, or 12% of the country's population, lived in urban areas. The Central region
contained 54% of the urban population, mostly in the city of Kampala (Capital city of
Uganda), the Northern region 17%, the Western region 14%, and the Eastern region 13%.
(See picture b, appendix section)

Ugandan Government

Based on the facts established in the Ugandan constitution which was adopted on 8
October 1995, Uganda is a Sovereign State and a Republic. It is a sitting member of the
United Nations, African Union, The East African Community and the Commonwealth. The
Government of the Republic of Uganda is a Democracy made up of three arms: The
executive, The Legislature and The Judiciary.

The Executive

Concern to the Uganda’s constitution, it establishes in its chapter seven that the power of
the Executive Branch is vested in the President of Uganda, who also performances as head
of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. Another president’s responsibility is
the implementation and enforcement of the laws written by Parliament and, also appoints the
Cabinet. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the
Presidency should the need arise; the current President of Uganda is HE Yoweri Kaguta
Museveni.

The Legislature

The constitution of The Republic of Uganda establishes in its chapter six that The
Parliament is the organ which “makes laws on any matter for the peace, order, development

5
and good governance of Uganda", and "protects the Constitution and promote democratic
governance in Uganda".

The Judiciary

According to The Republic of Uganda’s constitution, Judiciary is one of the three arms of
the Government that charged with the responsibility to oversee justice in the country.
Furthermore, The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda expresses in its Article 126 (1):
"Judicial Power is derived from the people and shall be exercised by the Courts established
under this Constitution in the name of the people and in conformity with the law and with
the values, norms and aspirations of the people."

Languages in Uganda

As stated in The Republic of Uganda’s constitution, English is considered as the only

official language of this African country. On the word of Nassenstein (2016) English is
spoken by 30 percent of population, and it is considered the language for the Administration.

However, there are two more languages which are spoken by a large amount of Ugandans,
the Swahili and Luganda; these two languages are the lingua franca mostly used in the eastern
Africa, being Luganda considered to become the second official language of Uganda.
(Asiimire, 2017, p. 4.)

Moreover, the Ugandan constitution expresses in its second clause, article six, “any
language may be used into the educational context.” So, although English is the official
language in this country, a large quantity of Ugandans use languages such as Luganda or
Swahili to interact each other, and also for educational purposes. In addition to this, it is
important to highlight these languages have already been official languages, but because of
rivalries among some Ugandan tribes their official use had been annulated. (Asiimire, 2017,
p. 6.)

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 Hence, despite English is spoken by a small percentage of Ugandan in comparison to
those who speak Lugandan or Swahili, English has probably achieved being in that status
because of two reasons; on the one hand, the British take over and its posterior protection
given to this country since 1894 have represented a control of the political system of Uganda.
On the other hand, tourism. Undoubtedly the fact some Ugandans speak English represents
an advantage and a profit to the Ugandan economy.

To summarize, the language situation in Uganda is controversial due to disputes among

tribes with different religion who consider their language, Swahili or Luganda, the most
important. Nonetheless, meanwhile this debate continues English is gaining ground into the
Ugandans as the language most needed to communicate, to educate, and to commercialize.

Uganda - Socio-political organization

By the past sixty years, Uganda has been known for its human rights abuses and military
dictatorships. Firstly, Idi Amin from 1971 to 1979; second, from 1980 to 1986 when Milton
Obote returned to power and became president after elections; finally, Yoweri Museveni who
has been the president since 1986, when the National Resistance Army rebels took over
Kampala and seized power (Kabwegyere, 1995.) So, in relation to the political field and the
rulers, military dictatorships have been common in the Political organization of Uganda.

In terms of social organization, the most common feature has been inequality based on
class discrimination. A research published in the web site “Seed Global Health” shows that
Uganda has a relatively high degree of social inequality. Additionally, another research
(Kabwegyere, 1995) stated that a fifty percent of the Ugandan population lived below the
poverty line, meanwhile a ten percent was about one-third of the available wealth.

Ugandan History

The large history of Uganda can be split into four stages, the Buganda kingdom, the
colonization, the Uganda protectorate, and the dictatorship systems.

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The Buganda kingdom

What currently forms Uganda’s territory was in the past the territory of two kingdoms,
Buyoro and Buganda, being Buganda kingdom the most powerful. This large territory of
eastern Africa was surrounded by two great lakes, Albert and Victoria, being Victoria Lake
reached by a British adventurer named Speke, who had been seeking the source of the Nile
in 1862. This region was seen as a distant place lying beyond the territories of a sultan of
Zanzibar. Late, in 1886 Buganda Kingdom fell to Britain. (BBC, 2018)

The British colonization - British East Africa Company

According to the article published by the BBC (2018), in 1890 Britain and Germany
signed a treat giving Britain rights to what was to become Uganda. Two years later, in 1892,
the East Africa Company which had assumed the responsibility of Uganda territory faced
further problems in Buganda, a civil war broke out between factions led by British Protestant
missionaries and their French Catholic rivals. In one of the fort established for the company
Frederick Lugard was. Lugard was the only combatant with the advantage of a Maxim
machine gun. So, Lugard prevails, but the loss of life and destruction of property in this
improper European dispute made it simple, the East Africa Company is incapable of fulfilling
its duties.

The Uganda protectorate

The next stage presented in the BBC article is the Uganda protectorate. Recent events in
Uganda had made evident the difficulties likely to be faced by any colonial power. As a result
the British government appointed in 1899 a seasoned administrator, Harry Johnston, as
special commissioner to Uganda. His brief was to recommend the most effective form of
administration.

The evident power of the local African kings convinced Johnston that control must be
exercised through them. Buganda was by far the most significant of the kingdoms. The
Johnston policy became effective with the Buganda Agreement of 1900. So, Britain signed

8
agreement with Buganda giving it autonomy and turning it into a constitutional monarchy
controlled mainly by Protestant chiefs. (BBC, 2018.)

The dictatorship systems

By the early 1960s the leading Ugandan politician was Milton Obote, founder of the UPC
(Uganda People's Congress), a party drawing its support from the northern regions of the
country. Its main political platform was opposition to the hegemony of the southern kingdom
of Buganda. Britain granted Uganda full internal self-government in March 1962. In the
following month Obote was elected prime minister. It was he who negotiated the terms of
the constitution under which Uganda becomes independent in October 1962. (BBC, 2018.)

By 1966 the deteriorating relationship between Obote and Mutesa comes to an abrupt end.
Obote sent a force, led by his newly appointed army commander Idi Amin, to attack the
kabaka's palace. Mutesa was exiled in Britain. Obote immediately introduced a new
constitution. This abolished the hereditary kingdoms, ended the nation's federal structure and
provided for an executive president - a post taken by Obote himself in addition to his role as
prime minister. (BBC, 2018.)

During the 1980s Obote used violent means to reimpose his rule, while the country
continues to suffer economic chaos and tribal massacres carried out by armed factions beyond
anyone's control. In 1985 Tito Okello intervened once more, driving Obote back into exile.
However, Obote and Okello became peripheral figures. And the only well-organized faction
in these years of chaos was a guerrilla army led by Yoweri Museveni who took the power in
1986 and became in the president of Buganda until these days. (BBC, 2018.)

Uganda – Culture and literature

Culture and literature are close related aspects hard to separate. Nonetheless, the following
statements will try to focus each one of them separately in order to set a context which helps
to comprehend the current situation of Ugandan literature.

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 According to Doyle and Stonehouse (2013), Uganda lacks a recent, comprehensive work
of historical synthesis. The earliest attempts, such as Ingham 1958 emphasized the role of
Europeans in shaping events, while Oliver and Mathew 1963 contextualized Ugandan history
within a wider East African history. Additionally, the nationalist school that dominated
historical production in the 60s did not produce major country-level studies until decades
later, in Karugire 1980 and Mutibwa 1992, which sought above all to attribute blame for
postcolonial misfortunes.

Doyle and Stonehouse (2013) also state that Northern Uganda has tended to suffer
marginalization or condemnation in these accounts. The 1970s and 1980s saw the dominance
of often rather rigid Marxist interpretations, such as Jorgensen 1981, with small farmers being
classified as kulaks, and ethnicity and religion being largely written out of Uganda’s
experience. Important local studies of political, social, and cultural precolonial and colonial
era history produced since the 1990s have not as yet filtered through to general accounts.
However, Uganda’s contemporary political history has been the subject of a number of rich
analyses, such as Tripp 2010, and Low 2009 has recently provided a very useful general
overview of the introduction of British rule.

So, the beginning of an independent Uganda has been stained by a low rate of literacy
among the Ugandan citizens, a plenty of civil wars, and a culture based on militarism and
oppression. In consequence, these all events have affected the prosperous development of
literary works in Uganda.

The Ugandan literary manifestations (which embody orality and writing) have not been
thriving as those produced in UK, for example; the empire that colonized this East African
territory long before. Some researchers recently showed results of an investigation related to
East African Literature specifically The Ugandan literature:

“The quality and quantity of imaginative productions from Eastern Africa in recent
decades undercut the work of Taban Lo Liyong (one of the most relevant Ugandan
writer) showing the East African literature as unproductive. However, while literary
artists, both new and seasoned, continue to churn out intriguing works, particularly in
English and in Swahili (the lingua franca of the region), critical response that limns

10
 collectively such literature has not been equally vibrant. Even Chris Wanjala's seminal
and magisterial text The Season of Harvest (1978), which attempted to counter Liyongo's
damning assertion, virtually excludes the Swahili works in its conception of East African
literature.” (Makokha; Kabaji; DiPio, 2011; p 188)

As it was previously stated, Uganda literature has been in decline in last decade. This
phenomenon probably due to the clashes among the different cultural groups that inhabit in
Uganda and whose languages are different. A clear example of this dispute is expressed by
the researchers when they refers to the exclusion of Swahili works. So, one more time the
rivalries among these cultural groups are not only in the political context but in the cultural
one.

Nonetheless, despite the friction among these cultural groups, a plenty of literary works
have been developed in the only neutral language they have in common, English.

Simon Gikandi, professor of English at Princeton University whose major fields of

research and teaching are the Anglophone literatures and cultures of Africa, India, the
Caribbean, and postcolonial Britain, the "Black" Atlantic, and the African diaspora published
a book (The Columbia Guide to East African Literature in English Since 1945) that assemble
a truly inclusive list of major writers and trends. He together with Evan Mwangi begin with
a chronology of key historical events and an overview of the emergence and transformation
of literary culture in the region. Then they provide an alphabetical list of major writers and
brief descriptions of their concerns and achievements. (Gikandi; Mwangi, 2007)

Some of the writers discussed include the Kenyan novelists Grace Ogot and Ngugi wa
Thiong'o, Ugandan poet and essayist Taban Lo Liyong, Ethiopian playwright and poet
Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, Tanzanian novelist and diplomat Peter Palangyo, Ethiopian novelist
Berhane Mariam Sahle-Sellassie, and the novelist M. G. Vassanji, who portrays the Indian
diaspora in Africa, Europe, and North America. (Gikandi; Mwangi, 2007)

According to Gikandi and Mwangi (2007), the main concerns that round Uganda literature
are colonialism, decolonization, the black aesthetic, and the language question; the growth
of genres like autobiography and popular literature; important movements like cultural

11
nationalism and feminism; and the impact of major forces such as AIDS/HIV, Christian
missions, and urbanization.

Then, based on all these facts recently stated, Uganda literature could be conceived as a
Universal literature due to it deals with aspects such as “cultural nationalism”, “AIDS/HIV”,
“Christian missions” and those issues associated to “feminism.”

So that, in terms of feminism, one of the contemporary and most relevant Ugandan female
authors is Harriet Anena. The following article outlined by the digital newspaper, “The
Economist”:

“The writers breathing fresh life into Ugandan literature. A new generation of
authors is inspired by subjects as diverse as oral tradition, corruption and feminism. In
2003 Harriet Anena was a schoolgirl in northern Uganda, a region then at war. The army
had ordered people into squalid, crowded camps; insurgents stalked the bush. “We
scratch our destiny / from hands of a curtailing fate,” she scribbled, sitting beneath a
mango tree. In poetry she found a way to ask questions that children, especially girls,
were not supposed to ask. “I started writing for therapy,” she says.”

However, along this article something curious is stated. A fact that must be take into
account because it is another form in which Ugandan literature has been limited and probably
destroyed. According to Anena, in Uganda topics as war, corruption and sexism are not easy
topics, and creative expression has its limits, because Uganda has an authoritarian
government, presided over by an ageing and increasingly testy strongman. So, she said the
following:

“…this month Stella Nyanzi, an activist and academic, was sentenced to 18 months
in prison after posting a poem on Facebook which graphically described the vagina
of the president’s mother. For all that, it would be a mistake to assume that Ugandan
writing is glum, pious or austere. Young writers are finding humour in struggle, and joy
in the everyday. There is the promise of freedom in their work. “Do not miss the chance
to groove, my child,” writes Peter Kagayi, a poet, “at the pattering of life’s raindrops.”

Then, Uganda literature probably has a long path to traverse. A path full of social and
political obstacles that has not allowed Uganda to develop its literature properly; avoiding its
expansion and the achievement of a respectful, and well-known status among the rest of
literary fields around Africa and even the world.

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 Ghana the Gold Coast

Ghana is a country which is formerly known as “The Gold coast” as it is stated in the One
World Nations online. It is a country situated in western Africa in the north of The equator.
It is located between Cote d'lvoire and Togo, and bounded by Burkina Faso in north and by
The Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean in the South. (One World Nations online, 2019)

According to the One World Nations, The country covers the total area of 238,533 km;
which makes it slightly smaller than The U.S state of Oregon. Ghana’s land offers low
wetlands with distributed hills with rivers crossing through them. Lake Volta is one of the
largest river in the Country. Moreover Ghana’s population is about 28.3 million inhabitants
in 2016 which is divided into 75 Ethnic group. Ghana has a Tropical Climate with warm and
dry along coast in southeast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north (One World
Nations online, 2019).

Ghana - Demographical Facts and Figures

The most densely populated parts of this country is the coastal areas; For instance: The
Ashanti region around of Kumasi which is the capital of Ashanti. In regard to the studies
published by One World Nations online in 2019, Kumasi has about 1 million of population,
Tema with 500,000 est and Sekondi-Takoradi with 370,000. Approximately 28.3 million
people who is divided into several ethnic group such as: Akan, Ewe, Ga, Moshi-Dagomba
(One World Nations online, 2019). (See picture c, appendix section)

Ghana Government

According to the facts recognised in Ghana constitution which was approved 1992 in
Chapter Five. The Government of the Republic of Ghana is an independence country which
is formed by: The executive, The Legislature and The Judiciary. This constitution was
established under the fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in this chapter
which must be by the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary and all other organs of
government.

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The executive

The constitution of The Republic of Ghana establishes in its chapter 8 establishes that a
multiparty republic with a president as head of state and a vice president. The president is
elected for a term of four years by universal adult suffrage. There is an approximately based
Council of State with deliberative and advisory functions as well as a unicameral Parliament,
whose members are also elected to four-year terms.

The Legislature

According to The constitution of The Republic of Ghana that establish in its chapter 10 that
The Parliament is one of the traditional “three arms of government” and perhaps the most
important in the practice of democracy. This is because it is an institution through which the
population is represented in government.

The Judiciary

According to the The Republic of Ghana constitution Chapter 11; Judiciary is the branch of
government which has the authority to interpret, apply and enforce the laws of Ghana. The
Judiciary is made up of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, High Court and Regional
Tribunals and such Lower Courts and Tribunals.

Language and religion

According to Dora F. (2016) Modern colonialism is simply described as the “conquest

and control of other people’s land and goods”. Colonization was the method of take control
and take possession of natural resources which are not available in the Colonialist’s land.
During times of Colonialism which involved mostly European empires, did not only involve
colonizers settling; in order to gain access to economic resources, but also to make the
indigenous people as a conquered people that see the settlers identity as superior (Edu-
Buandoh, 2016, p. 2).

14
 Also The British Colonialists brought the colonized people into their contexts and
expanded their political structures, education, culture, and their way of living to the colonized
people (Dora F, 2016, p. 2). So, Colonialists bring with them their culture (Education and
Language). These two facts are the most important to the African country Ghana and the
explanation of “Why” English is one of the official language of this country.

Due to British invasion in 1874; English became the official language in Ghana (Edu-
Buandoh, 2016, p. 4). The Gold Coast, now known as Ghana, is one of the countries that
were colonized by Britain. That means the British Colonialists transmitted their culture and
language through colonial education to Ghana (Edu-Buandoh, 2016, p. 4-5). As Dora F. Edu-
Buandoh stated “Colonization affected the education structure in Gold Coast. The earliest
forms of formal education in Gold Coast is traced to the coming of the Europeans in the
1850s”. During this epoch the schools used English language as a mean of transmitting
knowledge and also this language was taught to the people and even after this country gained
independence.

Therefore, English became of the most important language in Ghana because British
colonialists imposed English as the only language for education over indigenous language.
As Edu-Buandoh stated “The educational institutions set up by the European merchants and
later the colonial rulers and the missionaries ensured that English was the language for
education thereby making indigenous languages unimportant”. Another fact is during British
Empire colonization times around the world; they inflicted their language; in this case
English a mean of domination in the colonized countries in this case Ghana (Willinsky, 1998,
p. 7) Colonization affected the education structure in Gold Coast. English was taught in
Ghanaian schools during the period of colonialism and even after independence, it remains
the single most important language (Edu-Buandoh, 2016, p. 4-5). So, these facts explain the
reason that English became the official language in Ghana in the present times.

According to Britannica Ghana is a religious country in which each aspects of a person

life is involved with Jesus Christ learnings. Every aspect is related to Christianity. As
Britannica Davies stated “You will come across churches of every imaginable Christian

15
denomination; even the smallest village can have two or three different churches. About 70%
of Ghanaians are Christian.” So, Christianity is the most followed religious in Ghana as it
was mentioned before.

However there are two religious that are important and followed by a percentage of the
Ghanaians in this country which are Muslim and Indigenous religious. According to
Britannica More than one-half of the population is Christian, about one-fifth is Muslim, and
a small segment adheres to the traditional indigenous religions. Christianity has the huge of
believers in Ghana.

Furthermore, According to Lonely planet Christianity became part of the system

Ghanaians belief due to the Europeans colonization which brought not only education and
language as it was stated before; they brought their religion into Ghanaians belief. Europeans
had education and religious are related. “Christianity was introduced by European
missionaries, who were also the first educators, and the link between religion and education
persists” (Britannica, 2012). Many Ghanaians also has faith in Gods that are come from the
nature and ancestor veneration. But, almost all the citizen believe in Christianity. So, As
Britannica said “Many Ghanaians also have traditional beliefs, notably in spirits and forms
of gods who inhabit the natural world. Ancestor veneration is an important part of this
tradition. Christianity is the religious which has more devoted in this country.

Ghana History

Charlotte E. (2019) states this nation was invaded by Portuguese navigators who was
exploring lands to find and to plunder this place. But, the French navigators removed them
from the cost. Besides, it is comprehendible that this cost was the target of invasions from
colonialists due to its natural resources. However, this nation was colonized by British in 15th
in which made trades with the Europeans and gave the possibilities to many commerce with
one important group which is Akwamu; the first state to control an extensive part of the coast.
This state lost the power and it was replaced by a much more powerful group called Ashanti.
This group suffered attacks from British and Danes which led to a war in 1820. So, it is

16
understandable these attacks against this group, who had certain power over this cost due to
its natural wealth.

During colonial years, there are fairly rich and peaceful. African population was not
entirely involved in the political processes of the colony. But after World War II events, they
move so fast that the Gold Coast known now Ghana is the first colony in Africa to have its
independence. As Charlotte stated “Ghana republic gained its independence in 1957 which
became the first West African nation to release from European colonialism”. It is astonishing
that this was the first cost or country from African to become independent from any colonial
power.

At the present times, Ghana was in crisis suffering famine and economic issues, it was the
moment of economic collapse (Charlotte E. 2019). But, to the present day, the West African
nation has succeeded to recover from this collapsed and it was the country in which had a
huge grow in economy in 2019 (Charlotte E. 2019). Ghana has made the world see the
amazing way to detach from European power, to be the first country in Africa to have its
independence and to emerge from an economic collapse in a remarkable tactic.

Culture and Literature

As Commisceo Global Ghanaian culture has many ethnic groups. One of the most
important is Ashanti with their traditional capital at kamusi. This fact is the principal cause
that this country has a diverse culture in terms of People, family and its hierarchic style
(Commisceo Global, 2019).

According to Commisceo Global Ghanaian Family structure has a strong bond. This bond
became the primary source of identity, loyalty and responsibility for Ghanaian people. They
gain status in the society through Family extension and each member achieve recognition
and social position. Moreover, they have tradition from ethnic group that have cultural
variation, is the association through women. Mothers have a higher status as in their point of
view people get their blood from mothers.

17
 Ghanaian society and culture is based on hierarchical system. In this country People gain
respect because of their characteristic. Such as: age, experience, wealth and position. In case
of old people are viewed as wise and with respect. Respect comes responsibility and people
expect the oldest person to make decisions that are in the best interest of the group
(Commisceo Global, 2019).

In the other hand, the core of Ghanaian culture is the family. They maintain dignity,
honour, and a good reputation that depends on family union. This makes the culture a
collective one. In order to protect this national sense they need to preserve a sense of harmony
in their family (Commisceo Global, 2019).

Hakeen Adam states “Ghanaian old literature was based on oral stories and the greatest
part of literature were passed on by verbal narrative during prehistory which this country was
known as a Gold coast”. So, as it seems Ghanaian literature started to be shared verbally to
the ancestors. According to The culture trip the forefathers also transmitted tales or history
through song during for a long time. Ghanaian literature has made progress since today.

Hakeen Adam (2017) states that even today that heritage gave an impact on Morden times.
There are current Ghanaian writers who gave an advance to the literature by telling the stories
and literacy tradition by writing books. There is a writer who is notable “Ayi Kwei Armah”
he is an African writer whose famous book is “The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born”, he
used a creative language to make up details about post-colonial Ghanaian society.

Hakeen Adam (2017) maintained that Ghanaian old literature has writers like Ama ata
Aidoo, Kofi Awoonor, Taiye Selasi, Yaa Gyasi who formed histories, narration, and tales
into literature through demonstrating abilities to write expertly poetry, prose and drama, with
beautiful and elegant language, the flavour of the cosmopolitan and the modern world.
Ghanaian culture is illustrated in oral tradition and it is understandable that Ghanian writers
have excellent mastery over poetry which is seen these days.

18
 CONCLUSIONS

This research analysed different aspects of Ghana and Uganda such as history, cultural
values, government system and literature. The most representative features of these all
aspects are going to be summarized in the following paragraphs.
In terms of Ghana history, culture and life of Ghanaians were affected by the British
arrival as Uganda was as well. Through colonization, the British model of organization of
people was introduced into Gold Coast, and the indigenous nature of statehood was not taken
into account. Also Through this settlement expanded their political structures, education,
culture, and their way of living to the colonized people (Dora F, 2016, p. 2); making a new
and totally different system in this country changing all the identity and culture of the people.

As stated before, because of the arrival of Europeans many elements of Ghanaian culture
were modified. One of the elements which changed this country was language “English” was
imposed by colonialists, religion was changed, “Christianity” became part of the Ghanaian
belief system. Due to Europeans, colonization brought not only education and language; they
brought their religion into Ghanaians belief (Lonely Planet 2002). The ancient culture was
entirely replaced by a new one in which transformed this country. That power changed
Ghana's culture from an indigenous tradition to European tradition. Ghana is completely
different in language, food, costume, belief systems and literature comparing with the old
Gold coast that was known before the British Settlement.

Ghana has made the world to see the amazing way to detach from European power, to be
the first country in Africa to have its independence. Also this country has made its own
identity even after colonization times becoming an important country in the African
continent. This nation of this continent has the most extensive natural richness which makes
Ghana a diverse and different country.

In contrast to Ghana, Uganda has had a late development as independent nation since it
achieved its sovereignty in the second half of twentieth century by the hand of Obote, who

19
negotiated the terms of the constitution under which Uganda becomes autonomous in
October 1962.

However, its late development as a sovereign nation has not been the only event that
came after the colonialist process. Also, as in Ghana, the Socio-political organization and the
use of English as the main language in the administrative and educational fields have been
representative events that these two countries have in common. But, they differ in terms of
literature. A low rate of literary works is characteristic of Uganda.

In terms of Ugandan socio-political organization, different revolutionary groups emerged

against monarchal representation in the first half of twentieth century, such as it occurred
years before in other colonized African territories; or even though, those territories located
in a different continent, as Venezuelan territory where armed groups named “caudillos” or
warlords conquered political power by force. Although the difference between Uganda and
Venezuela is marked by time and monarchies.

In relation to English language, it was settled in the colony through the educational
process developed by British missionaries. Eventually, once Uganda achieved independence,
it retained English in its official status, as it was deeply rooted in the education system,
government, and media. Then, most literary works have been produced and published in this
language instead Lugandan or Swahili other two representative language in Uganda.

As stated previously, most literary works have been produced and published in English.
However, its publishing rate is concern low due to the oppression and persecution to many
Ugandan authors, oppression and persecution done by dictatorship. Any literary work is
produced freely. So, those authors whose literary works are agreeable to government are
imprisoned.

Then, Uganda is a country with a rich historical background that forge its identity.
Additionally, Uganda has an interesting literary potential since a huge part of its literary
works have a universal nature due to it deals with aspects such as “cultural nationalism”,
“AIDS/HIV”, “Christian missions” and those issues associated to “feminism.” Nonetheless,
as it was stated along this research, Uganda literature probably has a long path to traverse. A

20
path full of social and political obstacles that has not allowed Uganda to develop its literature
properly; avoiding its expansion and the achievement of a respectful, and well-known status
among the rest of literary fields around Africa and even the world.

In conclusion, despite the distance that separates Ghana and Uganda they still are
located in the same continent, so they have a similar historical and cultural aspect, in which
colonialism and the establishment of a language (that eventually would become in the main
language spoken in these countries) build the nations they are nowadays. Nevertheless, they
also have differences in terms of development as sovereign nations and their literary
development. On one hand, Ghana “The Golden Coast” has achieved its independence
earlier than Uganda and it has had a wide development of literature. On the other hand,
Uganda “The Pearl of Africa” found its independence later, during 60s; and its literary aspect
has been marked by oppression.

21
 APPENDIX
Picture a

(Uganda National Web Portal, 2019)

Picture b

(Uganda National Web Portal, 2019)

22
 Picture c

(History of the world website, 2010)

23
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25
L.T. (2019) The writers breathing fresh life into Ugandan literature [Artículo en línea]
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26
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27
 ANNEXES

Group: 10
Course: Introduction to literature
Date: March 13th, 2020
Official Name Uganda
Capital City Kampala
Official Language English (there are other important languages Swahili and
Ugandan but they are not official)
Religion freedom to practise any religion and manifest such practice
Land Extension 241,559 km2.
Population 32 million people
Population Central region: 27% of the country's population; Western region:
Distribution 26%; Eastern region: 25%; Northern region: 22%. So, the
population density by region is approximately 226 people per
km2.
Density of population 12% of the country's population, lived in urban areas. The Central
region contained 54% of the urban population, mostly in the city
of Kampala (Capital city of Uganda), the Northern region 17%,
the Western region 14%, and the Eastern region 13%.
Weather Sunny most of the year with temperatures rarely rising above 29°
C. The average annual temperature is about 26° Celsius. The
rainy season is from March until May and October until
November. Light rain season falls in November and December.
Highest Point 1,100 meters (3,609 ft.) above sea level
Most Important Victoria Lake
Lake
Literature Grace Ogot; Ngugi wa Thiong'o; Taban Lo Liyong; Stella
Nyanzi; and Harriet Anena.
Resources Tourism; Agriculture; and
Currency Ugandan Shilling (UGX)
Exports Agricultural products 80% such as coffee which represents 22%
of exports, followed by tea, cotton, copper, oil and fish.
Imports Oil 24%, followed by pharmaceutical products and capital goods.
Membership in into Sitting member of the United Nations, African Union, The East
trade organizations African Community and the Commonwealth.

28
Official Name Ghana
Capital City Accra
Official Language English (Twi, Fante, Ga, Hausa, Dagbani, Ewe, & Nzema)
Religion 70% of Ghanaians are Christian
Land Extension 238,533 km2.
Population 28.3 million people
Population The most densely populated parts of this country is the coastal
Distribution areas; the capital of Ashanti; Kumasi 1 million of population,
Tema with 500,00, Sekondi-Takoradi with 370,000.
Density of population The most densely populated parts of this country is the coastal
areas; For instance: The Ashanti region around of Kumasi which
is the capital of Ashanti
Weather In the center and north is cold, in winter is hot. December and
January is cool and the air is dry. Ghana has a tropical climate.
Highest Point 2,887 meters above sea level
Most Important Volta and Bosumtwi
Lake
Literature Taiye Selasi, Kofi Awoonor, Yaa Gyasi Ama Ata Aidoo.
Resources Tourism
Currency Ghanaian cedi
Exports Agricultural crops are the principal in Ghana’s economy
Imports Net importer of goods and services 25%. Local consumption are
the most imported
Membership in into Member of Commonwealth, United Nations (ONU), African
trade organizations Union

29