Pan-africanism And Gold Coast Nationalism Throughout The First Decades Of The Twentieth Century

The first decades of the twentieth century were characterized by growing race consciousness on the part of Africans on the continent and elsewhere, particularly in the United States. New World Pan-Africanists intensified their efforts and toured different parts of the world explaining their views and objectives in order to win more support to the African cause. A series of Pan-African Congresses had been organized since the end of the First World War to give Pan-Africanism form and substance. This allowed the Gold Coasters to come closer to Africansofthe diaspora and to follow the evolution of the Pan-African movement. The Gold Coast intelligentsia adopted some aspects of Pan-Africanism (as they were considered beneficial for their country’s welfare) and rejected others. This paper is an attempt to examine the evolution of both Pan-Africanism and nationalism in the Gold Coast, and the reaction of this country’s leaders to this movement.