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21-748: On 28 February 1948 the shooting of protesting ex-service men lead to looting and rioting in Accra and other major towns in the Gold Coast. The leadership of the United Gold Coast Convention sent a telegram to the Secretary of State of the Colonies Arthur Creech Jones in London blaming Governor Creasey as the cause of the disturbance. These leaders were arrested and detained; they become known as

42-581: A petition to the Governor of the Gold Coast requesting the dispensation of promised pensions and other compensation for their efforts during the war. The ex-servicemen were members of the Gold Coast Regiment , who were among the most decorated African soldiers, having fought in Burma alongside British troops. Despite having been promised pensions and jobs after the war, when these servicemen returned home, there

63-456: A rifle and shot at the leaders, killing three veterans: Sergeant Adjetey , Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey . Apart from these three fatalities, several members of the crowd were wounded. People in Accra took to the streets in riot over these killings. On the same day, the local political leadership, the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), led by the Big Six , sent a cable to

84-476: Is considered "the straw that broke the camel's back", marking the key point in the process of the Gold Coast becoming the first African colony to achieve independence , becoming Ghana on 6 March 1957. In January 1948, the Ga chief, Nii Kwabena Bonne III , known in private life as Theodore Taylor (1888–1968), had organised a boycott of all European imports in response to their inflated prices. The boycott's aim

105-589: The Convention People's Party (CPP) in 1949 and eventually became the first president of independent Ghana. There was a meeting between Nkrumah and members of the party which occurred in Saltpond , a town in Central region. It was said Nkrumah rejected a proposal for the promotion of fundamental human rights. The UGCC performed poorly in the 1951 elections , winning only three seats. The following year, it merged with

126-596: The Gold Coast (present-day Ghana ). A protest march by unarmed ex-servicemen who were agitating for their benefits as veterans of World War II , who had fought with the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force , was broken up by police, leaving three leaders of the group dead. They were Sergeant Nii Adjetey , Corporal Patrick Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey , who have since been memorialized in Accra. The 28 February incident

147-549: The Gold Coast , accepting Danquah's invitation to become the UGCC General Secretary . Big Six member Ebenezer Ako-Adjei recommended inviting Nkrumah, whom he had met at Lincoln University . Nkrumah was offered a salary of £250, and Paa Grant paid the boat fare from Liverpool in England to the Gold Coast. Danquah and Nkrumah subsequently disagreed over the direction of the independence movement. Nkrumah went on to form

168-519: The Second World War . The United Gold Coast Convention appointed its leaders to include Kwame Nkrumah , who was the Secretary General. However, upon an allegation for plans against Nkrumah's leadership, he was arrested and jailed. The UGCC leadership broke up and Kwame Nkrumah went on a separate way to set up the Convention People's Party (CPP) for the purpose of self-governance. The UGCC

189-575: The Big Six . The disturbance lasted for five days and the colonial government commissioned the Watson Commission to probe the cause of the disturbance. The reference of the commission was "To enquire into and report on the recent disturbances in the Gold Coast and their underlying causes; and to make recommendations on any matter arising from the enquiry." The commission was made up of Aiken Watson (chairman), Andrew Dalgleish and Keith A. H. Murray. The commission submitted its report on 26 April 1948 to

210-488: The Gold Coast be allowed to draft its own constitution. A 40-member committee was set up to draft a constitution, with six representatives of the UGCC. The governor excluded Kwame Nkrumah, among others, from the constitutional drafting committee, for fear of drafting a constitution that would demand absolute independence for the colony. By 1949, Nkrumah had broken away from the UGCC to form the Convention People's Party (CPP), with

231-793: The Governor Sir Gerald Creasy (whom they called "Crazy Creasy") for his handling of the country's problems. The UGCC cable further stated: "Working Committee United Gold Coast Convention declare they are prepared and ready to take over interim Government. We ask in name of oppressed, inarticulate, misruled and misgoverned people and their Chiefs that Special Commissioner be sent out immediately to hand over Government to interim Government of Chief and People and to witness immediate calling of Constituent Assembly." The unrest in Accra, and in other towns and cities, would last for five days, during which both Asian and European-owned stores and businesses were looted and more deaths occurred. By 1 March,

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252-580: The Governor had declared a state of emergency and a new Riot Act was put in place. It was reported in the British parliament that the Governor had "imposed a curfew in certain parts of Accra and ... made regulations to control traffic and close roads". Strict press censorship was imposed over the entire country by Governor Creasy. The British colonial government set up the Watson Commission , which examined

273-520: The Governor of the Gold Coast and Secretary of State of the Colonies. It found that the shooting of the ex-serviceman and the detaining of the Big Six was the immediate cause of the disturbance. This Ghana -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 1948 Accra riots The Accra riots started on 28 February 1948 in Accra , the capital of the then British colony of

294-531: The Secretary of State in London: "...unless Colonial Government is changed and a new Government of the people and their Chiefs installed at the centre immediately, the conduct of masses now completely out of control with strikes threatened in Police quarters, and rank and file Police indifferent to orders of Officers, will continue and result in worse violent and irresponsible acts by uncontrolled people." They also blamed

315-537: The circumstances of the riots, and paved the way for constitutional changes that eventually culminated in Ghana's independence. The immediate aftermath of the riots included the arrest on 12 March 1948 of " the Big Six " – Kwame Nkrumah and other leading activists in the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) party (namely Ebenezer Ako-Adjei , Edward Akufo-Addo , J. B. Danquah , Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey and William Ofori Atta ), who were held responsible for orchestrating

336-402: The disturbances and were detained, before being released a month later. The arrest of the leaders of the UGCC raised the profile of the party around the country and made them national heroes. The Watson Commission reported that the 1946 constitution was inappropriate from the start, because it did not address the concerns of the natives of the Gold Coast . The Commission also recommended that

357-429: The motto "Self-government now", and a campaign of " Positive Action ". Nkrumah broke away due to misunderstandings at the leadership front of the UGCC. On 6 March 1957, the country achieved its independence and was renamed Ghana, with Nkrumah as its first President. United Gold Coast Convention The United Gold Coast Convention ( UGCC ) was an early nationalist movement with the aim of self-government " in

378-553: The shortest possible time" founded in August 1947 by educated Africans such as J.B. Danquah, A.G. Grant, R.A. Awoonor-Williams, Edward Akufo Addo (all lawyers except for Grant, who was a wealthy businessman), and others, the leadership of the organisation called for the replacement of Chiefs on the Legislative Council with educated persons. whose aim was to bring about Ghanaian independence from their British colonial masters after

399-575: Was founded in Saltpond. In the 1940s, African merchants, such as George Alfred Grant ("Paa Grant"), were ready to finance the organization of a political movement to assure their commercial interests in the face of unfair colonial practices. The party was founded by George Alfred Grant on 4 August 1947 by a combination of chiefs, academics and lawyers, including R. A. Awoonor-Williams, Robert Samuel Blay , Edward Akufo-Addo , and Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey . On 10 December 1947, Kwame Nkrumah returned to

420-453: Was scant employment for them and their pensions were not paid. As the group marched towards the Governor's residence at Christiansborg Castle , they were stopped and confronted by the colonial police, who refused to let them pass. The British police Superintendent Colin Imray ordered his subordinates to shoot at the protesters, but the men did not. Possibly in panic, Superintendent Imray grabbed

441-468: Was to press the foreign traders known as the Association of West African Merchants (AWAM) to reduce the inflated prices of their goods. The boycott was followed by a series of riots in early February 1948. The day the boycott was scheduled to end, 28 February, coincided with a march in Accra by veterans of World War II . The march on 28 February 1948 was a peaceful attempt by former soldiers to bring

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