Accra, Ghana
Accra is a coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, and is the capital and most populous city in Ghana. Accra has been Ghana's capital since 1877, when it replaced Cape Coast.
History
Central Accra was founded by the Ga people in the late 1400s. The word Accra is derived from the word Nkran meaning "ants" in Akan, a reference to the numerous anthills seen in the countryside around Accra. During part of its history, Accra served as a centre for trade with the Portuguese, who built a fort
in Jamestown. They were soon followed by the Swedish, Dutch, French, British and Danish by the end of the seventeenth century.
The present-day downtown Accra is a combination of the original Ga town and the British, Danish and Dutch fort communities of Jamestown near the British fort, Osu near the Danish Christiansborg fort (now called Osu Castle, which is the executive offices of the president) and Ussherstown near the Dutch Ussher
fort. The four areas form the core of modern Accra.
Accra was captured by the British in 1874, and, in 1877, at the end of the second Anglo-Ashanti War, Accra replaced Cape Coast as the capital of the British
Gold Coast colony. Accra grew very quickly after the completion of a railroad to the mining and agricultural hinterland, and it quicly became the economic center of Ghana. Large portions of Accra were destroyed by earthquakes in 1862 and 1939, but the city continued to grow around the Accra seaport.
The Ghanaian campaign for independence from the British was launched after the Accra Riots in 1948. This eventually led to Ghana's independence from the British and nationhood in 1957. Kwame Nkrumah as elected as the first president of Ghana.
Climate
Accra has a tropical savannah climate with a wet and dry season. There are two rainy seasons, with the heaviest rains falling from April to July and a more moderate rainy season in September and October. The rainy season is the coolest time of the year, but tends to be humid. August is the coolest month with
average temperatures of about 25°C (77°F).
There is a brief dry spell in August and a more intense dry season from December to February. The main dry season is referred to as harmattan, because of the harmattan winds that blow from the Sahara Desert between November and February. This is the hottest time of the year with dry heat and cooling breezes, and is little or no humidty. On average the hottest month is February, with a average temperatures of about 28°C (83°F).
