Young Writers Society

The Colonization of Two Countries

Unit 4 Project

Mackenzie M Campbell - October 14th, 2019Introduction

The Republic of Ghana and Malaysia are two countries located in the South-East hemisphere. The Republic of Ghana has an estimated 27,400,000 residents (2015 census), and spans over many different terrains. On the southern side there is a sprawling coastline bordering the Atlantic coastline that attract tourists, and on the northern side there are lush tropical forests that produce a lucrative amount of natural resources (predominantly gold and cocoa). The official dialect in The Republic of Ghana is English, and their capital is Accra. Malaysia has an estimated 30,300,000 residents (2015 census), and is a federation with two noncontiguous regions: Peninsular Malaysia, also called West Malaysia, is on the Malay Peninsula, and East Malaysia, is on the island of Borneo. Malaysia has a rocky terrain, and a long coastline. The official dialect in Malaysia is Malay, but other dialects such as English and Tamil are widely used. The capital of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur.

Geography and Location

The Republic of The Republic of Ghana (pictured on the right) can be found on the coast of the Gulf of New Guinea. It is pretty small in area and population. The Republic of Ghanas’ has a picturesque coast and miles of sandy beaches. The Republic of Ghanas’ inland is brimming with lush forests. The vegetation is tropical. The Republic of Ghana is relatively flat. The have rivers that deposit alluvium, a fertile soil composed of silt, gravel, clay, and sand. The deposit of alluvium aids in the growth of vegetation.

Since Malaysia (pictured on the left) consists of two noncontiguous regions, its terrain varies greatly. In West/Peninsular Malaysia, at least half of its land is 500 feet above sea level. This causes the surface to be rocky. Half of it is covered by a combination of granite and indigenous rocks, a third of it is is covered by stratified rocks that are older than the granite, and the rest is covered by alluvium, a fertile soil composed of silt, gravel, clay, and sand. This alluvium is deposited from the rivers. West Malaysia does not have level land; it is mountainous. East Malaysia is an elongated strip of land. It’s approximately 1,125 km long, and at its largest point it is 275 km wide. The majority of east Malaysia’s surface can be put into one of the following categories; flat coastal plain, hill/valley, and mountain. East Malaysia has the highest mountain peaks in all of Eastern Asia.

Colonization

A revolution in The Republic of Ghanas’ history started in 1471 following the arrival of Portuguese mariners. The Portuguese men found an abundance of gold, and initiated a direct sea trade Europe. Originally Europe mainly wanted was a source of gold, a resource that was abundant and readily available on the coastal parts of The Republic of Ghana. They wanted to trade this gold for European resources (cloth, beads, metal, alcohol, weapons, and ammunition). The Republic of Ghana widely became know as the Gold Coast. The leaders of The native states at that time allowed the Portuguese to lease the land from them. This went on until the 17th century when traders from England, Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, and the Netherlands discovered that the relations the Portuguese established with the native states could adapted into the exportation of slaves. During this time, America had a heavy demand for slaves. By the mid 18th century the presence of Dutch, British, and Danish merchants was heavy. They established 40 forts/ports to export the slaves.

The revolution in Malaysia’s history took place in 1511. Since the 1st century BC, Malaysia had peacefully traded with several colonies, mainly the Chinese and Muslims. They would trade their natural resources and minerals in exchange for protection and foreign supplies (mainly tea) that they did not easily have access to. That changed in 1511 with the arrival of the Portuguese, the same group of people responsible for the colonization of The Republic of Ghana. This time, the Portuguese were searching for a maritime route to Asia. Alfonso de Albuquerque seized control of Malaysia. This was the first time in history that there was a colonial claim placed on Malaysia. The Portuguese wanted to use Malaysia for a base. Several men of power from Portugal founded States in Malaysia (Sultane of Johore and Perak Sultane to name a few). Malaysia was now heavily trafficked many non indigenous people, and by the late 16th century, European traders discovered the tin mines in Northern Malay. The Perez Sultane grew wealthy, and Portuguese’s influences were now strong.

Life During Colonization and Power Switches

Life for the Indigenous people of The Republic of Ghana and Malaysia was not ideal during Colonization. The Europeans that “claimed” the countries oppressed the original inhabitants. In the case of The Republic of Ghana, Ghanaians were sold to the Americans as slaves. Malaysians were forced to vacate their ancestral homes. Violence against the Aboriginal people was common.

In the 1940s, 6 Ghanaian men became the leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention, a political party in the British part of the Gold Coast. Their goal was to gain independence in The Republic of Ghana from their British “masters” following WW2. These men (Ebenezer Ako-Sdejei, Edward Akufo-Adjei, Joseph Boakye Danquah, Kramer Nkrumah, Emmanaul Obetsebi-Lamptey, and William Ofori Atta) became the backbone of The Republic of Ghanas separatist campaign.

During WW1, (1942) Malaysia was overtaken by Japan. The Japanese viewed Malays as a byproduct of the British, so they treated them terribly. Nonetheless advocates of Melayu Raya collaborated with the Japanese. They were led to believe that Japan would unite the Dutch East Indies, Malaya and Borneo and grant them independence. Shortly thereafter, the sook ching (purification through suffering) took place. This was a slaughter where around 80,000 Chinese in Malaya and Singapore were killed. Chinese businesses were closed and Chinese schools were closed and burned down. Not surprisingly the Chinese, (led by the Malayan Communist Party) became the backbone of the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA). With British assistance, the MPAJA became the best resistance force in the Asian countries.

Uncolonization Period

By the 1950s, both The Republic of Ghana and Malaysia were seeking independence from Britain powers. They both successfully gained independence from the British Empire in the 1957. After gaining independence both countries had rich resources and sturdy British political and legal institutions, as well as identical educational systems.

Following the separation, Malaysia was expected to do poorly. Malaysia had racial tensions among the three dominant ethnicities (Chinese, Indian, and native Malays). This racial tension affected the political landscape in Malaysia. Each racial group had different opinions/goals for Malaysia. So, they requested British supervision, and the three groups the created a unified alliance. The Malays were assigned to handle government affairs while the Chinese and Indians were assigned with dealing with the economy. This went well until the Malays started complaining about not getting their rightful share of money. A new policy was established, and that was rectified. Malaysia has been living rather peacefully and prosperously since then.

The Republic of Ghana was expected to do well. But they didn’t. The Republic of Ghana became independent on March 6, 1957. The former separatist movement kingpin, Kramer Nkrumah, was named the first prime minister of The Republic of Ghana. Nkrumah was influenced heavily by socialist ideologies. These ideologies made him demand people to have greater participation in the economy. When these demands were not met, he began borrowing mass amounts of money, all the while becoming less and less popular with the people. These financial burdens led to Nakrumha being overthrown in a coup dʼétat in 1966. The military coups kept sweeping through The Republic of Ghana. The country slipped into two decades of instability following this.

Closing

Although Malaysia and The Republic of Ghana started out in the same situation, the results, hardships, and evolution of the 2 couldn't be more different. Itʼs been over half a century since Ghana and Malaysia gained their independence from the British. Here in 2019, Malaysia has 13x the average income of The Republic of Ghana. The Republic of Ghana still exports the same raw products (gold, cocoa, etc), while Malaysia houses car factories, large corporations, and opportunities galore. It really shows how circumstances can drastically effect the future of life as we know it.

Bibliography

Ahmad, Z. B., & Leinbach, T. R. (2019, October 24). The impact of British rule. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Malaysia/The-impact-of-British-rule.

Davies, O., & Fage, J. D. (2019, October 7). Independence. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana/Independence.

Davies, O., & Fage, J. D. (2019, October 7). Contact with Europe and its effects. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana/Contact-with-Europe-and-its-effects.

Davies, O., & Fage, J. D. (2019, October 7). Contact with Europe and its effects. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana/Contact-with-Europe-and-its-effects.

Ghana. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/ghana.

Ghana. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/places/africa/ghana/ghana-country-africa.

History of Malaysia. (2019, September 20). Retrieved from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Malaysia.

History of Malaysia. (2019, September 20). Retrieved from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Malaysia.

Malaysia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.infoplease.com/world/countries/malaysia.

Site designed and built by Hydrant (http://www.hydrant.co.uk). (n.d.). Ghana : History. Retrieved from https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/ghana/history.

Site designed and built by Hydrant (http://www.hydrant.co.uk). (n.d.). Malaysia : History. Retrieved from https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/malaysia/history.

The Big Six (Ghana). (2018, November 14). Retrieved from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Six_(Ghana).