Ghanaians in the United Kingdom

Ghanaians in the United Kingdom
(Ghanaian British/British Ghanaians/Ghanaian Britons)

Ozwald Boateng Freema Agyeman Lord Paul Boateng Danny Welbeck Tinchy Stryder Dizzee Rascal Pops Mensah-Bonsu Idris Elba Reggie Yates Adam Afriyie Rachel Yankey Arthur Wharton
Total population
Ghanaian-born residents 56,112 (2001 Census figure) 93,000 (2009 ONS estimate)
Regions with significant populations
United Kingdom
Cities: Scotland Glasgow 6,900 Edinburgh 4,688 Cities: England London 46,513 Manchester 37,487 Liverpool 9,000
Languages
Scottish English  · English (Ghana)  · Akan  · Ga  · Dangme see Languages of Ghana
Religion
Christianity  · Islam  · Judaism  · Nichiren Buddhism  · Bahá'í Faith  · Hinduism  · Traditional Beliefs  · Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Black Scottish people  · Ghanaian American Ghanaian people

Ghanaians in the United Kingdom (also Ghanaian British or British Ghanaian) is a term that refers to Ghanaian immigrants to the United Kingdom and their descendants.

History

Early

Although modern Ghana gained independence in 1957 (and was the first Black African country to do so from the British), people from that region have been arriving and living in Britain since at least the mid–16th century. At that time there were many Africans living and working in London, free rather than enslaved people, some of whom were based at the royal court. Even Shakespeare, it is rumoured, sought the company of an African lady, Lucy Morgan.

In 1555 John Lok, a London merchant and Alderman, brought five Africans from the town of Sharma, in what is today Ghana, to London to be trained as interpreters in order to assist England’s trade with the western coast of Africa. From that time onwards economic links were established between West Africa and England. At first, the English were most concerned with acquiring gold from the region that came to be known as the Gold Coast. Pepper and other spices were also much in demand in Europe, and in 1562 John Hawkins organised the first voyage to West Africa to acquire African captives. By the middle of the following century English traders and financiers had become increasingly concerned with trafficking in human cargo from the Gold Coast. England’s relationship with West Africa would be largely determined by the trafficking of human flesh for the next two centuries.

The enslavement of Africans on the Gold Coast led to some of their being brought to England as enslaved personal servants. It is difficult to establish the place of origin and the number of people brought to London in this way because one of the characteristics of slavery was the renaming of those enslaved. Besides a number of Ghanaians' arriving in Britain during the 16th-18th centuries, a number of Britons went to the Gold Coast and married Ghanaian women. A number of Scots and Englishmen married Ghanaian women in local customary marriage ceremonies and had children who became successful, such as Gold Coast mulattos as James Bannerman and Robert William Wallace Bruce. Most Scottish and English settlers left Gold Coast after it won independence. Thus many Ghanaians are of Scottish and English descent.

Modern

By the 1980s and early 1990s, 10 to 20 per cent of Ghanaians were living outside Ghana, with many migrating to the UK from the 1960s onwards due to economic conditions in Ghana.

Culture

See also: Culture of Ghana

Music

Ghanaian music and musicians have a strong influence on the overall Ghanaian British community as well as British music in general, from traditional Ghanaian music to hip-hop and grime, the UK has produced many fine artists. The Ghana Music Awards UK began in 2002 with an aim to promote and award the best achieving Ghanaian British musicians. By the 1980s, the UK was experiencing a boom in African music as Ghanaians and others moved there in large numbers, immediately they made their presence felt in the form of local gigs and carnivals, and to this day Ghanaians and other African groups prevail as the most successful ethnic groups in the UK R&B and rap scene. Rapper Dizzee Rascal is a household name in the UK and US and has won numerous awards, Tinchy Stryder, Oxide & Neutrino, Sway DaSafo, Lethal Bizzle and The Mitchell Brothers have also received numerous nominations and awards (including the MOBO Awards, Mercury Prize and BET Awards). Another notable Ghanaian British musician who chose to stray away from the typical hip-hop scene is Rhian Benson, who now lives in Los Angeles and is noted for being a Singer-songwriter, composer, instrumentalist and record producer who performs mainly jazz and soul music.

Cuisine

Main article: Ghanaian cuisine

Other

Miss Ghana UK is a beauty pageant that has been up and running since 1995, it aims to highlight Ghana's rich cultural heritage. Attendances per show have soared to over 3,000 and the competition is seen as one of the most important events in Ghanaian British calendar uniting Ghanaians across the UK. The most recent winner is 24 year old Nicola Sackey.

The Official Ghana's Independence Day Event is one of London’s most successful and most-attended celebration of the African nation’s independence. The event was founded by Abrantee Boateng also known as DJ Abrantee and business partners, Alordia and Edmond in 2000.

Demographics

See also: Foreign-born population of the United Kingdom

Population

The 2001 UK Census recorded 56,112 Ghanaian-born people living in the UK. More recent estimates by the Office for National Statistics put the figure at 93,000 in 2009.

Distribution

Ghanaians in Scotland live in Glasgow and Edinburgh, with sizable populations in Aberdeen and Coatbridge. In London, England, Ghanaians can be especially found in the boroughs of Waltham Forest, Barnet, Brent, Havering, Hounslow and Croydon. Specific districts of concentration include Walthamstow, Hendon and Hounslow. Outside London, there are large populations in Manchester, Liverpool and Milton Keynes. One of the most important places for interaction and the purchasing of culturally appropriate foodstuffs is Queen's Market, Upton Park in London.

Economics

63.70% of recent Ghanaian immigrants to the UK of working age are employed (compared to 73.49% for British born people regardless of race or ethnic background). 17.19% of recent immigrants are low earners, which is pay less than £149.20 a week (compared to 21.08% for British-born people), and 3.13% are high earners, which is more than £750 per week (compared to 6.98% for British-born people). The percentages for settled immigrants are slightly different, 69.51% are employed, with 15.04% being low earners and 5.31% high earners.

Notable individuals

Main article: List of Ghanaian Britons

See also

• Black Scottish people
• Ghanaian American
• Ghana

Bibliography

• Herbert, Joanna; May, Jon; Wills, Jane; Datta, Kavita; Evans, Yara; McIlwaine, Cathy (2008). "Multicultural living? Experiences of everyday racism among Ghanaian migrants in London". European Urban and Regional Studies 15 (2): 103–117. doi:10.1177/0969776407087544. 

External links

• News about Ghanaian community in United Kingdom, from GhanaWeb