Gold Coast

Allegiance

Role in WW2

Main article: Gold Coast in World War II

Colonial troops from the Gold Coast Colony played an important role in the East African Campaign, particularly in attacking Italian-controlled Ethiopia. Accra, the capital, hosted Allied aircraft as they flew between the United States, Europe and the Pacific. The Gold Coast also benefited financially from the war. By 1945, increased British government spending and the introduction of an income tax led to an expansion of local revenue. The war changed the demographics of the colony, concentrating workers in a few large towns and cities. The colonial government launched a program to deal with a housing shortage by constructing inexpensive but sturdy local building material (an earthquake in 1939 had badly damaged infrastructure in many towns).[45]