The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa, located along the Atlantic Ocean and with its capital at Accra. "Ghana" means "Warrior King" in Soninke, and it was once home to the Ghana Empire, the Ashanti Empire, and several other powerful medieval empires. Ghana was colonized by Portugal during the 1470s, with Elmina Castle being finished in 1484. In 1598, the United Provinces established its own colony along the Gold Coast, joining Portugal in the gold industry, and the Dutch built forts at Komenda and Kormantsi. In 1617, the Dutch conquered Olinini Castle from Portugal, followed by Axim (Fort St. Anthony) in 1642, but they were unable to take over the entire coast. More than thirty forts and castles were built along the Gold Coast by settlers from Portugal, Sweden, Denmark-Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany; in 1642, the Dutch conquered the Portuguese colony, the Prussians sold their colony to the Dutch in 1721, the Danes sold their colony to the United Kingdom in 1850, and the Dutch ceded their colony to Britain in 1872. The colony was ruled by Britain as the "Gold Coast", and the British destroyed the Ashanti during a series of wars that lasted into the early 20th century. On 6 March 1957, Britain granted independence to Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African state to gain independence from a European power. Ghana experienced several coups and transitions of power between military and civilian governments, but it was relatively stable, never experiencing an all-out civil war. In 2014, Ghana had a population of 27,043,093 people, with 71.2% being Christian, 17.6% Muslim, and 5% animist.
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