Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism in West Africa

West Africa has been the birthplace of some of the most advanced forms of African nationalism and Pan-Africanism. The development of the latter, in particular, became prominent in the region due to the crucial role played by indigenous thinkers as well as to its strong connections with the Atlantic world. This chapter retraces the history of Pan-Africanist thinking in West Africa, illustrating how different ideas and conceptions eventually converged into Kwame Nkrumah’s thinking. Starting from the first abolitionist movements that considered West Africa as one of the centers of early Pan-Africanism, the chapter illustrates the thoughts and actions of the main thinkers and leaders that opened the way to Nkrumah. It offers the perspective on Pan-Africanist thinking in the region following the demise of the Ghanaian Pan-Africanist, examining its evolution until today. In 1897, the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society was established in the Gold Coast as a new and ground-breaking political instrument.