GOLD COAST. – A British Crown Colony, consisting of a coastal strip along the northern margin of the Gulf of Guinea (Gold Coast in the strict sense), followed inland by the country of the Ashanti and the Northern Territories.
The first of these includes the quartz gold deposits that gave the region its name. Apart from the narrow coastal fringe with its sands, lagoons and a stretch of equatorial forest, almost the entire colony is covered by savannas, some of which have been converted to cultivation. Among these, cocoa holds great importance, of which the Gold Coast is the world’s leading producer (2.2 million quintals annually); a production that has now surpassed, in value, the mining output (gold, manganese, diamonds), though this remains considerable. The capital is Accra (73,000 inhabitants). The three provinces of the Gold Coast, Ashanti and Northern Territories, into which the colony is divided, cover a total of 203,704 sq. km. The population is about 4 million, of whom about one-eighth are Catholic. For the map see AFRICA, I, cols. 389-90.
THE APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF THE GOLD COAST. – It originated in 1879 from the mission of the Two Guineas, and was subsequently reduced in size until the final division of 1943, when the new Prefecture of Accra (q.v.) was established. It is now administered by the Society of African Missions of Lyon, of the Dutch province.
There are currently 37 priests, assisted by 8 indigenous priests, 4 brothers and 28 sisters. The mission also has 190 catechists and 824 teachers. The territory covered