James Baquet

Sometimes we oversimplify complex historical events. The British television series, “The Crown,” is about the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. In one episode, the African nation of Ghana in 1961 seemed to be preparing to end its association with the Commonwealth and ally itself with the U.S.S.R.

So the Queen made the bold move of visiting Ghana. Feeling as though the Ghanaian President, Kwame Nkrumah, was treating her coldly, the Queen decided to stand up at a party and ask Mr. Nkrumah to dance, causing a sensation among the Ghanaian press and the Queen’s bureaucratic entourage. This warmed relationships considerably; instead of asking the Soviets to build a much-needed dam in his country, Nkrumah arranged for it to be built by the U.S., England’s ally in the Cold War.

Problem solved! But history is not so simple.

Africa was indeed an undeclared battleground in the Cold War. Many African nations were gaining their independence in the 1950s and ’60s. (Ghana, previously the Gold Coast, was the first in western Africa to do so, in 1957.) Some countries would align themselves with one of the two major superpowers at the time: the “West” (the U.S. and its allies) or the U.S.S.R. and its allies. (Even this, I must confess, is a simplification.)

Although Nkrumah was educated in the U.S. and the U.K., nevertheless Ghana was leaning toward socialism, though not entering any formal alliances with the U.S.S.R. The Queen’s visit was not an intervention in a crisis, but more of a formality — a courtesy she regularly extended to members of the Commonwealth in order to maintain a sense of solidarity.

And the dance? It was little noted at the time. In fact, one Ghanaian amateur historian said after the television show aired, “Nobody talked about [the dance] then,” and “I still don’t know why that stupid dance is so important.” Nkrumah continued his pursuit of socialist policies (even winning the Lenin Peace Prize the year after the Queen visited), though the dam was actually built by an Italian company with U.S. and U.K. backing.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. extremely powerful nations

2. event causing excitement

3. sense of unity

4. administrative

5. fulfillment of an obligation

6. make understandable, but lose accuracy

7. something done to be polite

8. group of followers

9. urgent attempt to solve a problem

10. not announced publicly