The 1938 Cocoa Hold-Up: Ghana's Farmer Revolt Against Price Fixing

In 1937-38, Gold Coast cocoa farmers faced a cartel of British chocolate companies that slashed prices overnight. In response, they launched a mass, nonviolent withholding action — refusing to sell a single bean. Lucas and Luna explore how this two-year boycott, organized by traditional authorities and farmer cooperatives, nearly broke the cartel, reshaped colonial economic policy, and laid the groundwork for the cooperatives and political movements that would later drive Ghana's independence. Key figures: Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, J.B. Danquah, John Cadbury. This episode focuses on the mechanics of the hold-up, the tensions between chiefs and the colonial government, and the lasting impact on Ghana's cocoa industry. #CocoaHoldUp #GoldCoast #Ghana #CocoaFarmers #ColonialEconomy #OforiAtta #JBDanquah #JohnCadbury #CadburyBros #BritishColonialism #FarmerRevolt #1938 #FexingoHistory #History #WestAfrica #EconomicHistory #NonviolentResistance #Cocoa Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo