This was later supplemented by the addition of cash crop agriculture, particularly cocoa and (to a much lesser extent) coffee (Gocking, 2005). To a very large extent, the trade patterns created from the late 15th century onward continue to this day. The British formally declared the Gold Coast a colony in 1874, which was accepted by the time of the Berlin Conference in 1884-5 (Boahen, 2002).3 At the Conference, the British reserved a rectangular area which consisted of about 500kms of coastline and about 1000km forest and savannah hinterland.