Before the arrival of European settlers, who introduced a formal education system addressed to the elites, education in Ghana was mainly informal and based on apprenticeship. Pre-Independent Ghana was known as the Gold Coast. The economy of the pre-colonial Gold Coast was dependent on subsistence farming, in which farm produce was shared within households, and members of each household specialized in providing necessities. These included cooking utilities, shelter, clothing, and furniture. Trade with other households was therefore practiced on a very small scale. This made economic activities in the pre-colonial Gold Coast, a family institution: family-owned and family-controlled. As such, there was no need for employment outside the household that would have otherwise called for disciplines, values, and skills through a formal education system. After colonization, Ghana's economy became a hybrid of subsistence and formal economy.