Ashanti-Fante War
Encyclopedia
The Ashanti-Fante War was fought between the Ashanti Confederacy and the Fante Confederacy
of present-day Ghana
.
The Ashanti Confederacy was a major African kingdom on the Gold Coast
. Rivalry between the Ashanti and Fante was long held but grew much more serious in the beginning of 19th century.
The British
were usually allies of the Fante, and the Dutch
of the Ashanti.
The war began when the Asantehene of the Ashanti charged some people with robbing graves. The Fante promptly gave refuge to the accused, who were people from Assin
, and Osei Bonsu
thus sent an army against the Fante. At Abora
, four miles from Cape Coast
, a battle was fought, in which the Ashanti were able to capture their own people charged for robbing the grave - this was their victory. However, the Fante were but a handful compared to the Mighty Ashanti army and still managed to see off the thousand men sent awaiting for a thousand more to come. A British agent representing the African Company of Merchants at Cape Coast sheltered the accused grave robbers, whilst the Ashanti went on to attack the fort at Kormantine (Fort Amsterdam) of their old allies the Dutch. The British then tried to make friends with the Ashanti, and Colonel Torrane, who was in charge at Cape Coast, most treacherously handed an old and blind Assin king called Kwadwo Otibu to the Asantehene, although he knew the old man would be killed; which he was.
Fante Confederacy
The Fante Confederacy can refer either to the loose alliance of the Fante states in existence at least since the sixteenth century, or it can refer to the briefly lived Confederation formed in 1868 and dissolved in 1874...
of present-day Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
.
The Ashanti Confederacy was a major African kingdom on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
. Rivalry between the Ashanti and Fante was long held but grew much more serious in the beginning of 19th century.
The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
were usually allies of the Fante, and the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
of the Ashanti.
The war began when the Asantehene of the Ashanti charged some people with robbing graves. The Fante promptly gave refuge to the accused, who were people from Assin
Assin
The Assin are an Akan people who live in Ghana. The capital of the Assin district is Fosu....
, and Osei Bonsu
Osei Bonsu
Osei Bonsu was the Asantehene . He reigned from 1804 to 1824. During his reign the Ashanti fought the Fante confederation and ended up dominating Gold Coast trade...
thus sent an army against the Fante. At Abora
Abora
Abora is the name of an ancestal solar deity of La Palma and a traditional god of the Azore Islands, and of two reed boats.-Abora, reed boat:...
, four miles from Cape Coast
Cape Coast
Cape Coast, or Cabo Corso, is the capital of the Central Region of Ghana and is also the capital city of the Fante people, or Mfantsefo. It is situated 165 km west of Accra on the Gulf of Guinea. It has a population of 82,291 . From the 16th century the city has changed hands between the...
, a battle was fought, in which the Ashanti were able to capture their own people charged for robbing the grave - this was their victory. However, the Fante were but a handful compared to the Mighty Ashanti army and still managed to see off the thousand men sent awaiting for a thousand more to come. A British agent representing the African Company of Merchants at Cape Coast sheltered the accused grave robbers, whilst the Ashanti went on to attack the fort at Kormantine (Fort Amsterdam) of their old allies the Dutch. The British then tried to make friends with the Ashanti, and Colonel Torrane, who was in charge at Cape Coast, most treacherously handed an old and blind Assin king called Kwadwo Otibu to the Asantehene, although he knew the old man would be killed; which he was.