The Ashanti (or Asante) people mainly live in present-day Ghana. They are themselves a subgroup of the Akan people, which includes the Agni, Baoulé, Nzema, Fante, Akwapem, etc., from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
The emergence of an “Ashanti people” is, however, relatively recent. The name only appears in the 17th century in the writings of European traders.
Origins
The history of the Ashanti is said to have begun with the migration of Akan groups living on the coast, possibly alongside the ancestors of the modern Fanti and Nzema, who settled in the mid-17th century and established a series of kingdoms and chiefdoms in a region including the city of Kumasi. This region was then inhabited by the Inta, a population that has not yet been clearly identified: they may have belonged either to the Akan or the Guan population. One of the migrant Akan groups, the Oyoko, was also the last to arrive in the region.
In the prosperous city of Asantemanso, a civil war broke out between the Oyoko on one side and the Domaa and Aduana on the other. Asantemanso was destroyed, and its inhabitants had to migrate again. Once more, the Oyoko were the last to arrive in the territory of present-day Kumasi, then called “Kwaman” and inhabited by populations likely Akan, or at least “akanized.” It was either under the reign of the Oyoko chief Oti Akenten or under that of his successors Obiri Yeboah and Osei Tutu that the city of Kwaman was renamed Kumasi, possibly in reference to a kum tree under which the site was founded.
The emergence of the Asante confederation
Despite some territorial expansions around Kumasi and the assimilation of conquered populations, the Oyoko and other Akan groups of the region were, around 1660, under the domination of the powerful southern Akan state of Denkyira, which also ruled populations further south. The oppression of Denkyira over its tributaries and its monopoly on coastal trade with Europeans led to a desire for unity among the otherwise diverse Akan peoples of the Kumasi region. This diversity may have been at the origin of the name “Ashanti.”
Mocking the mobilization of the peoples of the Kumasi region, the king of Denkyira is said to have declared that they existed only “because of war” (a san ti in the local language) against him. They would then have adopted this expression as their name.
When the Oyoko chief Osei Tutu came to power at the end of the 17th century, the Oyoko increased their power through conquest, incorporation of defeated peoples, diplomacy, and the systematic elimination of rebels.
To overthrow Denkyira’s domination, Osei Tutu managed to convince the other chiefs of the region to create a federation capable both of defeating Denkyira and of forming a unified power in the future.
A mystical argument was added to the political one. According to legend, Okomfo Anokye, the priest and advisor to Osei Tutu, predicted that a golden stool would contain the soul of all the united peoples and of the future confederation. After he brought the golden stool down from the sky onto Osei Tutu’s knees, the latter was recognized as the leader of the confederation, whose constitution he would establish alongside Okomfo Anokye.
Osei Tutu had been a hostage, part of a tribute sent to the royal court of Denkyira. Accused of impregnating a royal princess, he fled first to the state of Akwamu and then to Kwaman when his uncle, Chief Obiri Yeboah, died. He succeeded him as head of the state of Kwaman.
At the beginning of his reign, an outlaw fled Denkyira to seek refuge in Kwaman. The king of Denkyira, Ntim Gyakari, demanded his return. Osei Tutu refused, triggering a war between the two states.
During his exile in Denkyira and Akwamu, Osei Tutu had the opportunity to observe and draw inspiration from these two military powers. This knowledge, along with the strategic and mystical role of Okomfo Anokye, played a major role in the decisive Ashanti victory over Denkyira at the Battle of Feiyase in 1709. Denkyira was then incorporated into the Ashanti confederation as a tributary of the Asanteman (the Ashanti nation).
Territorial expansion
After several territorial conquests, notably in Akyem and Adanse lands, Osei Tutu died around 1710, possibly briefly succeeded by another king. After this period, which coincided with an Ashanti defeat against the Akyem, Opoku Ware and Boa Kwatia contested the throne, which ultimately went to the former in 1720.
The wars led by Opoku Ware in Fante territory caused migrations eastward by part of these populations, ancestors of the Gen-Mina of present-day Togo-Benin.
While Osei Tutu was the founder, Opoku Ware was the first major conqueror of the kingdom. His reign, which lasted until 1750, saw Ashanti territorial expansion in all directions. The succession of Osei Tutu by Opoku Ware had major consequences for the succession of future Ashanti kings.
Originally, the Ashanti throne was to pass from brother to brother or, failing that, from brother to the son of a sister.
However, since Osei Tutu had no descendants from his paternal line, he appointed Opoku Ware, from his maternal line, as successor. From then on, Ashanti kings had to be descendants of Osei Tutu’s mother, and secondarily from his paternal lineage or that of Opoku Ware.
While Osei Tutu’s victory over the Domaa led to the migration of some of them to present-day Côte d’Ivoire, where they founded the kingdom of Gwaman, Opoku Ware’s reign saw another migration. Queen Abla Pokou, a relative of Opoku Ware, is said to have migrated to present-day Côte d’Ivoire, where her followers became the Baoulé people. It may also be under this name that other Akan from Denkyira and Tekyiman migrated to Côte d’Ivoire to become the Agni.
The main conquest of Opoku Ware’s reign was that of the powerful kingdoms of Bono, considered the origin kingdom of all Akan peoples, and Begho.
This reign also saw Ashanti open to new markets such as slaves, ivory, and textiles. Due to the kingdom’s expansion, Opoku Ware attempted some reforms. However, these, unpopular with the chiefs, led to conspiracies against him. After a civil conflict, Opoku Ware regained power but died in 1750 at the head of a fragile state.
The 18th century
After Opoku Ware’s death, the throne was contested between his designated successor, Dako, and Kusi Obodum, both heirs of Manu, Osei Tutu’s mother. After a violent confrontation, Kusi Obodum ascended the throne in 1750. He inherited the precarious balance of his predecessor’s reign: the kingdom was threatened in the south by secessionist provinces, which also hindered control of coastal trade.
The Ashanti called upon the kingdom of Dahomey, whose army—particularly composed of women, and possibly supported by that of the Oyo Empire—inflicted a severe defeat on them.
Under pressure from dissatisfied chiefs, Kusi Obodum accepted his deposition. Because his reign was not as decisive as Osei Tutu’s, future Ashanti kings, in addition to being descendants of Manu, would have to alternate between the patrilineal descendants of Osei Tutu and Opoku Ware.
Osei Kwadwo, a grandson of Opoku Ware, succeeded Kusi Obodum. His reign is rather obscure but appears to have introduced several administrative changes.
At the interregnum between Osei Tutu and Opoku Ware in 1718, while the latter was at war with the Akyem, the royal city of Kumasi was sacked by Ebiri Moro, a general of the Akan state of Aowin. This attack may have forced members of the royal family to take refuge in the Ashanti city of Mampon.
Osei Kwame, descendant of an Ashanti princess and a chief of Mampon, succeeded Osei Kwadwo. With the help of Mampon forces and Akan troops of Bron ethnicity, he defeated the ambitions of other claimants: the king of Kokofu, Kyei Kwame, and the designated heir Opoku Kwame, who was too young to rule.
As seen, women play a central role in Ashanti royalty. The king must descend from the family of the mother of the first king, Osei Tutu. Moreover, the king—like all Ashanti chiefs—must rule alongside a queen mother. It is she who selects an heir from her lineage. She is neither the king’s mother nor his wife, but rather his co-ruler. If the designated heir is a minor, she assumes power.
At the beginning of Osei Kwame’s reign, this situation applied. Upon reaching adulthood, he came into conflict with the queen mother Konadu Yaadom, who wanted to impose her son Opoku Fofie on the throne.
There are several explanations for her opposition: attachment to Islam, failure to celebrate the Odwira festival in 1802, temporary relocation of the capital from Kumasi to Juaben, accusations of incest, etc.
In any case, Osei Kwame was deposed in 1803 and replaced by Opoku Fofie, who restored the original alternation between lineages.
However, the new king died a few months later. Osei Kwame was accused of the crime, committed suicide, and Konadu Yaadom placed another of her sons, Osei Bonsu, on the throne.
The 19th century
In 1806, the first clashes between the Ashanti and the British took place. Osei Bonsu was in conflict with an individual from an Assin state tributary to the Ashanti, who sought refuge in Fante territory. When the Fante chief refused to surrender him, Osei Bonsu marched south and won victories against British forces on the coast. However, he was forced to retreat in the face of British firearms, reportedly losing more than 3,000 men. The British nevertheless recognized Ashanti sovereignty over the Fante region.
In 1809, Queen Mother Konadu Yaadom died and was replaced by Adoma Akosua. During a campaign against Gwaman, she allegedly attempted to assassinate Osei Bonsu by casting a spell on him, with the help of some of his wives. Upon his victorious return, Osei Bonsu executed those responsible and replaced her with Amaa Sewaa.
The Ashanti conqueror died of illness in 1823. His successor, Osei Yaw, fearing losing power to his rival Kwaku Dua, took the golden stool—the symbol of national unity—into war against the British and Fante. He suffered a heavy defeat in 1826 at the Battle of Katamanso, losing the stool.
It was recovered by his rival Kwaku Dua, son of Queen Mother Amaa Sewaa. Osei Yaw fell into decline and died in 1833 after a chaotic reign.
He was succeeded by Kwaku Dua, the first Ashanti king not descended from Osei Tutu or Opoku Ware, though still from a legitimate maternal line. His queen mother was his sister, Afua Sapon.
Their reign was marked by executions of political opponents and tensions with the British due to territorial expansion near the coast.
After his death in 1867, his grandson Agyeman Kofi was too young to rule, so Kofi Karikari ascended the throne. Under his rule, several states such as Adansi and Juaben seceded, and the economy collapsed.
In 1873, after the British took control of territory claimed by the Dutch, the Ashanti invaded, prompting a British counterattack. Kumasi was invaded, looted, and burned in 1874.
Following this major defeat, Kofi Karikari was deposed and replaced by his brother Mensa Bonsu.
Although initially cautious, his reign became increasingly oppressive after an assassination attempt. Chiefs, supported by the British, revolted and deposed him.
After further instability and conflict, Agyeman Prempeh was crowned king in 1888. He worked to restore peace and economic stability and allied with Samory Touré’s Wassoulou Empire, raising British suspicions.
After repeated refusals to accept British protectorate status, the British invaded Kumasi again in 1896. Prempeh, his queen mother Yaa Kyaa, and his entourage were exiled to Sierra Leone and then the Seychelles.
Despite a failed rebellion led by Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa of Ejisu, independent Ashanti rule came to an end, and the kingdom was integrated into the British Empire.
Bibliography
Tom McCaskie, State and Society in Pre-Colonial Asante, Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Gérard Pescheux, Le royaume asante (Ghana): parenté, pouvoir, histoire, XVIIe–XXe siècles, Paris, Karthala, 2003.
