The Akan States
In the 18th century, the Akan states’ history can be broken down into three parts: 1700–1730, 1730–1750, and 1750–1800. In the first ten years of the 18th century, the states of Akwamu, Akyem Abuakwa, and Denkyira gained the most land, mostly by conquering other states. Under their famous King Akonno, the Akwamu continued to try to take over other lands in the east.
In 1702, he started an operation to put down the resistance in Ladoku.
He then crossed the Volta and took over Anlo. He also took over the Ewe states of Peki, Ho, and Kpando in the interior. After crossing the Volta again, he took over Kwahu between 1708 and 1710. With these victories, Akwamu had the most land and was at the height of its fame and honor.
During this time, the two Akyem states also reached the height of their power. It was the two Akyem states that beat the Asante in 1702, which caused the Kotoku to move across the Pra to Da near Afosu. In 1717, they beat the Asante badly again, and the great Asantehene, Osei Tutu, was killed in a surprise attack.
Both of them also attacked and beat Akwamu in 1730, then crossed the Volta to where they are now. They took over the lands of the Akwamu and gave most of them to Akyem Abuakwa. Akyem Abuakwa had grown to be the second-biggest of the Akan states in southern Ghana by the middle of the 18th century. During this time, the Fante began a series of campaigns to protect their role as middlemen from growing threats.
Between 1702 and 1710, they took over the coastal states of Fetu, Aguafo, and Asebu, and in 1724, they took over Agona.The Fante ruled the whole coast from the mouth of the Pra River to the eastern borders of the Ga kingdom by the end of the third decade.
The most recent significant political change, which one might almost call a revolution, occurred with Asante’s arrival in Ghana and its dramatic defeat and overthrow of the strong state of Denkyira at the famous fight of Feyiase near Kumasi in October 1701.
As soon as they won, Osei Tutu struck the Akyem states for helping Denkyira. In 1711, he turned his attention northward and took over Wenkyi, destroying its city, Ahwenekokoo. He did this to control the trade routes that led to Bono and Begho, which was an important trading center in Dyula.
Osei Tutu marched south and took over Twifu, Wassa, Aowin, and Nzema from 1713 to 1715. In 1717, Osei Tutu went east and fought the two Akyem states. He lost and was killed in the battle. But by that time, Akyem and Akwamu had been pushed aside, and Asante had become the biggest of the Akan states. What can be said about this sudden rise of the Asante state?
Anokye and Osei Tutu, who was his friend and advisor, made a new Asante state called Asanteman and a new country called Asantefoo. This was the first reason.
To do this, they merged all the states that were already there within 30 miles of Kumasi and gave it a new constitution with the Oyoko clan of Osei Tutu as its royal family. They also gave it a federal governing council, a new capital city called Kumasi, and a national holiday every year.
Their most powerful tool, though, was the famous golden stool called Sika Agua Kofi, which Okomfo Anokye is said to have brought down from the sky. It was seen as representing the soul of the country and had to be protected at all costs.
These things gave this young nation-state a sense of fate that has kept it alive to this day. Osei Tutu also led and inspired them. The Asante were able to get a lot of guns because they were rich from gold mining, trading, and paying tributes, which made their armies almost impossible to beat.
Between 1730 and 1750, even more big changes happened than before. After three years of chaos within the church, Opoku Ware took over from Osei Tutu. In 1720–1721, he attacked Akyem to try to stop the revolts against Asante rule by Akyem, Wassa, Aowin, and Denkyira. This was the start of his fights. Then he went west and stopped Ebrimoro, the king of Aowin, from taking over Kumasi.
Opoku Ware moved north and fought and beat the famous and old kingdom of Bono in 1723 and 1724. In 1726, he invaded Wasa again. Because of this loss, Ntsiful I (r. 1721–1752) moved Wassa’s capital from the north to Abrade, which was close to the coast. It stayed there until the 1800s. In 1732, Opoku Ware took over western Gonja and Gyaaman. In 1740, he took over Banda. In 1742, he took over the Akyem states of Akyem Abuakwa and Kotoku. And in 1744, he took over eastern Gonja and Dagomba.
At the time of his death in 1750, Opoku Ware had more than lived up to Osei Tutu’s expectations. He had turned Asante into a huge kingdom that covered an area bigger than modern-day Ghana and included all but one of the Akan states.
Osei Tutu and Opoku Ware built the Akan monarchical civilization by hiring or capturing experts, craftsmen, and musicians from the Akan states they had conquered. The civilization is known today for its gold regalia and ornaments, colorful kente cloth, beautiful music and dance forms, and impressive and complex court ceremonies.
The Akan states’ history in the second half of the 18th century is mostly about how determined the Asante were to keep their huge empire going, how determined the Akan vassal states were to get their independence back (especially Denkyira, Wassa, Twifu, and Akyem Abuakwa), and how determined the Fante were to keep and protect their independence.
So, the Asante moved their men to stop the Wassa from rising up in 1760, 1776, and 1785. Akyem also rose up in 1765, 1767, and 1772–1773. There were three times that the Asante beat the Akyem: in 1765, 1767, and 1772.
Only Fante, out of all the Akan states, stayed free from Asante rule and dominance in the 18th century. Fante was able to do this mostly through diplomacy, especially with the help of the British. The Asante defeated the Akyem states in 1742, which made the Fante feel very threatened. They worked hard to make an alliance with Kommenda, Abrem, Fetu, Akwamu, Assin, Wassa, and Denkyira, which stopped trade with the Asante. This wall worked so well that from 1742 to 1752, no Asante could trade on the coast of Fante.
The Fante were already feeling the bad effects of the blockade at that point, so in 1759, they quietly joined forces with the Asante. But in 1765, they broke away from the Asante and made a new alliance with the Wassa, Twifo, and Akyem. It was only the British who stopped the two groups from fighting.
The Asante threatened to invade the Fante in 1772 because the Fante refused to hand over some Asante hostages. The British, who were supportive of the Fante at the time to keep the Asante from taking over the whole coast of Ghana, stopped the invasion.
So, by 1775, trade between Asante and Fante was booming, and relations were calm. This lasted until 1785, when Wassa rose up against the government, but it was put down quickly. Wassa was one state until the 1820s, when it split into what are now Wassa Fiase and Wassa Amenfi.
Before we go any further, let’s review: by the end of the 18th century, the Asante empire was still whole and ruling over all of the Akan states except Fante. Fante was able to stay sovereign and independent until the early 19th century, when it was finally added to the Asante empire.
Also Read: Farmers, Traders, and the Emergence of Akan States in Akan and Asante
