Asante-Fante War 1806

The rivalry between Asante and Fante on the Gold Coast... grew much more serious in the nineteenth century. The British were usually allies of the Fante, and the Dutch of the Asante.

At the beginning of 1806 the Asantehene charged some people with robbing graves. The Fante promptly gave refuge to the accused, who were people from Assin, and the Asantehene Osei Bonsu sent an army against the Fante. At Abora, four miles from Cape Coast, a big battle was fought, in which the Asante were successful. The British Company's agent at Cape Coast sheltered the accused grave robbers, whilst the Asante went on to attact the fort at Kormantine (Fort Amsterdam) of their old allies the Dutch. The British then tried to make friends with the Asante, and Colonel Torrane, who was in charge at Cape Coast, most treacheroulsly 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.

A verbal agreement was now made between the British and the Asante that the latter should be recognized as the rulers of the Fante, except where a British fort existed. Shamelessly, Torrane sold or gave away 2,000 of his former Fante allies, and the Asante victoriously marched first east along the coast and then north back to their capital.

In 1814 the Asante again defeated the Akim-Akwapim alliance, but when they followed up their victory by pillaging Accra, instead of attacking the Europeans, they lost a valuable ally in the Ga people...

In 1816 the Asante went on into Fante country, captured and killed the fleeing Akim-Akwapim leaders and established themselves as overlords of all the region between the Asante and the sea.

In 1807 Osei Bonsu occupied southern Fante territory--an enclave around British headquarters at Cape Coast; in the same year, Great Britain outlawed the slave trade. Declining trade relations and disputes over the Fante region caused friction over the following decade and led to warfare in the 1820s. The Asante defeated a British force in 1824 but made peace in 1831 and avoided conflict for the next 30 years.

In 1826 a reorganized and re-equipped Ashanti force invaded the coastal regions and attacked British allies. During the fighting on Accra Plains the British used Congreve rockets, which frightened the Ashanti warriors, who fled back to Kumasi. In 1831 the Ashanti recognized the independence of the Coastal tribes.

Whilst [the Asante] recovered their strength back in Asante during the next two years (1824-6), the British were building up a powerful alliance with the Fante, Ga, Akim and Denkyera people, all of whom were now thoroughly afraid of the Asante. It was this alliance which defeated the Asante at the battle of Dodowa [also known as Katamanso or Akantamasu] on August 7, 1826. The new governor, Sir Neil Campbell, however, found the Asante still strong enough to refuse to sign any treaties.

In 1828... The British Government reasoned that if it withdrew from the scene a reconciliation between the merchants and peoples on the coast and the Asantehene might prove easier to make. It therefore gave instructions to the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Neil Campbell, that he should not make alliances with African peoples who would expect Britain to protect them, and gave orders that British officials and garrisons should be withdrawn from the Gold Coast forts. The forts, however, were to remain British territory, and the British Government paid the London Committee of Merchants 4,000 pounds a year to maintain them. The settlements were to be governed by a Governor and an elected Council which was to have jurisdiction only over British forts and harbours and the people residing therein.

In 1830 the London Committee sent out as President of the Council (or Governor) Captain George Maclean who, in 1831, came to terms with the Asante. He achieved this in spite of the fact that he had not any real power and little backing from the British government. Furthermore attempts of the British government to come to terms with the Asante after Dodowa had been opposed by the coastal peoples, who feared that the Asante would again assert their claim to suzerainty over them. Even among the merchants there were some who thought Maclean should confine his activities and authority to those actually living within the British forts. By the terms of the treaty signed in 1831 by the Governor (Maclean), two Asante delegates, six Fante chiefs, represenatives of Assin, Tufel and Denkyera and other African chiefs, the Asantehene paid the British 600 ounces of gold, gave two hostages from the royal family and recognised the independence of Denkyera and Assin. The gold and the hostages were later returned to Kumasi.

[It] was unlikely that the Asante would for long maintain the rather one-sided [peace] treaty of 1831. In 1838 when Kwaku Dua (reigned 1838-67) succeeded Osei Yaw Akoto as Asantehene he was persuaded to reopen the war agains the Assin, Akim and Denkyera. Thus the uneasy seven-year peace ended -- a time during which trade increased and Wesleyan missionary work was begun on the Gold coast, thanks to [Governor] Maclean's support.

Maclean in his work was hindered by the Danes at Christiansborg and the Dutch at Elmina. The former claimed control of Accra and were endeavouring to establish a protectorate over Akwapim, Akim and Krobo. The Dutch were suspected of intriguing with the Asante to resume the slave trade and of encouraging them to attack the coastal tribes again by supplying them with arms.

The Governor asked for troops but was told by London to use the West Indies Regiment. These were deployed along the Prah (Pra) River where they built blockhouses. It returned home without having engaged the Ashanti but somehow lost all it's guns, ammunition and supplies.

Sir Garnet Wolseley was named to head the expedition. Upon landing Wolseley demanded that the coastal tribes provide assistance, some more afraid of the Ashanti refused and one the Essaman rebelled. With a force of 500 West Indies, marines and sailors Wolseley dispersed the Essaman after a short fight.

The Gold Coast Colony was established on July 24 1874 and stretched from the coast to the ill defined borders of Ashantiland.

The new Ashanti king Prempah, perhaps to prop up his kingdom, sent raiding parties into British territory. Fearful that the French in Ivory Coast or the Germans in Togo might move in London decided to bring the Ashantis under British control. After a number of bloody skirmishes The British forced Prempah to accept protectorate status.

No sooner had the British pulled out than Prempah refused to honor the treaty. The British re-invaded, captured Kumasi exiled Prempah to the Seychelles and formed a formal protectorate.

A force was sent out to lift the siege but proved to be to small after some firefights 800 fought their into the fort. This proved to be to many people for their supplies so the governor left a small force to hold the fort and led a break out that fought it's way to friendly territory. A larger force was sent out to relive the fort and after severe fighting broke through to Kumasi. At Aboasa they clashed with the Ashanti, who abandoning their skirmishing ways rushed headlong into the British machine guns.