The Asante Kingdom was the most powerful state in West Africa for over 200 years. With a tradition of monarchy centered around the Golden Stool, the Asante came to prominence during the reign of Osei Tutu 1680-1717 and his immediate successors.
Today, the Ashanti (Asante) people number about 7 million and inhabit central Ghana, centred around the city of Kumasi. Their king, the Asantehene, continues to exert powerful social and cultural influence within Ghana, and his position is protected within the Ghanaian constitution. Ashanti kingship is similar in many respects to the chieftaincy system practised by other Akan peoples; however, the Ashanti distinguish themselves in their historical importance in the region. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, the Ashanti Kingdom was one of the most prominent states on the African continent, controlling territory outside the modern borders of Ghana. At its peak, the Asantehene ruled over approximately 3 million people. Understanding the history of Ashanti is necessary for understanding the Gold Coast region and the broader history of Africa.
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| The asante kingdom in Ghana |
In the 19th century, the Asante came into conflict with the British, and after a series of brutal wars, the Asante Empire was annexed by the British Empire in 1902 as a protectorate. Like the Zulu, the Asante were one of the few African kingdoms capable of exerting effective resistance against colonial European powers. This article discusses the origins of the Asante and their rise to dominance among the Akan peoples of West Africa. Roughly 20 million people speak Akan languages and reside in the Gold Coast region, today split between Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Though subdivided into multiple peoples, the Akan share matrilineal descent, a system of powerful chiefs (the chieftaincy), and related folklore.
The earliest Akan migrated from the Sahel region to the forests of the Gold Coast during the 11th century. Akan folklore suggests that their ancestors came from East Africa, even Abyssinia/Ethiopia. The ancestors of the Akan likely played a role in the society of the Ghana Empire (c. 300 – 1200 AD), though much about ethnicity in that state remains uncertain. Much Akan migration southward only occurred after the collapse of Ghana, and may have been in response to Islamic incursions in the region. The traditional Akan practice of ancestor-veneration would not have meshed well with Islamic monotheism.
At the time of the Akan migration, and after, tropical West Africa south of the Sahel was very sparsely populated. The tropical rainforests that dominated the coastal regions had poor soil unsuited for grain agriculture and were unable to sustain large numbers of people. However, the crops that were grown (yams, tree crops, and palm oil) were eventually able to sustain state-level societies after the introduction of iron technology in the 1st millennium AD. The first states to survive in the forests of West Africa were likely Igbo-Ukwu (fl. 9th century) in modern Nigeria, and remarkable Benin, which was founded c. 900 and lasted until the end of the 19th century. These were exceptions to the rule, however, and for the most part, states did not begin to emerge until the 17th century, largely due to the sociopolitical changes that accompanied the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
This situation was in contrast to the Sahel region to the north, which sustained several large empires after the fall of Ghana. The great Sahel gold mines of the Mali Empire (1235-1670) started to decline in the 13th century, which allowed the forest-dwelling Akan people to rise to prominence.
This article depicts the dominance of the Asante Kingdom and its impact on our Ghana society.
Asante Society
By the 18th century, the Asante had evolved into a highly stratified society. The nobility and courtiers of the king were the sikapo, meaning “people of wealth” in the Twi language. The king and the aristocracy often wore so much gold that they needed special servants to support their limbs. The Asante upper class owned vast estates and hundreds of slaves. Lower-class free people were known as ahiato, who were noticeably shorter than the aristocracy. For the most part, they lived in single-story huts and engaged in agriculture.
Slavery was a fact of life in Asante society, and trading slaves with the Europeans was important to the Asante economy. Slaves could lead brutal lives, particularly those who worked in the gold mines or in agriculture. Slaves were rarely offered the dignity of a burial, but simply disposed of after passing.
However, not all slaves were of the same status, as there were many levels of servitude. Some individuals served as indentured labourers for specified periods of time. Liberated slaves could be perfectly integrated into Asante society, where it was often considered taboo to ask about one’s family origins. There was a proverb, “Obi nkyere obi ase,” meaning that no one should disclose the origins of another person. Freemen could become influential persons in their community; this was the biggest distinction between European chattel slavery and the slavery practised by Akan societies.
The majority of the gold in the kingdom was the personal property of the Asantehene, and when wealthy sikapo died, only a small portion of their gold went to their heirs— the rest went to the king.
Asante law was enforced by a police force that monitored those who entered and left the kingdom. Punishment could be severe and could involve mutilation or execution. Although the Ashante practised traditional Akan religion, Muslim advisors from Sahel kingdoms and Arabs were common in court.
The Asante Empire in 1750
Asantehene Opoku Ware died in 1750, the same year Bach passed in Leipzig. In this year, the Asante Empire stretched far northwards into the Sahel region, encompassing 100,000 square miles and three million subjects (greater than the contemporary population of the 13 American colonies). No other state in West Africa possessed such wealth and power. However, trouble was brewing on the horizon. The Fante Federation of States had emerged in the immediate coastal region outside Elmina, and was moving to control coastal trade with Europe. The Fante were allied to the British, who resented Asante’s move to interfere with Fante trade.
The millions of Asante subjects had varying degrees of loyalty to the Asantehene. Outside of the power base in Kumasi, various Akan peoples still held deep local loyalties, and client chiefs had much autonomy. In the north, the non-Akan peoples of Gonja and Dagomba deeply resented Asante rule. As European rulers became increasingly invested in local politics, there were many potential sources of trouble for the Asante King. At the same time, no other kingdom in Africa held so much power. When Osei Kwadro took the throne in 1764, the future of the Asante people looked bright.
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