Ashanti War Begun

On the Gold Coast of West Africa, in present-day Ghana, the powerful inland Ashanti Empire sought to extend its authority over the coastal Fante peoples, who controlled the trade with European forts and resisted Ashanti dominance. Long-standing rivalry over commerce and tribute, sharpened by disputes involving fugitives sheltered among the Fante, brought the two sides to open war.

Conflict between the Ashanti and the Fante broke out in the early nineteenth century, beginning around 1806. The Ashanti armies invaded Fante territory and, over a protracted struggle, pressed toward the coast, drawing in the European trading powers established in the forts there, including the British.

The wars were marked by harsh fighting and reprisals on both sides. Ashanti expansion toward the coast brought them into growing conflict with Britain, leading to a long series of Anglo-Ashanti wars across the nineteenth century. These culminated in the British capture of the Ashanti capital of Kumasi and the eventual annexation of the kingdom, incorporating the region into the British Gold Coast colony.