Asante History: Akyem Abuakwa And Dagomba Wars—Part 3

Osei Kwame Panin (1777-1801), succeeded King Osei Kwadwo as the fifth occupant of the Golden Stool. He was only a boy. And for a decade that the Mamponghene, Atakora Kwame ruled Asante, no major wars occurred during those period.

In 1785 Wassa revolted, which was effectively suppressed by King Osei Kwame Panin (Wassa remained a unified state until the 1820s when it broke into the present Wassa Fiase and Wassa Amenfi States).

That same year, the Okyenhene Twum Ampofo I implored the Danes to loan him goods to the value of six slaves to enlist help against Krepi, east of the Volta River. The Dutch gave him goods nudging 12 slaves.

However, the Asantehene Osei Kwame Panin refused to grant permission to the Okyenhene to wage a war in lower Volta area because, it was rumoured that if the Okyenhene crossed the Volta, he might not return to Akyem again but will create a new state just like the Akuapem State.

Osei Kwame Panin was considered to be a wicked King. He always sacrificed at least 100 people during funerals of his family members. This created hostility between him and the Asante Court.

Eventually, he was deposed by the court in 1799, and he spent the rest of his life in Juaben. His brother Opoku Fofie succeeded but died after a few weeks which made another brother, Osei Tutu Kwame Asibe (1801-1824) occupied the Golden Stool in 1801.

King Osei Kwame Asibe was an ardent Muslim advocated and according to the award-wining historian, Sylviane Anna Diouf, King Osei Kwame Asibe testified to the efficacy of Islam and his fondness for Muslims saying, ''I know that book [the Quran] is strong, and I like it because it is the book of the Great God, it does good for me and therefore I love all the people that read it'' (Source: Servants of Allah, African Muslims enslaved in America. Sylviane A. Diouf, 1998, p.186).

On the other hand, Akyem Abuakwa took advantage of this civil disturbance in Asante and deposed and executed the Okyenhene Twum Ampofo I because they regarded him as a puppet of the Asante court.

Apparently, the new Asantehene Osei Kwame Asibe, did not approve of the deposition and execution of Twum Ampofo, so he sent troops to Akyem and defeated them. Saforo Apraku successor of Twum Ampofo was among those slain.

King Atta Wusu Yiakosa was then enstooled as Okyenhene with the consent and approval of the Asantehene, Osei Tutu Kwame Asibe (who later became Osei Bonsu in 1807).

To mitigate the prevalent revolted of Akyem Abuakwa, King Osei Bonsu sited an Asante Official called Tando, in Kyebi whom the new Okyenhene was supposed to report to. Henry Meredith (a missionary in Akyem Abuakwa) in 1812, recorded this in his report.

He wrote that… ''the natural ruler of Akyem Abuakwa, Atta Wusu Yiakosa governed his country in conjunction with Tando''. Atta Wusu Yiakosa appears initially to have been deferential servant of the Asantehene for he served with distinction in the yet to come Asante-Fante war of 1807.

Earlier on in 1801, the Gofan army invaded Northern Asante, conquered Wenchi and Banda, but they were suppressed by Amankwatia II, Bantamahene.

Assin which was part of the Asante Empire was ruled by 3 chiefs: Kwaku Aputae and Kwadwo Otibu of Assin Atadanso in the Western section, and the Eastern section, Assin Apemanim, was under Amo Adae.

In 1805, one of Amo Adae's sub-chiefs died and various gold ornaments were buried with him as is a custom. The funeral was attended by a relative of Kwaku Aputae, who afterwards came secretly to loot the grave. Not satisfied with Kwaku Aputae behavior when the crime was unveiled, Amo Adae petitioned the Asantehene, Osei Bonsu, who gave judgment in his favour. Kwaku Aputae was therefore charged to pay compensation to the Amo, the plaintiff. Aputae, however, managed to escape from the court of the Asantehene.

This made Amo furious and took matters in his own hands and invaded Assin Atandaso. Attempt was made by Osei Bonsu to resolve the matter again. He ordered the two belligerents to cease fighting. This was complied by the two warring factions but as Amo Adae was returning to Assin from the Moinsi hills near Obuasi where he had withdrawn following the Asantehene's intervention, Kwaku Aputae sneakily attacked and completely defeated him. In Aputae's extolment of his victory, he executed the messengers of the Asantehene.

This enraged Osei Bonsu who decided to punish Aputae. Aputae managed to convince Kwaku Otibu to lend his support and the two chiefs advanced to meet the Asante army at Kyikyiwere. The Assins were completely destroyed and the two chiefs fled Assin and took refuge in Abora, the capital of the Fante Confederation. Asantehene then sent messengers to the Fantes demanding the two chiefs. However, these messengers were killed by the Fantes.

That apart, the continued existence of Fante confederacy as independent nation was seen by the Asantes not only as irritating, but an affront to their expansion and economic desires.

Moreover, the Fantes attempted in the early nineteenth century, to alienate and absorbed Elmina (which was sandwiched between the two Fante allied-Eguafo and Komenda) was a development which stretched the Asantes beyond their tolerable limits.

The independence and security of Elmina was the primary concern to the Asante Kingdom and the slightest threat to the survival of Elmina was going to attract retaliation from the Asantes. What worsened the resentment of Asantes was the fraudulent behavior of the Fante traders.

They bought pure gold from the Asantes and mixed it with other metals before selling them to the Europeans. They thus caused the impression among the European traders that the fraud was being perpetuated by the Asantes who were the main source of supply.

They also restrained Asante traders direct accessed to the Coast with the support of the British (who had by then adopted the policy of supporting the Fantes). Therefore in order to eradicate these menace, King Osei Kwame Asibe Bonsu launched a successful military expedition against the Fantes in 1807.

The Fante army suffered a humiliation defeat at their capital Abora, four miles from Cape Coast. While the two Assin Chiefs escaped and took refuge with the British Governor Torrane at Cape Coast, the Asantes occupied Kormantine. Torrane decided to help the Assins and Fantes by mediating with Owusu Bori I, King of Denkyira, who commanded the Asante forces at Kormantine but he refused.

The Asantes then attacked Anomabo as more than 2000 people entered the Fort Amsterdam. Torrane then handed over the two Assin chiefs and also gave up all the 2000 refugees and allowed the Fante people to be enslaved.

In view of the triumph over their rivals, Asantehene Osei Bonsu who was commanding the main Asante army, added Bonsu (Whale) to his name and attached four mirrors to the umbrella of the Golden Stool to indicate the defeat and incorporation of the Fante nation into the Asante Empire.

In 1811, the Fantes revolted and in retaliation to their defeat, they attacked Accra and Elmina who were Asante's allies. King Osei Bonsu sent an army down to the coast to each place to defend them.

A force of about 25,000 men under Opoku Fiefre, was to reinforce the Asante army who were already policing Accra from 1809. And a smaller force of 6000, commanded by Bantamahene, Appiah Dankwa, who was to relieve Elimina.

The Okyenhene Atta Wusu was instructed by his overlord, the Asantehene, to lead an Akyem contingent to join Bantamahene, the Kumasi War Minister, who was marching towards Elmina. The Okyenhene, who apparently did not considered himself properly rewarded for his contribution towards the defeat of the Fantes, refused to comply with Osei Bonsu's request.

Instead he killed the Asantehene's messengers and attacked Asante traders. Opoku Fiefre's army was therefore directed to Akyem to redress this evil. Atta Wusu and his ally Akwapem defended themselves bravely, but had to yield to the superior Asante army.

Atta Wusu's refusal to join the Bantamahene created a serious enmity between himself and Tando (the Asante official in Kyebi). Because of this, according to Meredith (a missionary in Akyem Abuakwa), Tando drove him (Atta Wusu) out of Akyem''. (Source: Rendiof, the History of the Gold Coast and Asante, 1879).

Tando who ruled Akyem Abuakwa with the Okyenhene was very arrogant person of whom Thomas Bowditch (the then British Governor) described in his book, Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantes that ''he moved in great pomp, never going the shortest distance, but in his taffeta hammock, covered with a gorgeous umbrella and surrounded by flatterers who even wiped the ground before he trod on it'' (Bowditch 1819, p. 123). Because of his narcissism, Tando was recalled to Kumasi and was never allowed to set foot in Akyem Abuakwa again.

After Atta Wusu's death and Tando recalled to Kumasi, Akyem Abuakwa continued to defy the Asantehene. The new Okyenhene, Kofi Asante refused to come to Kumasi for a year and hence Osei Bonsu in April 1815, sent two mighty Asante armies to seek out the Okyenhene Kofi Asante and the Akuapemhene.

These forces were sent under the joint command of Amankwa Abinowa and Bantamahene Appiah Dankwa. Bantamahene was charged to offer no violence nor to commit hostility unless provoked by attack, but to receive the submission of the Akyems and Akuapem and merely to exact a tax to seal it. Bantamahene did not oblige the Asantehene's instruction but attacked the Akyems and Akuapems (that is the supposed Asante-Akyem-Akuapem war).

However, the Okyenhene Kofi Asante and the Akuapemhene were not captured but took refuge with the Fantes. Fantes feared of Asante invasion, drove them from their land. Eventually in 1816, the Asante army captured the Akuapemhene and the Okyehene Kofi Asante and his two heirs apparent and killed them.

Okyehene's head was then sent to Kumasi. Bowditch who was in Kumasi in 1817 recorded the arrival of the Okyenhene's head in Kumasi…''the head of an Akim ruler Caboceer (Kofi Asante) arrived in Coomassie (Kumasi) today January 17th 1817. The Asante court then ordered Akyem Abuakwa and Akuapem to each pay 2000 ounces of gold for their late revolt.

1000 ounces were advanced immediately by each and the other 1000 ounces were paid the previous year. After the humiliation of the Akyem Abuakwa in 1816, the British Governor T. E. Bowditch made a treaty with the Asantehene, Osei Bonsu, recognizing the rents the British paid the Asantes for the Forts along the entire coast and the British right to protect natives of the Coastal states. (Source: V. G K. *The Guinea Journal* No. 1833, Svanikiaer, Accra, and Bowditch 1819).

By the end of 1817, the Asante Kingdom had reached its peak (much bigger than modern Ghana) with the incorporation of the Fante States and there was total stability in the coast of the Gold Coast.

To be continued…
By: Adomako M. Kufuor Email: [email protected] Facebook: http://m.facebook.com/amkufuor