S3E20: The Second Anglo-Ashanti War

 

Afro-Caribbean soldier in British service during the Second Anglo-Ashanti War

In 1863, the Ashanti and British armies once again met on the field of battle. That year, the British colonial government in the Cape Coast decided to harbor two Ashanti fugitives: a runaway slave and an amanhene under trial for hoarding state funds. This frightened the Ashanti authorities, then under the rule of the long-time Asantehene Kwaku Dua. By harboring the fugitives, the British were violating the agreement hatched between the nations at the conclusion of the first Anglo-Ashanti war. Kwaku Dua worried that, since the British were willing to violate this stipulation of the agreement, they would violate other, more important stipulations in the future. So, that year, the previously pacific rule of Kwaku Dua erupted into its first major external war.

The Ashanti and their Neighbors (1850)

The war saw many early victories for the Ashanti. Particularly, at the battle of Barikuma, the Ashanti army defeated and inflicted heavy losses on a British regiment. Throughout the conflict, the British struggled to organize a resistance to the invading Ashanti. However, the onset of the rainy season combined with outbreaks of malaria and smallpox in both armies caused the Ashanti offensive to grind to a halt. The war eventually became a deadly stalemate, with the Ashanti losing many soldiers to disease, and the British losing even more. Eventually, after a year and a half of fighting, the British relented. They returned the fugitives, granted the Ashanti control over disputed regions north of the Birim River, and announced that, for the foreseeable future, the British protectorates in southern Ghana would be on their own. Angry at this announcement, the Fante and Ga of southern Ghana pushed for greater autonomy from British rule, forming two new semi-independent states, the Republic of Accra and the Fante Confederation.

Map of Ghana in 1868

S3 E19 - Kwaku Dua Fixes a Broken Empire

 

Kwaku Dua's son Kwasi Boakye during his education in the Netherlands

From 1834 until 1867, the Ashanti Empire underwent a remarkable transformation. Still recovering from the disastrous rule of the alcoholic and unpredictable Osei Yaw Akoto, the empire received a new king. The new king, an obscure bureaucrat turned war-hero with only a vague connection to the royal family, would prove to be the opposite of his predecessor in every way. His name was Kwaku Dua, and he would lead the Ashanti longer than any king before him.

Kwaku Dua's reign was mostly filled with trying to patch up Asanteman's numerous problems that had appeared during his predecessor's rule. First, he invited the people of Juaben to return to their city. The people of Juaben had been forced to flee their home after a long-standing feud between Osei Yaw Akoto and the king of Juaben escalated into a minor military conflict. Had it not been for the fortunately timed ascension of Kwaku Dua, the conflict likely would have escalated into a full blown civil war. To end the conflict, Kwaku Dua invited the refugees to return to their home. He also criminally charged and executed many of the old asantehene's associates, including the rapist Kotiako and the troublemaking Ata twins.

Most controversially, he radically transformed the Ashanti economy. To prevent a mounting deflation crisis, Kwaku Dua imported a great number of cowries, the primary currency of the empire. He also instituted debt-relief policies to help the peasantry more easily escape debt slavery. These policies were paid for with an unpopular progressive estate tax, or tax on inheritance. These reforms were successful at righting the Ashanti economy.

He also sought to update and improve Ashanti mining engineering and prospecting. To do this, he struck a deal with the Dutch to allow his son and nephew, Kwasi Boakye and Kwame Opoku, to study engineering in the Netherlands and return to teach others of their methods. This plan would ultimately fail. Kwasi Boakye became attached to life in the Netherlands and refused to return to Asanteman. Meanwhile, Kwame Opoku returned to Ghana, only to realize that he had become so estranged from his own culture that he couldn't even speak to fellow Akans. He suffered an identity crisis and later committed suicide. We will cover their lives in greater detail on the latest premium episode of the show, available at Patreon.com/historyofafrica

However, they also represented a growing authoritarianism among the Asantehene. Throughout his rule, Kwaku Dua often ignored the constitutional limits of the asantehene. He passed legislation without the consent of the national assembly, and gave numerous positions of power to his allies in the military. 

His rule was mostly peaceful, with the only major wars being a war against the Dagbon Kingdom to the north, and the Second Anglo-Ashanti War of 1863. Our next episode will focus on the latter conflict, the least famous entry in the saga of the Anglo-Ashanti Wars, but perhaps one of the most impactful wars in Ghana's hsitory.