S3E8: The Dahomey War

In 1763, war broke out between the Ashanti and Dahomey empires. These two empires, the most important states in the region of modern Ghana, Togo, and Benin, clashed at the small village of Atakpame. The result would forever change both empires.

In 1763, the Dahomey was still a relative newcomer as a great power. The empire's capital of Abomey began expanding into neighboring regions around 1720, and would eventually seize control of the Akwamu empire's easternmost vassal: the coastal city state of Ouidah. The Akwamu, preoccupied with internal disputes and numerous other wars, were unconcerned with this rising power to their East. However, after a brief lull in expansion, the Dahomey once again pushed west towards Akwamu. In the 1740s, they destroyed the formerly significant kingdom, reducing its area of influence only to its capital city of Akwamufie.

While Dahomey expansion concerned the Ashanti, it possessed little priority compared to other, more pressing issues. Namely, the southern states of Twifo, Fante, Akyem, and Wasa, as well as their vassal kingdoms, united into an alliance to combat Ashanti influence in the south of Ghana. Together, they formed a significant bulwark. However, the Ashanti managed to take advantage of disunity in this faction, declaring war on the Akyem and occupying much of their lost territory. The Ashanti, however, soon recognized evidence for Dahomey support for these rebellions. The unpopular and elderly Ashanti king, Kusi Obodom, was pressured by the Juabenhen, Odankua, into declaring a punitive war against the Dahomey.

Odankua would lead this expedition, and formulated a simple plan: march an army straight into the Dahomey capital city of Abomey, show Ashanti strength, and then retreat having sent a message of not messing with the Ashanti. Convinced that the Dahomey would not be capable of mounting any serious resistance, Odankua's army marched hastily through the Dahomey's recently conquered territories. Encountering no opposition, the Ashanti army stopped to rest at the village of Atakpame before they would continue their march to the capital.

Today, Atakpame is a tranquil town in the Togo countryside. In 1763, it was the site of a major battle.

However, upon waking the next day, the Ashanti army was startled to encounter a vast force of not only the Dahomey army, but also forces from the empire of Oyo, a state from modern day Nigeria, and allied regiments from the anti-Ashanti alliance in southern Ghana. Included among these forces was the Mino, also known as the "Dahomey Amazons." This all-female force would prove decisive in the engagement, exploiting a break in the Ashanti lines to chase them back to Kumasi in a bloody retreat. Throughout this pursuit, the Dahomey and their allies captured or killed most of the Ashanti army, including Odankua himself. This battle would go down as the worst defeat in Ashanti history until this point, and would retain this status for the rest of the 18th Century.

The Mino, or "Dahomey Amazons": Pictured posing with their rifles in the 19th Century.

In the end, the battle and its fallout would change Ashanti history. The ailing king Obodom was impeached from power, and a new king would have to be elected. And, while the Dahomey's conquests in the west would not last long, the defeat of the Ashanti at Atakpame would always remain a point of pride for the empire's inhabitants.

S3E7: Kusi Obodom - The Enlightened Ashanti King?

 

Map showing the general areas of control of various factions, including in gold the areas that broke away from Ashanti influence (The Gonja region is said to have rebelled, but that the rebellion was put down pretty quickly)

This episode begins with the collapse of the Ashanti government. As will continue to be a major factor throughout this series, power disputes between the newly created Nsafohene (government bureaucrats) and Amanhene (local governors) came to a head around the end of Opoku Ware's time on the throne. His precarious efforts to balance power between these two institutions resulted in him receiving the favor of neither, and a 1748 coup in Kumasi forced the asantehene to flee from the capital city to Juaben.

When Opoku Ware died in 1750, the tensions between the nsafohene and amanhene boiled over into an outright civil war. The nsafohene supported Dako, Opoku Ware's assigned heir who promised to continue his uncle's policy of centralizing the government's power. The amanhene sided with Kusi Obodom, a half-blind, elderly, and alcoholic ruler who sought to allow more self-government to the amanhene. While the details of the war are lost, after seven years of hard fighting, the amanhenes' faction came out on top.

Despite keeping his promise to delegate much of his power to the amanhenes, Kusi Obodom did actively reform many aspects of Ashanti life, including the empire's law code. Many aspects of Ashanti Law which he viewed as unnecessarily harsh or draconian, including the right to hold accused people in jail before their trial indefinitely, and the punishment of executing people for insulting the golden stool, were abolished, as limits to pre-trial jailtime were instituted and the penalty for insulting the stool was lowered to time in prison. 

Additionally, Ashanti laws at this time were modified to include additional punishments committed by members of abusua (tribes) against members of other abusua. This was done to prevent intertribal conflicts from escalating into cycles of familial violence, and to increase the confidence among tribal families in the ability of the Ashanti state to dole out proper justice.

When reading through Ashanti law-codes, I saw an interesting passage in the section on incest. Ashanti law prohibits sexual activity not only with blood relatives, but with relatives by marriage as well. As the law code lists off which in-laws are off limits, they include a reference to a "sister's wife" as someone you should not court. This provoked further interest in the Ashanti's stance on homosexuality, which I cover in the latest premium episode available on Patreon. The answer is unlikely to be what you expect, as Ashanti society had dramatically different stances on lesbianism and homosexuality among men.

In the end, however, the civil war resulted in the amanhenes controlling much of the true power in the Ashanti Empire. As we'll see, the issue of control between the amanhenes and nsafohenes will not be resolved by this civil war, and remain a common theme throughout Ashanti history.

Ghana continues to have traditional amanhene today, who act as local traditional leaders. Pictured here is the amanhene of Gyadam, a town in Ghana's eastern region.

S3E6: Opoku Ware - the Empire Builder

 

In this episode, we chart the life of Opoku Ware, a man who nobody expected to become the asantehene. He was not among the first in line to become the next king of the Ashanti, nor was he the commander of a strong military. In fact, calling him a man at the start of his reign is a bit misleading, as most estimates believe him to have been a teenager when he was first enstooled. Despite his young age, however, Opoku Ware would not only prove to be a surprisingly successful ruler, but would in fact rescue the Ashanti Empire from the brink of destruction.

James C. Lewis' Take on Opoku Ware

After the death of the first asantehene, Osei Tutu, when on campaign against the Akyem, the nascent Ashanti Empire quickly devolved into infighting. Multiple of Osei Tutu's nephews sought to take their uncle's place on the golden stool, while many local noblemen and military leaders endorsed and supported their favorite candidate. Soon, the question of who would succeed Osei Tutu devolved into a military crisis, and then a civil war. As the Ashanti took up arms against each other, their vassals, enemies, and allies alike sought to take advantage of the turmoil. In the southwest, the vassal king of the Wasa took the opportunity to declare independence from the Ashanti, instead aligning himself with the neighboring Aowin people. To the East, the Ashanti's Akwamu allies entrenched themselves in the conflict, providing arms and men to support their favorite faction in the civil war. However, the crisis reached its highest point in 1716, when the Aowin army launched a raid into Ashanti lands. With the Ashanti busy fighting each other, the Aowin marched uncontested to the Ashanti capital of Kumasi, sacking the city of its valuables and enslaving thousands of the city's inhabitants. The fact that a foreign army could march into an undefended Ashanti city and inflict such damage served as a wakeup call to many of the Ashanti elites. Understanding that the Ashanti had to end the conflict, the various factions of the civil war agreed to a settlement. None of the militant factions would take over. Rather, the next asantehene would be a teenage boy named Opoku Ware, Osei Tutu's grand-nephew. This teenager would, presumably, serve as a weak monarch, but restore the peace. Each faction in the civil war would be pardoned for their actions, and there would be no retribution for past wrongdoings.

With peace restored among the Ashanti, Opoku Ware and the Ashanti army began the long and arduous journey to dealing with their many external foes. The Akyem signed a peace treaty with the Ashanti, while the Aowin, Wasa, Bono, and Gonja were defeated with force of arms. The Akwamu were subdued through surreptitious means. Opoku Ware offered military support to a faction in an ongoing Akwamu succession crisis, reviving the alliance between the Ashanti and the victorious faction. A =fter the Ashanti intervention in the Akwamu succession crisis, many of the Akwamu aligned with the defeated faction were sold into slavery to the Danish at Accra. Finally Opoku Ware threatened the king of Dagbon into becoming a tributary of the Ashanti, an offer which the Dagomba king reluctantly accepted.

After being sold to the Danish, Akwamu slaves staged a nearly successful revolt on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas

By 1747, Opoku Ware had more than doubled Ashanti territory. To administrate his newly conquered states, he set up a new system of bureaucracy. Known as "amanhene", these bureaucrats essentially acted as governors of a conquered region. They had the power to enforce the law, act as judges, collect taxes, and raise local militias. However, their power was not limitless. Each year, these governors were required to make a return journey to Kumasi and take an annual pledge of loyalty to the asantehene.

Despite the frequent pledges of loyalty, the question of the power of the amanhene vs. the power of the central government at Kumasi will become an increasingly tense policy issue throughout the remainder of the podcast. The next episode will focus on how, after all this hard work expanding and strengthening the empire, Opoku Ware's reign will end with the contraction of the imperial territories and a regression back into civil war.

S3E5: The Ashanti Empire is Born at Feyiase

Hope you enjoy the latest episode of the History of Africa podcast. This episode, we picked up right where we left off last time. Osei Tutu is a fugitive prince who has just returned to his hometown of Kumasi, with his Denkyira former captors too busy with wars in the South to pursue him north. However, a lull in the violence in the Denkyira's south allowed them to turn their attention back to the North, and finally focus on recapturing the renegade prince in Kumasi.

However, Osei Tutu was not in a capitulary mood. He had spent the last several years building a powerful army, one which used modern organization, tactics, and bureaucratization. This new force, he hoped, would finally be enough to equal the Denkyira's strength. 

The famous Ashanti golden stool

After luring the Denkyira deeper and deeper into Ashanti territory, the Ashanti army ambushed the Denkiyra at the small village of Feyiase. The shocked Denkyira were routed, and their king was killed in battle. After his victory, Osei Tutu had secured victory for the Ashanti and neutralized the Denkyira threat. With this new, united army at his disposal, he quickly elevated his status from the king of Kumasi to the king of all of the Ashanti, or Asantehene. However, rather than vesting power in himself, the forward looking Osei Tutu decided to technically vest the power into an artifact which would outlive him. The golden stool, a throne which supposedly descended onto Osei Tutu's lap from heaven, would be the true symbol of power in the Ashanti empire. Now that power had been invested into a physical object, Osei Tutu's empire was more likely to outlast his death.

After winning his people's independence, Osei tutu expanded in multiple directions. The remaining Denkyira were turned into vassals, as were the Twifo and Wasa people of the southwest. Then, he invaded the Akyem kingdom to his south east, seizing the half of their kingdom north of the Pra river. However, either while crossing the river or due to the betrayal of his Akwamu advisors, Osei Tutu was ambushed and killed. While a succession dispute would soon cause his kingdom to lose much of its territory, Osei Tutu's forward thinking decision to vest power not in himself but in the golden stool ensured that the political entity of the Ashanti Empire lived on.

Today, Feyiase is a small town in Ghana's Ashanti region. In 1701 it was the site of a dramatic clash between Ashanti and Denkyira armies.

Join us for our next episode, when Osei Tutu's successor will double the Ashanti's territory and reform the empire's government. 

S3E4: A New Ashanti Army

French Illustration of an Ashanti Scout (1884)

I hope you enjoyed this week's episode of the History of Africa podcast. This episode focused on the reorganization of the Ashanti army that took place after Osei Tutu's return in 1695. As of his return, the Ashanti people were still disunited. While the multiple Ashanti kingdoms fought as allies against their common enemy the Dormaa, they were still esssentially multiple armies under one banner. However, Osei Tutu sought to transform this status quo. In order to prepare for the inevitable war against the Denkyira, the King of Kumasi, Osei Tutu, ordered the reorganization of the Ashanti's current cobbled together army of local militias into a single, unified force of professional soldiers. Additionally, Osei Tutu sought to educate this new army in modern Akan tactics, replacing the old manner of traditional battle.

Fante soldiers, which practiced similar modern, firearm dependent tactics to the Denkyira or Akwamu.

These new tactics would be necessary if the Ashanti were going to stand up to the Denkyira. Like the other states in the southern region of Ghana, the Denkyira had adopted modern tactics and fully integrated firearm use into their wartime strategies. If the Ashanti tried to face the modern, gun-wielding tactics of the Denkyira with traditional, sword-wielding Akan tactics, they would be crushed. 

To teach his army in this modern way of warfare, Osei Tutu conscripted the Akwamu soldiers who had accompanied him on his return to Kumasi. Like the Denkyira, the Akwamu had long adapted modern firearms focused tactics and had used them in their own successful wars of conquest. 

The Ashanti army was drilled in the Akwamu strategic doctrine. Akwamu strategy hinged on encircling the enemy. The army was divided into several components. A scouting regiment tracked enemy forces, sabotaged their paths, and launched guerrilla style sniper attacks. The forward guard, composed of the best trained members of the Ashanti army would fiercely attack the enemy, forcing the enemy into a static defensive position. The four wings would then move around the pinned enemy, attempting to encircle the enemy. The main body provided a manpower reserve for whichever part of the army needed reinforcements. Meanwhile, the rear guard of the army sat at the back of the force, protecting against encirclement. Officers and nobility were protected by a specialized group of bodyguards meant to protect these critical people from being hurt or killed in a potential defeat. Finally, the army was accompanied by a horde of medics, engineers, supply transporters, and foragers, meant to support the army in non-combat matters.

While the Ashanti were still new to this type of warfare were far from perfectly implementing this doctrine. Despite this, the Ashanti put this new style of warfare to great use against the Dormaa, decisively defeating their eastern rival when the Dormaa tried to invade Kumasi. But, compared to the coming threat, the Dormaa were small change. During our next episode, we'll see how this new army fares against the centuries old hegemons of the Ghanaian forest region, the Denkyira.

S3E3: The Kingdom of Kumasi

This episode focuses on the rise of the Kwaaman state, sometimes called the kingdom of Kumasi. Kumasi would grow and rise to eventually become the progenitor of the Ashanti Empire, but, in the 17th century, it was merely a small city state that was subject to the much larger Denkyira.

Kumasi was ruled by the Oyoko, one of the most prominent tribes among the Akan. As described in the episode, Akan tribes are a somewhat confusing system. Akan tribes are essentially important extended noble families. While each tribe was usually based primarily in a specific ethnic group, they also occassionally transcended ethnicity. One tribe, the Ekuona, has most of its members among the Fante, but also featured cadet branches among the Ashanti, Denkyira, and other Akan ethnic groups. 

The Eagles Talons: Akan symbol for the Oyoko Tribe, which claims the falcon as its sacred animal.

The Oyoko tribe, itself an offshoot of the Ekuona, rose to prominence by becoming the rulers of the most important city among the Ashanti. Asantemanso, while a small village today, was once a major urban center. Along with the cities of Mampong, Juaben, and Bekwai, the Oyoko kings of Asantemanso acted as the most important powers among the Ashanti. 

However, the history of the Oyoko clan forever changed during the rule of a king named Oti Akenten. Akenten, under the advice of his religious advisor Anokye, made the decision to move his capital city away from Asantemanso. This was, depending on which historians you believe, either to move the Oyoko capital further away from their Denkyira overlords, or to prevent overcrowding in Asantemanso. According to legend, Anokye decided to test the soil fertility of several cities to find the best candidate for a new capital. He planted a sapling of a kum (wild fig) tree in each city and waited to see which soil would produce the largest, healthiest specimen. The small village of Kwaaman produced the best tree, Akenten moved his capital there. Kwaaman's name would be changed to Kumasi, Twi for "City under the Kum Tree."

A kum tree, the species used by Anokye to test the soil of various locations.

After Akenten's eventual death, rule of Kumasi, and informally of the Oyoko, was passed onto his maternal nephew, Obiri Yeboa. Yeboa's rule, however, was one overwhelmingly consumed by chaos. During his rule, the Ashanti states were invaded by the invading Dormaa people from the West, with their armies reaching to the outskirts of Kumasi. Yeboa, to face this threat, organized an alliance between Kumasi and the other major Ashanti cities. This alliance met the Dormaa in battle, and emerged victorious, but at the cost of Yeboa's life. He succumbed to battle wounds shortly after the fight. In his place, his own nephew, Kofi Osei Tutu was meant to take the throne. However, the circumstances surrounding Osei Tutu at the time of his uncle's death made the succession of the throne of Kumasi a little more complicated.

Osei Tutu, like many important heirs of Denkyira subjects, had been held hostage in the Denkyira capital of Abankeseso since the beginning of his adulthood. This was not unusual, as the Denkyira had a long-standing practice of holding the heirs to their subordinate kings as hostage to ensure compliance. However, while he was a captive, Osei Tutu was no prisoner in the traditional sense. Political prisoners like the Oyoko prince were treated with intense respect, thus they have a positive view of the Denkyira when they are eventually released. So, rather than being locked in a dungeon, Osei Tutu was essentially a guest in the Denkyirahene's palace, albeit one that wasn't allowed to leave. His days were spent idly socializing with Denkyira elites, playing Oware, and courting palace women.

Oware, a strategy game similar to mancala, has been a mainstay Akan leisure hobby for centuries.

However, this last activity would eventually land Osei Tutu in some trouble. According to oral traditions of both the Ashanti and Denkyira, Osei Tutu got a little bit too close with the Denkyirahene's daughter, and got her pregnant. Fearing repercussions for this relationship, Osei Tutu was forced to make a daring escape from Abankeseso. However, he couldn't stay in Kumasi, as his uncle was still a Denkyira subject. So, he fled into Akwamu, a neighboring kingdom to the East. There, he remained under the protection of the Akwamuhene, with the king refusing to give up Osei Tutu due to his enmity with the Denkyirahene as well as his own friendship with the Oyoko fetish priest Anokye. So, for the next few years, Osei Tutu hid out in the Akwamu capital. However, when he heard the news of his uncle's death at the hands of the Dormaa, Osei Tutu was forced to return to his home city of Kumasi to take up the mantle of Asantehene. With a small group of Akwamu bodyguards, Osei Tutu made his way back to Kumasi. And that is where our story leaves off for now.

Apologies for changes in background noise and the like during this episode. I recently moved into a new place, so things might be a little bit different. Anyways, thanks for listening.

S3E2 The Denkyira Empire

I hope you enjoyed the latest episode of the History of Africa Podcast, this episode focusing on the rise of the Denkyira Empire, the state which dominated southern Ghana throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

The story of the Denkyira's rise to power begins with the arrival of the Portuguese on the shores of Ghana in the 15th century. The Denkyira capital, Jukwaa, was located in the perfect spot to act as a middleman between European trade on the coast and the people of the Ghanaian interior to the north. 

The Portuguese Fort at Elmina became one of the most important centers of trade, including the slave trade, in the late 15th century.

As the city of Jukwaa grew in wealth, it also grew in power. By the early 16th century, the city's influence had expanded to the point that its rulers began claiming the title of Denkyirahene, or king of all Denkyiras. And, according to European observers, this was no empty title. The kings of Jukwaa enjoyed more wealth and prestige than any other kingdom in Ghana at the time. European governments and trade companies came to increasingly rely on the Denkyira as their primary trade partner for ivory, gold, and, increasingly throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, slaves.

This 17th Century English arquebus is an example of the type of firearms that European merchants traded with Akan merchants in exchange for gold, slaves, and kola nuts.

The Denkyira profited immensely from their trade with the Europeans, receiving finished products, with firearms being the most crucial. In order to receive an edge on their neighbors, the Denkyira government began importing European firearms en masse. This strategy was effective and allowed the Denkyira to expand their territory along Ghana's coast, at least until their neighbors began similarly importing firearms and adapting their tactics for their use.

Eventually, the Denkyira (and other Akan) did figure out how to manufacture firearms of their own, like this short barreled arquebus. 

While Denkyira craftsmen didn't take long to figure out how to create a domestic manufacturing industry, demand for European products remained high. Fortunately for the Denkyira, they controlled the mine of Obuasi, which they had seized from the kingdom of Twifo in an earlier war. This mine produced a considerable portion of Ghana's gold, and by controlling it the Denkyira had a considerable source of gold to trade with Europeans. However, the fueling of their economy also relied on a nearly endless series of wars with the Fante, Twifo, and Akyem to acquire slaves. This warfare drove a further need to import weapons, creating an ever-escalating military conflict in southern Ghana. Once import needs exceeded the value of the gold produced in Obuasi, the Denkyirahene began demanding ever harsher tribute payments from the empire's Ashanti subjects.

The town of Obuasi was Denkyira's principal gold mine.

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