Akyaawa Yikwan was a royalty from the Ashanti Empire who served as chief negotiator of the 1831 Anglo-Asante peace treaty. [1]
Akyaawa Yikwan was the daughter of Asantehene Osei Kwadwo. Her mother was a customary wife to the Asantehene. [1] The Ashanti collected taxes from castles and forts along the coastal belt of Ghana. After the loss of the battle of Akatamanso between the southern states and Ashanti that saw the liberation of the Ga-Adangme and the rest of the southern states from the Ashanti, and the renunciation of Ashanti lordship over their lands, [2] Akyaawa Yikwan who was described as "a woman of masculine spirit" was arrested and traded to the Danes. Two of her brothers were killed in the war and her son in-law Oti Payin was beheaded. [3]
The Council of Merchants in Accra that included the British felt that they could use the position of Akyaawa Yikwan to open up communication and trade opportunities with Kumasi. Akyaawa Yikwan was bought by the British and released in 1831 as an emissary to Ashanti in an attempt to open up trade routes between the two parties. [3]
The Gold Coast was a British Crown colony on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa from 1821 until its independence in 1957 as Ghana. The term Gold Coast is also often used to describe all of the four separate jurisdictions that were under the administration of the Governor of the Gold Coast. These were the Gold Coast itself, Ashanti, the Northern Territories Protectorate and the British Togoland trust territory.
Osei Bonsu also known as Osei Tutu Kwame was the Asantehene. He reigned either from 1800 to 1824 or from 1804 to 1824. During his reign as the king, the Ashanti fought the Fante confederation and ended up dominating Gold Coast trade. In Akan, Bonsu means whale, and is symbolic of his achievement of extending the Ashanti Empire to the coast. He died in Kumasi, and was succeeded by Osei Yaw Akoto.
Atakpamé is the fifth largest city in Togo by population, located in the Plateaux Region of Togo. It is an industrial centre and lies on the main north-south highway, 161 km north of the capital Lomé. It is also a regional commercial centre for produce and cloth.
Kusi Obodom was the 3rd Asantehene of the Ashanti Empire from 1750 to 1764. He was elected as the successor to Opoku Ware I as opposed to the nominee suggested by Opoku Ware I. Obodom's reign was inaugurated with a civil war in response to his election until stability ensued by 1751.
Opoku Ware I was the 2nd Asantehene of Oyoko heritage, who ruled the Ashanti Empire. Between 1718 and 1722, Opoku Ware became Asantehene during a period of civil disorder after the death of the 1st Asanthene. From 1720 to 1721, Opoku established his power.
The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. The wars were mainly due to Ashanti attempts to maintain and enforce their imperial control over the coastal areas of present-day Ghana, where peoples such as the Fante and the Ga had come under the protection of the British. Although the Ashanti emerged victorious in some of these conflicts, the British ultimately prevailed in the fourth and fifth conflicts, resulting in the complete annexation of the Ashanti Empire by 1900.
The Akyem are an Akan people. The term Akyem is used to describe a group of four states: Asante Akyem, Akyem Abuakwa, Akyem Kotoku and Akyem Bosome. These nations are located primarily in the eastern region in south Ghana. The term is also used to describe the general area where the Akyem ethnic group clusters. The Akyem ethnic group make up between 3-4 percent of Ghana's population depending on how one defines the group and are very prominent in all aspects of Ghanaian life. The Akyem are a matrilineal people. The history of this ethnic group is that of brave warriors who managed to create a thriving often influential and relatively independent state within modern-day Ghana. When one talks of Ghanaian history, there is often mention of The Big Six. These were six individuals who played a big role in the independence of Ghana. Of the big six, people of Akyem descent made up the majority.
Osei Kwadwo was the 4th Asantehene of the Ashanti Empire who reigned from 1764 to 1777. He was succeeded by Osei Kwame Panyin.
The Asante Empire, today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted from 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of Ivory Coast and Togo. Due to the empire's military prowess, wealth, architecture, sophisticated hierarchy and culture, the Ashanti Empire has been extensively studied and has more historic records written by European, primarily British, authors than any other indigenous culture of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Battle of Atakpamé (1764) was an armed confrontation between the Ashanti Empire and neighboring Akan Allies under the leadership of the Kingdom of Akyem who joined up with the Oyo Empire and the Kingdom of Dahomey in and around Atakpamé in Togo.
The Asante, also known as Ashanti, are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante people as a first or second language.
The Manhyia Palace is the seat of the Asantehene, as well as his official residence. It is located at Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region. The first palace is now a museum. Otumfuor Opoku Ware II built the new palace, which is close to the old one and is used by the current Asantehene, Otumfuor Osei Tutu II.
An Akrafena is an Ashanti sword, originally meant for warfare but also forming part of Ashanti heraldry. The foremost example of an akrafena is the Mponponsuo, which belonged to Opoku Ware II. It has survived to the present day because it is still occasionally used in ceremonies, such as the Akwasidae Festival.
Katamanso War also known was a war that several tribes united with the British, fought and prevented Ashantis from dominating the coast in 1824. Numerous tribes in the Gold Coast such as the Fantes, Ga, Akyems, Adas were led by the British army to fight the Ashantis. It is classified as one of the "Anglo-Ashanti Wars" according to historical evidence at the National Archives.
The political organization of the historical Ashanti Empire was characterized by stools which denoted "offices" that were associated with a particular authority. The Golden Stool was the most powerful of all, because it was the office of the King of the Ashanti Empire. Scholars such as Jan Vansina have described the governance of the Ashanti Empire as a federation where state affairs were regulated by a council of elders headed by the king, who was simply primus inter pares.
Konadu Yaadom, also Kwadu Yaadom was the fourth Asantehemaa of the Asante, whose multiple marriages and spiritual influence meant that she became an important and powerful ruler in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
The Ashanti Empire was governed by an elected monarch with its political power centralised. The entire government was a federation. By the 19th century, the Empire had a total population of 3 million. The Ashanti society was matrilineal as most families were extended and were headed by a male elder who was assisted by a female elder. Asante twi was the most common and official language. At its peak from the 18th–19th centuries, the Empire extended from the Komoé River in the West to the Togo Mountains in the East.
Ghana–United Kingdom relations are the diplomatic, historical and trade relations between Ghana and the United Kingdom. Modern state Ghana-UK relations began when Ghana became independent from the UK in 1957.
Owusu-Ansa was a prince of the Ashanti Empire. He was taken to the United Kingdom as adolescent, where he received a British education. After his return to West Africa in 1841, he first became a Methodist minister and, after his resignation from that position, a diplomat in the Ashanti Empire and the British Gold Coast. He played an important role in ending or preventing several Anglo-Ashanti conflicts.