Related Research Articles
Kumasi is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the commercial, industrial, and cultural capital of the historical Ashanti Empire. Kumasi is approximately 500 kilometres (300 mi) north of the Equator and 200 kilometres (100 mi) north of the Gulf of Guinea. Kumasi is alternatively known as "The Garden City" because of its many species of flowers and plants in the past. It is also called Oseikrom, after Osei Kofi Tutu I.
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.
The Akan people are a Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan language are a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Congo family. Subgroups of the Akan people include: the Agona, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem, Ashanti, Bono, Fante, Kwahu, Wassa, and Ahanta. The Akan subgroups all have cultural attributes in common; most notably the tracing of matrilineal descent in the inheritance of property, and for succession to high political office.
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.
Osei Kwame Panyin was the ruler of the Ashanti Empire from 1777 to 1801, holding the title of Asantehene. His reign was marred by uprisings, which would eventually lead to his suicide in 1803 to prevent an Ashanti civil war.
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 Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch, beginning in 1612. The Dutch began trading in the area around 1598, joining the Portuguese which had a trading post there since the late 1400s. Eventually, the Dutch Gold Coast became the most important Dutch colony in West Africa after Fort Elmina was captured from the Portuguese in 1637, but fell into disarray after the abolition of the slave trade in the early 19th century. On 6 April 1872, the Dutch Gold Coast was, in accordance with the Anglo-Dutch Treaties of 1870–71, ceded to the United Kingdom.
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.
Akyem Abuakwa is one of the four states of Akyem in 14th century Africa. Currently, it is part of Ghana. Historically, the Akyem were part of the Adansi Kingdom, which was the first nation to build buildings out of mud. They were therefore were named Adansi (builders). In the 18th century, the Ashanti Empire emerged, and under the leadership of King Osei Tutu, defeated the Adansi and annexed them into the Ashanti Empire. The three Akyem nations that were part of the Adansi Kingdom seceded and crossed the River Pra.
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.
Professor Emeritus Ivor G. Wilks was a noted British Africanist and historian, specializing in Ghana. Considered one of the founders of modern African historiography, he was an authority on the Ashanti Empire in Ghana and the Welsh working-class movement in the 19th century. At the time of his death, he was Professor Emeritus of History at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA.
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.
Otumfuo Opoku Ware II was the 15th Asantehene. He succeeded his uncle Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II on the 27th July 1970. He ruled for 29 years until his death in February 1999. He was succeeded by Otumfuo Nana 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.
Kwadwo Akyampon was an agent of Osei Bonsu who acted as representative to both the Fante government at Elmina and the Dutch colonial officials at that location. In this position he essential acted as the Ashanti Empire governor over El Mina. In 1828 Akyampon commanded a contingent of forces in the defense of Elmina against attacks by Fante, Denkyera and Wasa forces.
The Ashanti Empire was an Akan empire and kingdom from 1701 to 1957, in modern-day Ghana. The military of the Ashanti Empire first came into formation around the 17th century AD in response to subjugation by the Denkyira Kingdom. It served as the main armed forces of the empire until it was dissolved when the Ashanti became a British crown colony in 1901. In 1701, King Osei Kofi Tutu I won Ashanti independence from Denkyira at the Battle of Feyiase and carried out an expansionist policy.
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.
Her Royal Highness Oheneba Lesley Akyaa Opoku Ware is a Ghanaian physician and diplomat. She is the ambassador of Ghana to the Russian Federation. Opoku Ware is also trained as a family physician. In 2017, she was appointed by Ghana's president as the Ambassador to the Russian Federation. She is also the ambassador to several other countries including Armenia.
References
- ↑ Ivor Wilks. Asantehen in the 19th-century: The Structure and Evolution of a Political Order. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989. p. 461.
- ↑ Larry W. Yarak, Asante and the Dutch, 1744-1873. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990. p. 38.