Skip to content
BlackPast Logo
BlackPast is dedicated to providing a global audience with reliable and accurate information on the
history of African America and of people of African ancestry around the world. We aim to promote
greater understanding through this knowledge to generate constructive change in our society.
MENU
Search for:
Enter keyword…
SEARCH
ASHANTI EMPIRE/ ASANTE KINGDOM (18TH TO LATE 19TH CENTURY)
POSTED ONJANUARY 11, 2010BY CONTRIBUTED BY: MARIA QUINTANA
Map of Ashanti Empire, 1800s, Encyclopedia of African History and Culture, Vol III, 2001
The Ashanti Empire was a pre-colonial West African state that emerged in the 17th century in what is
now Ghana. The Ashanti or Asante were an ethnic subgroup of the Akan-speaking people, and were
composed of small chiefdoms.
The Ashanti established their state around Kumasi in the late 1600s, shortly after their first encounter
with Europeans. In some ways the Empire grew out of the wars and dislocations caused by Europeans
who sought the famous gold deposits which gave this region its name, the Gold Coast. During this era
the Portuguese were the most active Europeans in West Africa. They made Ashanti a significant trading
partner, providing wealth and weapons which allowed the small state to grow stronger than its
neighbors. Nonetheless when the 18th Century began Ashanti was simply one of Akan-speaking
Portuguese trading partners in the region.
That situation changed when Osei Tutu, the Asantehene (paramount chief) of Ashanti from 1701 to
1717, and his priest Komfo Anokye, unified the independent chiefdoms into the most powerful political
and military state in the coastal region. The Asantehene organized the Asante union, an alliance of
Akan-speaking people who were now loyal to his central authority. The Asantehene made Kumasi the
capital of the new empire. He also created a constitution, reorganized and centralized the military, and
created a new cultural festival, Odwira, which symbolized the new union. Most importantly, he created
the Golden Stool, which he argued represented the ancestors of all the Ashanti. Upon that Stool Osei
Tutu legitimized his rule and that of the royal dynasty that followed him.
Gold was the major product of the Ashanti Empire. Osei Tutu made the gold mines royal possessions.
He also made gold dust the circulating currency in the empire. Gold dust was frequently accumulated by
Asante citizens, particularly by the evolving wealthy merchant class. However even relatively poor
subjects used gold dust as ornamentation on their clothing and other possessions. Larger gold
ornaments owned by the royal family and the wealthy were far more valuable. Periodically they were
melted down and fashioned into new patterns of display in jewelry and statuary.
If the early Ashanti Empire economy depended on the gold trade in the 1700s, by the early 1800s it had
become a major exporter of enslaved people. The slave trade was originally focused north with captives
going to Mande and Hausa traders who exchanged them for goods from North Africa and indirectly from
Europe. By 1800, the trade had shifted to the south as the Ashanti sought to meet the growing demand
of the British, Dutch, and French for captives. In exchange, the Ashanti received luxury items and some
manufactured goods including most importantly firearms.
The consequence of this trade for the Ashanti and their neighbors was horrendous. From 1790 until
1896, the Ashanti Empire was in a perpetual state of war involving expansion or defense of its domain.
Most of these wars afforded the opportunity to acquire more slaves for trade. The constant warfare
also weakened the Empire against the British who eventually became their main adversary. Between
1823 and 1873, the Ashanti Empire resisted British encroachment on their territory. By 1874, however,
British forces successfully invaded the Empire and briefly captured Kumasi. The Ashanti rebelled against
British rule and the Empire was again conquered in 1896. After yet another uprising in 1900, the British
deposed and exiled the Asantehene and annexed the Empire into their Gold Coast colony in 1902.
Subjects:
Global African History, Places
Terms:
18th Century (1700-1799), Europe - France, Europe - Netherlands (Holland), Africa - Ghana (Gold Coast),
Europe - Portugal, Europe - Great Britain - England
Do you find this information helpful? A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Forego a
bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping
to make it available to everyone.
BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. Your donation is fully tax-deductible.
CITE THIS ARTICLE IN APA FORMAT:
COPY
Quintana Ph. D., M. (2010, January 11). Ashanti Empire/ Asante Kingdom (18th to late 19th century).
BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/ashanti-empire-asante-kingdom-18th-
late-19th-century/
SOURCE OF THE AUTHOR'S INFORMATION:
Kevin Shillington, Encyclopedia of African History (New York: Fitzroy
Dearborn, 2004); Ivor Wilks, Forests of Gold: Essays on the Akan and
the Kingdom of the Asante (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1993).
Post navigation
PREVIOUS
Previous post:Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817)
NEXT
Next post:Dean Oliver Barrow (1951- )
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
People
Places
Groups & Organizations
Events
Primary Documents
Institutions
Speeches
Perspectives
GLOBAL AFRICAN HISTORY
People
Places
Groups & Organizations
Events
Primary Documents
Institutions
Speeches
Perspectives
ABOUT BLACKPAST
Mission Statement
About Us
Academic Historians
Independent Historians
Student Historians
Board of Directors
Academic Advisory Board
International Advisory Board
Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters
CONTACT BLACKPAST
Contact Us
Write for Us
How You Can Help Us
Accessibility
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
©2007–2023 BLACKPAST.ORG. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
BLACKPAST.ORG IS A 501(C)(3) NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
Scroll Up
