Jan. 27, 2025, 10:41 p.m.
The War of the Golden Throne: How English arrogance led to bloodshed
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Photo: ghanaremembers.com
Any empire is a system that seeks to expand its borders. When an empire is on the rise, people in power begin to develop a superior attitude towards enslaved peoples, and a desire to humiliate and demonstrate their importance. It seems that such ulterior motives were the basis for the outbreak of the eighth war between Great Britain and the Ashanti people. Let's try to recall how the events unfolded before and during the war.
How the Ashanti state was formed
Britain is expanding its influence
A white man wants to sit on the throne
The fall of Kokofu and the end of the war
How the Ashanti state was formed
The Ashanti are a people of the Akan group who currently live in Ghana. Sources contain contradictory information about when the Ashanti were separated from the Akan into a separate ethnic community. One way or another, the final stage of this process can be considered the creation of the Ashanti Confederation in the late seventeenth century.
The new state emerged as a military alliance of several territorial and clan entities to fight another powerful entity, the Denkira. In 1701, the Confederation defeated Denkira and gained access to the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, which meant it had access to trade with Europeans. Long before contact with Europeans, the Ashanti clans' territory was known in the region for significant gold deposits, which they actively traded. Another source of income was the slave trade. The supply of slaves was facilitated by the fighting that the Ashanti clans regularly waged.
The Confederation was formed at a meeting of all clan leaders. At this meeting, Osei Tutu I was proclaimed the supreme leader. According to legend, at the meeting, the chief priest and adviser of Osei Tutu, Okomfo Anokey, removed the Golden Throne from the heavens. Okomfo Anokey emphasized that the Golden Throne symbolizes the formation of a new state and also contains the soul of all Ashanti people.
From that moment on, the Golden Throne became a sacred Ashanti relic. The throne could not be placed on the ground in order not to contaminate it. Therefore, the Throne was always placed on some kind of stand. Moreover, no one, not even the supreme leader, could sit on the Throne as the seat of the soul of the people.
The significance of the Golden Throne for the Ashanti was immortalized on the state flag.
The flag of the Ashanti Confederation. Image: Wikipedia
Throughout the eighteenth century, the Confederation expanded its territory and fought with its neighbors for trade routes. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Confederation had become a powerful state, controlling land roughly the size of modern-day Ghana. However, at this point, the Confederation's ambitions clashed with the needs of Great Britain.
The Ashanti Confederation in the eighteenth century. Map: Wikipedia
Great Britain expands its influence
The first Europeans to establish themselves on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea were the Portuguese in the late 15th century. Gradually, other Europeans arrived in the region, including the British. Due to the significant gold deposits, Europeans began to call the territory of modern Ghana the "Gold Coast". This is how Europeans began to call their own colonies on the coast.
The nineteenth century was a time of active British expansion, including in Africa. Britain set out to buy out the lands of local colonies of other European countries. At the same time, it began to expand its presence in the region by invading the territory of local states. The main target of the British was the Confederacy, which at that time was the dominant power in the region.
During the nineteenth century, eight wars were fought between Britain and the Confederacy. In the first five wars, the Confederation managed to contain the enemy, but in the 1873-74 war, the Ashanti were defeated, and the capital Kumasi was looted and set on fire. Among the looted goods, the British took the Golden Throne from the capital of the Confederation. However, it soon turned out that it was a fake. The real Ashanti throne was hidden.
The British burn the Ashanti capital of Kumasi. Image: Wikipedia
The Confederation retained its independence, but the British imposed a heavy contribution of 50 thousand ounces of gold on the country. Also, after the victory, the British had significant influence within the state. With their support, some Ashanti chiefs launched separatist uprisings. For a long time, the country was in decline under the burden of internal conflicts.
However, later Prempeh became the supreme leader and began to restore the state. Human sacrifice, typical for the Ashanti, was abolished, and with the help of Europeans, new industries began to develop: cocoa cultivation and natural rubber extraction.
In general, the new leadership of the Confederation was ready to cooperate with Britain, but this development was not part of the Europeans' plans. They did not want to see a strong state on the coast of the Strait of Guinea. In addition, the British feared that the Ashanti might make some kind of deal with the Germans or the French, whose colonies were nearby.
So the British accused the Ashanti of not fully paying the contributions from the previous war, and two thousand British soldiers marched on Kumasi. This time, the Ashanti decided not to resist. Prempeh, his mother, and 30 leading figures of the state were sent into exile to the Seychelles. Formally, the government of the state was taken over by the British, and the gold mines were transferred to a British joint-stock company.
Paramount Chief Prempeh and his mother at the feet of British Colonel Scott. Image: aseannow.com
A white man wants to sit on the throne
The British administration began to exploit the Ashanti in construction, and they were shown contemptuous treatment in every possible way. However, the British Governor-General of the Gold Coast, Frederick Hodgson, thought that humiliation was not enough for the Ashanti.
Hodgson appeared at a meeting of the chiefs and very emotionally declared that he should sit on the Golden Throne as a representative of the British Queen, who is the ruler of the Ashanti after the exile of the paramount chief. Feeling invulnerable, Hodgson sent Captain Cecil Armitage and fifty soldiers to search for the Golden Throne in the surrounding villages.
A little later, the mother of one of the exiled chiefs, Ya'ah Asantewa, made a passionate speech in which she called on the men to rise up in rebellion. Captain Armitage's detachment was ambushed and only thanks to a downpour that disabled the old Ashanti rifles did the British manage to retreat to Kumasi. In the center of the capital there was a fort with 4-meter walls, behind which British subjects led by Governor General Hodgson took refuge. In addition to Europeans, the fort housed more than 400 African soldiers loyal to the empire, mostly Hausa Muslims from Nigeria. The fort's inhabitants were also armed with 6 light cannons and 4 Maxim machine guns.
Jaa Asantewa. Photo: worldhistoryedu.com
The siege of the fort
After a while, the rebels approached the fort. They made one attempt at a direct assault, but the fort proved to be a tough nut to crack. The siege began. The Ashantis fired at the defenders, cut telegraph wires, and blocked food supplies. The rebels began blocking the roads to the fort with powerful barricades of wood, earth, and stones that even light British artillery could not penetrate.
A view from the fort at Kumasi in 1900. Image: www.meisterdrucke.ie
Meanwhile, the metropolis learned that the British were surrounded by "savages" and needed to be rescued. The problem was that it was during this period that Britain had to deal with two crises simultaneously: The Boer War and the uprising in China. So reinforcements had to be gathered drop by drop.
Most of the contingent was found in the British colonies in Africa. A large group of volunteer officers went from the metropolis to help. A group of officers of the British Indian Army, along with fifty Sikh soldiers, also went to Africa. All of them were to assemble on the Gold Coast and move to Kumasi. The total number of the newly created "army" exceeded 1750 people. They had six cannons and six Maxim machine guns. The reinforcements were led by Colonel James Wilcox.
The advance of the Salvation Army was difficult because the rainy season had begun. However, the British vanguard was already one pass from Kumasi when, near the village of Kokofu, it encountered the main rebel forces led by Ya'ah Asantewa and was besieged. The detachment sent to help was ambushed and was able to retreat only through a desperate bayonet attack.
The course of the Anglo-Ashanti War of 1900 on an old map. Map: Wikipedia
Meanwhile, the situation of the defenders of the fort in Kumasi was becoming increasingly threatening. They had eaten absolutely all the available animals, and the ration for each person was decreasing every day. The Governor General and Captain Armitage decided to break through the siege, which was still not very dense. Some soldiers with the wounded and sick were to remain in the fort. The Ashanti left the fort with 600 men, who easily swept away small groups of rebels. Only two days later, the Ashanti were able to organize a pursuit, but it was too late.
Finally, Colonel Wilcox's main forces were located 30 kilometers from the capital, but the offensive was hampered by rebels near Kokofu. Then Wilcox resorted to a trick: he told the rebels that he would attack Kokofu with all his forces if they did not lay down their arms. In preparation for the British attack on Kokofa, a large part of the Ashanti withdrew from Kumasi. After sending a small detachment to Kokofa to divert attention, the British took a detour to Kumasi and lifted the siege of the fort. When the Ashanti tried to retake their positions in Kumasi, they were met with heavy fire.
The fall of Kokofu and the end of the war
The well-fortified village of Kokofu remained the center of the rebel forces. Having failed in frontal attacks on Kokofu, the British again resorted to cunning. Several hundred soldiers entered the village of Esumere, which they controlled, not far from Kokofu, and were apparently supposed to be rotating. This is how the Ashanti scouts assessed the situation. Feeling no danger from the small British forces, the defenders of the Kokofu fortifications went for a lunch break. Upon learning that the Ashanti had left the fortifications, the British stuck their bayonets to the ground and moved forward in complete silence. The sentries noticed the British at the last moment, but it was too late.
The fall of Kokofu undermined the morale of the Ashanti. The British only had to finish off the individual units into which the army had fallen. The leaders began to surrender one by one. Jaa Asantewa was one of the last to lay down her arms.
Monument to Yaa Asantewa in Kumasi, Ghana. Photo: historycollection.com.
The Eighth Anglo-Ashanti War, or the War of the Golden Throne, began and ended in 1900. As a result of the war, Ya'ah Asantewa and other chiefs were sent into exile in the Seychelles. The legal annexation of the Confederation by Britain took place in 1901. Interestingly, in 1924, the exiled leaders were allowed to return to their homeland. Among them was the paramount chief Prempeh. However, Yaa Asantewa died in 1921 before being allowed to return. In 1935, self-government was introduced in the Ashanti lands, and in 1957 they became part of the newly created Ghana.
Conclusions.
The behavior of the Governor General of the Gold Coast, Frederick Hodgson, can be considered one of the most ridiculous examples in the history of colonialism. First, Hodgson was completely ignorant of the customs and traditions of the local peoples, which is extremely unprofessional for a representative of the state abroad. Secondly, his arrogance managed to provoke the people, who four years earlier had submitted to the British authorities without a fight and agreed to the exile of their supreme leader, into war. So at least a few thousand dead are entirely on the conscience of this sub-politician.
The victory of the British troops was achieved due to several factors. First, they had a technical advantage in the form of Maxim's guns and machine guns. Second, British soldiers were much more professional than their opponents. This was clearly demonstrated during the siege of the fort in Kumasi and bayonet attacks. Third, the British were literally more cunning than the Ashanti. On several occasions, the British launched primitive disinformation, which the straightforward Ashanti took at face value.
From the point of view of historical development, Britain's gradual takeover of the Confederation can be considered a progressive move forward, because even in the late nineteenth century, the Ashanti used slaves and made human sacrifices. However, the Ashanti, under the influence of contact with Europeans, began to abandon their bad habits themselves. Therefore, under conditions of good neighborly relations, they could make rapid progress. On the other hand, no amount of talk about progress can hide the essence of colonialism, which was simply the desire for power and gold.
Олег Пархітько