Osei Kwadwo
| Osei Kwadwo | |
|---|---|
| Asantehene | |
| Reign | c. 1764 – 1777 |
| Predecessor | Kusi Obodom |
| Successor | Osei Kwame Panyin |
Osei Kwadwo was the 4th Asantehene of the Ashanti Empire who reigned from 1764 to 1777. He was succeeded by Osei Kwame Panyin.
Reign
Domestic affairs
During his reign, Osei Kwadwo formed the office of the Akwanmofohene, which translates as "chief inspector of the nuisances and path cleaners." It was formed as the head of the Akwanmofo, which was the agency responsible for the maintaining the roads of the Ashanti Empire. The first to be appointed into the Akwanmofohene office was Adabo, son of Kusi Obodom.[1]
Foreign affairs
Osei Kwadwo engaged in war against Banda after the killing of Ashanti traders in the state.[2][3] Banda was supported by Gyaman, Denkyira, Wassa and the Kong Empire. The campaign took place as an open pitched battle of which Banda was able to resist Ashanti's attacks twice until they were subjugated into the empire during Ashanti's third attack.[2] During the reign of Kusi Obodom, an alliance was formed among the coastal states including Akyem, Wassa, Denkyira, Twifo and Fante. This alliance was formed to oppose Ashanti expansionism towards the Coast. By the late 1750s, the alliance disintegrated following the withdrawal of the Fante as well as the decline in relations with fellow member Denkyira.[4][5] In June 1765 Osei Kwadwo waged war on the alliance.[5] The armies of Wassa and Twifo escaped to Fante territory but the Akyem were defeated.[6][5] As a result, Akyem Abuakwa was conquered into the Ashanti Empire.[6] This conquest enabled the Ashanti to open the 5th Great Road by 1766.[6][7]
In 1765, Osei Kwadwo established a military camp in the Fante territory of Abora following an agreement between the Ashanti and Fante. The base was formed to foster attacks against Wassa.[5][8] In the process of this occupation, the Fante shared mistrust for Ashanti as this resulted in a decline of relations between both states. The Fante refused to share the spoils of the war against Akyem and they sold some Ashanti, who came into their villages for food, as slaves.[5] Emissaries were sent on behalf of Ashanti to investigate Fante's hostility, but they were captured. Ashanti declared war as the last alternative and a direct confrontation was reported to have occurred between 17 and 28 June 1765, but this did not evolve into full-scale war. Osei Kwadwo withdrew back inland around July due to factors such as poor logistics.[5]
Under his predecessor, Kusi Obodom, Ashanti–Dahomey relations had soured.[9] After Dahomean King Kpengla came into power in the late 18th century, he sent an embassy with gifts to Kumasi to improve the relations between the two states. Osei Kwadwo requited this gesture by sending an embassy to Abomey, the capital of Dahomey. Historian Wilks hypothesizes that it was through these exchange of missions between the two leaders that the Togo hills was affirmed as a neutral zone between Ashanti and Dahomey.[10]
See also
- List of rulers of Asante
- Akyaawa Yikwan, daughter of Osei Kwadwo
References
- ^ Ivor Wilks (1989), p. 35
- ^ a b Ward, W.E.F. (2023). A History of Ghana, Volume 1 of Routledge Library Editions: Colonialism and Imperialism. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781000854855.
- ^ Bravmann, Rene A.; Mathewson, R. Duncan (1970). "A Note on the History and Archaeology of "Old Bima"". African Historical Studies. 3 (1): 133–149. doi:10.2307/216484. JSTOR 216484. S2CID 163324050.
- ^ Fynn, John K. (1965). "The Reign and Times of Kusi Obodum, 1750-64". Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana. 8: 24–32. JSTOR 41403567. S2CID 155465956.
- ^ a b c d e f Priestley, Margaret (1961). "The Ashanti Question and the British: Eighteenth-Century Origins". The Journal of African History. 2 (1): 35–59. doi:10.1017/S0021853700002139. JSTOR 179582. S2CID 153355150.
- ^ a b c Ivor Wilks (1989), p. 27-8
- ^ Kurt, Beck.; Klaeger, Gabriel; Stasik, Michael (2017). The Making of the African Road. Brill. p. 91. ISBN 9789004339040.
- ^ Sparks, Randy J. (2014). Where the Negroes Are Masters. Harvard University Press. p. 128. ISBN 9780674726475.
- ^ Ivor Wilks (1989), p. 320
- ^ Ivor Wilks (1989), p. 321
Bibliography
- Adu Boahen. "A New Look at the History of Ghana." African Affairs, Vol. 65, No. 260 (July 1966), pp. 212–222
- Ivor Wilks (1989). Asante in the Nineteenth Century: The Structure and Evolution of a Political Order. CUP Archive. ISBN 9780521379946.
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