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 ASHANTI 
 
 AND 
 
 THE GOLD COAST 
 
 AND WHAT WE KNOW OF IT. 
 
 % m^uh. 
 
 BY VICE-ADJIIRAL 
 
 SIR JOHN DALRYMPLE HAY, Bart., 
 
 M.P., C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., ETC. ETC. 
 
 WITH COLOURED MAP. 
 
 LONDON: 
 EDWAED STANFORD, 6, 7, & 8, CHARING CROSS. 
 
 1874.

 
 stack 
 
 Annex 
 
 PT 
 SCJ 
 
 H31 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 Preliminaey 5 
 
 I. — The Protected Territory 7 
 
 11. — ASHANTI 22 
 
 III. — European Connection 32 
 
 IV. — The British Eule 50 
 
 Y. — The British Rule 59 
 
 VI. — Recent Events 73 
 
 B 2
 
 ASHANTI 
 
 AND 
 
 THE GOLD COAST. 
 
 PKELIMINARY. 
 
 There seems a general disinclination to ac- 
 knowledge any acquaintance with the history 
 of our territorial rights and duties on the west 
 coast of Africa. This feeling, however, is more 
 the result of a disinclination to search for in- 
 formation on the subject than from any lack 
 of existing sources from which to draw the 
 knowledge required. 
 
 The following may be consulted with ad- 
 vantage : — Bowdich's Mission from Cape Coast 
 Castle to Ashanti, 1819 ; Dupuis' Journal of 
 a Residence in Ashanti, 1824; Beecham's 
 Account of Ashanti and the Gold Coast, 
 1843 ; Cruickshank's Eighteen Years on the 
 Gold Coast of Africa, 1853; Major Ricketts'
 
 Preliminary. 
 
 NaiTative of the Ashanti War, 1831; Miss 
 Tucker's Abbeokuta, 1853 ; Horton's Physical 
 and Medical Climate and Meteorology of the 
 West Coast of Africa, 1867 ; Win wood Reade's 
 African Sketch Book, 1873 ; Report of Com- 
 mittee of House of Commons, 1844; Report 
 of Committee of House of Commons, 1865 ; 
 Treaties, &c., 1872 ; Correspondence, 1872-3 ; 
 Lecture, R. U. S. I., Earl of Lauderdale. It 
 is hoped that this pamphlet may help in some 
 degree as a clue in the labyrinth of Gold Coast 
 troubles.
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE PROTECTED TERRITORY. 
 
 The Gold Coast, which is likely for some 
 time to attract the public attentioD, extends 
 from the river Yolta to the river Assini. 
 
 To the westward of the Assini is the Ivory 
 Coast. To the eastward of the Tolta is the 
 Slave Coast. 
 
 The Gold Coast Settlements and Protected 
 Territory with which this country is connected 
 do not correspond exactly with the above- 
 mentioned geographical definition. 
 
 The coast line of the British territory ex- 
 tends from a point in the Slave Coast near the 
 meridian of 1° east of Greenwich to the me- 
 ridian of 3° 10' W., a point 12 miles to the 
 eastward of the mouth of the river Assini. 
 
 The seaboard of this territory is now owned 
 or protected entirely by Great Britain. 
 
 To the westward of 3° 10' W. the territory 
 is owned by France; and that power, until 
 lately, occupied several forts or fortified stations
 
 8 The Protected Territory. 
 
 at Grand Bassam, and near the mouth of the 
 Assini, on both sides of the entrance of that 
 river, and French influence was asserted as far 
 as Little Bassam. 
 
 The French have, however, withdrawn their 
 troops, and have let their fortified posts to the 
 British mercantile house of Messrs. Swanzy, 
 who, in the inner waters of the lagoons formed 
 l)y the Assini and the Tando, have now above 
 forty steam-vessels engaged in prosecuting 
 legitimate commerce. 
 
 The French, though they have withdrawn 
 their troops, have not made over their terri- 
 tory by treaty to Great Britain, and still 
 maintain a naval connection with this de- 
 pendency. 
 
 To the east of the British territory are the 
 savage tribes of the Slave Coast, which inter- 
 venes between the sea and the south-western 
 extremity of the kingdom of Dahomey. 
 
 The fortified stations w-hich dot the shore 
 along these 250 miles have lately become ex- 
 clusively British. Some are deserted, some are 
 in ruins, but all must be recorded in order to 
 render any statement intelligible. 
 
 The reader must be reminded that the forts
 
 The Protected Territory. 
 
 and fortified stations aloDg the Gold Coast were 
 during the early part of this century owned by 
 the British, the Danes, and the Dutch. 
 
 In 1850 the Grovernment of Denmark trans- 
 ferred all its forts and rights to the British 
 Crown for 10,000^. 
 
 In 1867 the Government of Great Britain 
 transferred all its forts and rights westward of 
 the Sweet-Water River to Holland, receiving 
 from Holland in exchange all the Dutch rights 
 and possessions to the eastward of that river. 
 
 In 1872 the Government of Holland trans- 
 ferred to the British Crown all its forts and 
 territory and rights on the Gold Coast, in- 
 cluding those which had been transferred by 
 Great Britain to Holland in 1867. 
 
 Beginning from the eastward these places 
 are as follows : — 
 
 Quittah (Keta) Formerly Danish. 
 
 Adda 
 
 Ningo, Fort Fredensborg .. Danish. 
 
 Prampram, Fort Yernon .. .. British. 
 
 Tassj, Fort Augustenborg ,. Formerly Danish. 
 
 c Christiansborg .... „ „ 
 
 Accra J Crevecoeur Dutch till 1867. 
 
 I Fort James .. .. British. 
 
 Winnebah „ 
 
 Apam Dutch till 1867.
 
 lo The Protected Territory, 
 
 Cormantine Dutch till 1867. 
 
 Anamaboe British. 
 
 Nassau Dutch till 1867. 
 
 Cape Coast Castle British. 
 
 St. George d'El Mina .. .. Dutch till 1872. 
 Commenda British till 1867; Dutch 
 
 till 1872. 
 
 Chama Dutch till 1872. 
 
 Secondi ,, „ 
 
 Tacorady 
 
 Soiitry 
 
 Dixcove British till 1867; Dutch 
 
 till 1872. 
 Akoda (Fort Dorothea) .. .. Dutch till 1872. 
 Axim, Fort St. Anthony .. „ „ 
 
 ApoUonia British till 1867 ; Dutch 
 
 till 1872. 
 
 Neither Dane nor Englishman claimed any 
 territory outside their forts. At Axim the 
 Dutch owned a considerable tract of country, 
 as large, perhaps, as Hampshire, and watered 
 by the river Ankobar. It was surrounded 
 on all sides by the kingdoms of Apollonia, of 
 Denkera, and of "Western Wassaw, whose 
 sovereigns claimed, and until 1867 were 
 acknowledged as the recipients of, British pro- 
 tection. Elsewhere the Dutch held no terri- 
 tory, as they had resigned their claim to a 
 tract of land near Accra in 1867. All the 
 rights of Denmark and of Holland having since
 
 The Protected Territory. 1 1 
 
 1872 been absorbed by Great Britain, it is now 
 necessary to describe the area of the so-called 
 Protected Territory. 
 
 Until the Treaty with Holland in 1872 
 there was some difficulty in determining the 
 limits of British Protected Territory. 
 
 As Great Britain has, however, now assumed 
 the responsibilities of Denmark and Holland, 
 the limits of the Protected Territory may be 
 defined with some accuracy. 
 
 On the south, the Gulf of Guinea, excepting 
 only those forts and stations already enume- 
 rated which belong absolutely to Great Britain, 
 and are on the shore. 
 
 On the east the river Volta to lat. 6° 20' K; 
 on the west the river Tando to about lat. 
 6° 10' N., and on the north the kingdom of 
 Ashanti. 
 
 This frontier is coincident with the northern 
 frontier of the Protected States of Denkera, of 
 Assin, of Akim, and of Akuamu. 
 
 The line of demarcation betwixt these states 
 and Ashanti is drawn from about 6° 10' N. on 
 the east bank of the Tando River to the town 
 of Terraboom, on the west bank of the Ofim 
 River ; it there follows the line of the Ofim to
 
 1 2 The Protected Territory. 
 
 its junction with the river Prah. From that 
 confluence the boundary is marked by the 
 left bank of the Prah to lat. 6" 20' N., and 
 then appears nearly to follow that parallel 
 to the river Volta. This territory is divided 
 into two nearly equal portions by the river 
 Prah, which, from its junction with the Ofim to 
 the sea, flows in a southerly direction. In 
 the eastern half the territory is subdivided 
 into many small states, and in them British 
 influence is paramount, except perhaps in dis- 
 tant Akuamu, whose loyalty is said to be 
 doubtful. In the western half the Dutch in- 
 fluence prevails on the seashore ; but until the 
 transfer, or rather the attempted transfer, to 
 Holland, in 1867, of our rights in those dis- 
 tricts, the inland peoples desired and appre- 
 ciated the British protection. 
 
 To the west of the Prah the kingdoms of 
 Amanahea, of Aowin, of Ahanta, of Wassaw, 
 and of Denkera, occupying the principal place 
 among the Protected Tribes, and smaller po- 
 tentates, such as the kings of Secondi and 
 El Mina, are more or less important according 
 to their geographical position. 
 
 Apollonia, on the extreme western seaboard,
 
 The Protected Territory. 13 
 
 preferred British possession to Dutch in 1867, 
 and its king was with difificulty persuaded to 
 renounce the British connection. 
 
 Assini is the next state on the shore, and 
 entirely Dutch in its inclinations. 
 
 Ahanta is a considerable state, and the 
 forts of Dixcove, Boutry, and Second! are 
 within its territory. 
 
 The small state of Charaa, at the mouth of the 
 Prah, and the king of El Mina's territory on its 
 eastern shore, are completely influenced by the 
 policy they inherit from the Dutch connection. 
 The once powerful kingdom of Denkera, on 
 the Ashanti frontier, is an absolute monarchy, 
 which in former times contested with Ashanti 
 the supreme power. Its king is, and has 
 always been, most loyal to British protection, 
 influenced, no doul)t, by the hostility of his 
 northern hereditary foe. Denkera is rich in 
 gold fields, as yet undeveloped. It contributes 
 a force of 6000 men to the Fanti forces under 
 King Quachie Fram. 
 
 The powerful state of Wassaw lies north of 
 Ahanta and south of Denkera, with the Prah 
 as its eastern frontier. 
 
 In spite of the attempt to detach it from
 
 14 The Protected Territory. 
 
 British protection in 1867, its loyalty to Eng- 
 land remains unimpaired, and its king has 
 hailed with satisfaction the undivided authority 
 of Great Britain, now established in the Pro- 
 tectorate. His quota of men for the present 
 war is placed at 10,000. 
 
 To the east of the Prah the territory is more 
 subdivided. 
 Eetiu:n, Thirtv-ouc kiusfs or chiefs attached their 
 
 H. of C, "^ ° 
 
 173. 1873. signatures to the proposed Fanti Confedera- 
 tion on the 24th November, 1871. 
 Return In the ' Eough Estimate' of the Fanti 
 
 H. of C, ^ 
 
 ?o?^^* forces submitted by the Administrator on the 
 
 lo7o, 
 
 2nd Februaiy, 1873, twelve kings are named 
 whose united contingent alone amounted to 
 between 63,000 and 70,000 men. 
 
 The ancient Fanti Kingdom, which extends 
 along the sea coast from the Sweet-Water Eiver 
 to Mumford, has been broken up, and the present 
 King of Fanti, who holds his Court at Man- 
 kessan, is rather respected for what he repre- 
 sents than from the power which he now 
 possesses. Yet Quasie Edos, King of Mankes- 
 san, the representative of the Fanti kings, was 
 chosen by his compeers as one of the two 
 Kings President of the Fanti Confederation.
 
 The Protected Territory. 15 
 
 Within Fanti are Cape Coast, Anamaboe, 
 Abra, Dunquah, Dominassie, Mankessan, and 
 Ajimacoo. All of these petty states have 
 separate kings or chiefs, and there are others of 
 which there is not at present any accurate 
 record. 
 
 The quota of men for the present war of 
 some of these tribes may perhaps assist us in 
 measuring their relative importance. Thus, 
 Cape Coast is rated at 3000 men ; Anamaboe, 
 under its king, Amoanoo lY., at from 2000 to 
 3000 ; Abrah, under its king, Anfoo Otoo (the 
 joint King President of the proposed Fanti 
 Confederation with the King of Mankessan), 
 contributes 3000 men ; Ajimacoo, under King 
 Moquah, 2000 men. 
 
 The country included in these states just 
 mentioned never rises above 200 feet from the 
 sea level. The whole of the country is one 
 continued forest covered with luxuriant foliage. 
 The plains are not of great extent, and 
 during the rainy season are flooded by the 
 rivulets which intersect them, and the exhalations 
 as the waters subside are very injurious to the 
 European constitution. It is the most civilized 
 portion of the Protected Territory, and for its
 
 1 6 The Protected Territory. 
 
 civilization it is principally indebted to the 
 sacrifices and efforts of the Wesleyan Mission. 
 
 Gold is found in small quantities throughout 
 this district. 
 
 To the east of these tribes are Essecumah, 
 Ackoomfee, and Gomoah, the two last named 
 extending to the sea. Essecumah is not named 
 in the 'Rough Estimate' as sending a contin- 
 gent to the present armament, but its chief, 
 Quabina Abba Kang, is known as loyal to the 
 British protection. 
 
 Ackoomfee, of which Coffee Ackinnee is 
 king, contributes 5000 or 6000 men, and 
 Quassie Tando, the king paramount of Gomoah, 
 and Quabina Ockill, king of Western Gomoah, 
 are described as providing a force of 15,000 to 
 20,000 men. The climate and character of 
 these districts is similar to that already 
 described in the Fanti district. 
 
 Of Gomoah, indeed, it may be said that it 
 is populous, barbarous, and fertile. The dis- 
 trict of Winnebah extends along the coast 
 for about 40 miles. The population is indus- 
 trious and hard-working. The canoes of the 
 Gold Coast are almost all built in this district. 
 Palm oil, maize, and ground nuts, are produced
 
 The Protected Territory. 
 
 in abundance, and a small supply of gold dust 
 is obtained. The King of Winnebah, Henry 
 Aquah, is a Christian, and uses his influence, 
 which is considerable, in enforcing among his 
 people the doctrines and practices of the 
 Christian faith. 
 
 Fine timber is obtained from the forests with 
 which this district is bountifully supplied. 
 
 Following the coast we now reach Accra. 
 This settlement still retains the character it 
 has derived from the three-fold occupation it so 
 long underwent of English, Dutch, and Dane. 
 It comprises James Town, or English Accra ; 
 Crevecoeur, or Dutch Accra; and Christians- 
 borg, or Danish Accra. Each town has a king, of 
 whom Cudjoe rules in the old British territory, 
 Taccie in the Dutch, and Dawoonah in the 
 Danish. Taccie, however, has the advantage 
 of the Fetish man, or priest, living under his 
 control, and so is able to assume a superiority 
 over the others. 
 
 The country of Accra is flat and dry. 
 North and north-west of Accra is Akuapim ; 
 this is a mountainous region. Its capital, Akro- 
 pong, is 1600 feet above the level of the sea. 
 Here the Basle Mission has its head-quarters, 
 
 c
 
 1 8 The Protected Territory. 
 
 and at this hospitable station the European suf- 
 fering from the climate of the Gold Coast may 
 recover in its balmy shades and cool breezes 
 the energy he has lost in the plains below. Its 
 population consists of industrious farmers, culti- 
 vating coffee and palm oil. Gold dust is also 
 produced. Its children are taught in their 
 schools both the English language and their own. 
 
 To the east of Accra is Adangme, which 
 continues a coast line and district similar to 
 Accra, until it joins the estuary of the Yolta. 
 
 Forty miles from the coast Adangme ends 
 and Krobo begins. It is perhaps the richest 
 portion of the Protected Territory. It is go- 
 verned by two kings, Ologo Patoo and Odonko 
 Assin, who rule over a race of bold and hardy 
 mountaineers. The capital of Krobo is built 
 on the flat summit of a precipitous mountain, 
 which rises abruptly from the plain, and which 
 has obtained from a competent military ob- 
 server the appellation of the Gibraltar of 
 Western Africa. 
 
 The northern tribe on the west bank of the 
 Yolta is Akuamu. It is said that its loyalty 
 to the English rule is not well assured. It 
 is a mountainous region. The range at its
 
 The Protected Territory. 1 9 
 
 north-east extremity is stopped short by the 
 Yolta. The extreme peak of the range is 
 named Mount Pine. The Basle Mission has 
 a station at Odumase. 
 
 North of Winnebah and west of Akuapim is 
 the territory of Eastern Akim ; it was formerly 
 under Danish protection. It extends to the 
 Prah, where that river first touches the Pro- 
 tected Territory. 
 
 Its inhabitants are brave and warlike. The 
 country is encircled by forest; the principal 
 occupation is gold digging, and the king is re- 
 puted to be wealthy. Western Akim was also 
 formerly under Denmark ; it lies between Assin 
 and East Akim, and has its northern frontier 
 touching the Ashanti Empire, to which it 
 once belonged. Its late king, Ageman, was a 
 brave, resolute, and good governor. The capi- 
 tal is Gadem. The two Akims can muster 
 10,000 men. 
 
 The king of Western Akim, Quabinah Fuah, 
 is attached to England, and may be expected 
 to perform good service. 
 
 One more tribe remains to be noticed. The 
 tribe of Assin occupies the territory where the 
 main road from Kumasi crosses the Prah on 
 
 c 2
 
 20 The Protected Territory, 
 
 its way to Cape Coast. It has two political 
 heads, Irikie and Tchiboo. The one resides at 
 Yankumasi, the other at Mansu. The tribe 
 musters a contingent of about 2000. It is not 
 populous, but it is very fertile and produces some 
 gold. There were schools both at Mansu and 
 at Tabresumang, but the recently disturbed 
 condition of the country has caused them to be 
 closed. There are other tribes of importance, 
 such as Ahyan with its force of 2000 men, and 
 Inkoosoo Kroom and Brobor with 2000 men ; 
 but enough has been presented to give an idea 
 of the general character of the country whose 
 civilization and protection has devolved upon 
 ■ Great Britain. 
 
 It remains to be said, that the whole line ol 
 coast is fringed by perpetual surf. In unusually 
 quiet weather ships' boats may land at Secondi, 
 at El Mina^ and at Accra, but at almost all 
 the other places, and, indeed, generally there, 
 a surf boat is necessary for communication 
 between ship and shore. 
 
 Good anchorage is to be found at a mile or 
 two from the shore, but the never-ceasing swell 
 causes a monotonous rolling. The range of 
 breakers, however, extends nearly three miles
 
 The Protected Territory. 
 
 to seaward from Cape Three Points, and at 
 Achowa, at Achowa Point, and at Mnmford, 
 the broken water and foul ground is to be 
 avoided for at least 2i miles from the shore. 
 
 The sanitary condition of the towns on the 
 Gold Coast is very unsatisfactory. 
 
 Colonel Conran is reported, whilst he com- 
 manded at Cape Coast Castle, to have done 
 much to improve the sanitary condition of the 
 town, but in spite of all his efforts we find 
 Governor Hennessy writing thus of Cape Coast 
 Castle in 1872 : " It was my disagreeable duty 
 "to tell the late Administrator that I found 
 
 "the town of Cape Coast to be the 
 
 "most filthy and apparently neglected place 
 "that I had ever seen under anything like 
 " civilized government." 
 
 The Gold Coast lies in the zone of variable 
 winds, but the prevailing wind is from the 
 S.W. In December and January, and in 
 May, easterly winds occasionally prevail. 
 
 The Gold Coast is less unhealthy than Sierra 
 Leone, the Gambia, or Lagos, but, nevertheless, 
 it is a climate most injurious to European life. 
 Dr. Hortons admiral jle work enters most 
 perspicuously into this subject.
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 ASHANTI. 
 
 It is now desirable to state the leading facts 
 in the history of our formidable enemy. When 
 the Moslem invasion of Western Europe was 
 stemmed, and the Christians reasserted their 
 superiority in Spain, the Moors turned the tide 
 of conquest towards Central Africa, and on the 
 banks of the long mysterious Quorra or Niger 
 established their seat of empire at Timbuctu. 
 They advanced gradually to the Kong Moun- 
 tains, pushing before them the aboriginal race 
 of Central Africa; and, having driven them 
 into the low lying countries between the Kong 
 Mountains and the sea, the tide of Mahometan 
 conquest expended itself in establishing the 
 kingdom of Gaman. The native tribes, which 
 occupied the countries now known as Ashanti 
 and the Protected Territory, seem then to have 
 been known as Ashanti, Fanti, Akim, Assin, 
 Akuamu, and Denkera. 
 
 The Ashanti capital about the year 1700
 
 Ashanti, 
 
 was Beka, 60 miles south of Kumasi ; but 
 the reigning monarch at that time, Osai Tutu, 
 removed the seat of Government from Beka to 
 Kumasi. In the seventeenth century the 
 army of Ashanti was reckoned at G 0,0 00 
 men. This sovereign conquered or brought 
 under tribute Akim, Assin, Quahou, Akeyah, 
 and extended his conquests beyond the river 
 Tando. He then turned his victorious arms 
 against Gaman, and entering Buntuku, its ca- 
 pital, made it tributary to Ashanti. He then 
 conquered Banna, and part of the mountains 
 of Kong; and Assin failing to pay tribute, 
 he ravaged it with fire and sword. Tufel next 
 fell a prey to his ambition, and Wassaw and 
 Fanti acknowledged his superiority. Denkera 
 alone remained independent, and its youthful 
 sovereign, Bosiante, was treated as the equal 
 and friend of the great Osai Tutu. The King 
 of Denkera despatched an embassage in 1719 
 to the court at Kumasi. It consisted of the 
 most black and comely of the ladies of his harem, 
 for there, at least, the ladies perform the duties 
 of soldiers and of statesmen. The deputation 
 was treated with courtesy by the monarch, who 
 determined to despatch some of his ladies to
 
 24 Ashanii, 
 
 Denkera to return the compliment. One of 
 these dark beauties captivated the heart of the 
 King of Denkera. He was not proof against 
 the temptation. The lady returned disgraced 
 to Kumasi, and Osai Tutu determined to 
 blot out his dishonour in blood. 
 
 The war lasted two years. In 1720, during 
 the heat of the war, the offending Bosiante 
 died. His successor, Intun Dahan, formed an 
 alliance with the Dutch, who supplied him 
 with arms and ammunition; he succeeded in 
 persuading Akim, which had hitherto been 
 jealous of the prosperity of Denkera, to join 
 him against the common enemy, and maintain 
 the balance of power. Osai Tutu defeated the 
 allies in two great battles, in which Denkera 
 lost 100,000 men, and Akim 30,000. The 
 body of the offending king was exhumed, his 
 flesh given to serpents ; and the war-drum of 
 the King of Ashanti still bears as a trophy 
 the skull and the thigh-bone of the amorous 
 and unfortunate Bosiante. 
 
 About 1730 Akim again rebelled. Osai 
 Tutu immediately marched an army into the 
 disloyal province. It was proceeding success- 
 fully in its mission, but the victorious sovereign
 
 Askanti. 25 
 
 fell in an ambuscade whilst crossing the river 
 Prah, leaving an empire which extended from 
 the Assini to the Yolta, and from the Kong 
 Mountains to the sea. The place where the 
 ambush was planned in which he was slain is 
 called Cormantee. His successor took ample 
 vengeance for his death, and its memory is 
 still embalmed in the most binding and dread- 
 ful of Ashanti oaths — Meminda Cormantee. 
 He was succeeded in 1731 by his brother 
 Osai Apoko, who in a reign of eleven years 
 completed and consolidated the conquests of 
 his predecessor. Akim, Assin, Denkera, Bou- 
 rong felt his military prowess, and a conspi- 
 racy having broken out at Buntuku against 
 his authority, he defeated the King of Gaman, 
 and reduced him to complete submission; 
 he died in 1742, having established in all his 
 dominions a despotic authority, and was suc- 
 ceeded by his brother, Osai Aquasi. The new 
 king restored to the great chiefs the constitu- 
 tional powers of which they had been deprived 
 by his predecessor. In his reign the powerful 
 kingdom of Dahomey attacked Ashanti, and 
 united its forces with Bourong, Quaku, Akim, 
 and Banna ; but Osai Aquasi defeated the allies
 
 26 Ashanti, 
 
 with great slaughter. The Kings of Bourong 
 and of Quaku were taken prisoners, and the 
 King of Akim, to save himself from a similar 
 fate, seated himself on a barrel of powder, 
 which he exploded, to avoid the malice of his 
 enemies. 
 
 Osai Aquasi then decided to attempt the 
 conquest of Dahomey. In vain the omens 
 warned him against the enterprise, in vain his 
 stoutest chieftains strove to dissuade him. He 
 crossed the Yolta with a large force, and 
 suffered a terrible defeat at the hand of the 
 Amazon troops of the King of Dahomey. The 
 Dahomians did not follow up their success, and 
 since that date the two kingdoms of Ashanti 
 and Dahomey have known how to respect each 
 other, and to devote their warlike energies 
 against neighbours less likely to contend on 
 terms of equality. Osai Aquasi died of wounds 
 received in a battle fought with Banna, in 1752. 
 
 Osai Cudjoe, the nephew of the last three 
 sovereigns, now ascended the throne. The 
 tributary tribes of Gaman and Wassaw 
 determined to refuse tribute. Osai Cudjoe 
 marched against Gaman with such forces as 
 were available, hoping to nip rebellion in the
 
 Ashanti. 27 
 
 bud. He was twice defeated, and had to 
 retreat into the forests which surrounded 
 Kumasi. There, rallying his troops and 
 their reserve, he turned on his enemies, and 
 inflicted an exemplary defeat. Gaman had, for 
 the first time, fought with firearms, and was 
 assisted in this campaign by the Moslem 
 cavalry of Kong. 
 
 Osai Cudjoe captured multitudes of pri- 
 soners. The adults were sacrificed, or sold as 
 slaves to the Dutch and English at the slave 
 market at Mansu to defray the expense of the 
 war, and all the male children were educated 
 at his expense to be enlisted as soldiers in the 
 army of Ashanti. 
 
 Wassaw was even more severely treated, 
 and the terror of his arms was felt beyond 
 Cape Palmas. He then was able to complete 
 a treaty of peace with his eastern neighbours, 
 which was cemented by an intimate alliance 
 with Dahomey and Egboe. In his last year, 
 worn out with age and an arduous life, Assin, 
 Akuapim, and Akim took advantage of his 
 condition to rebel. He died in 1781, and was 
 succeeded by his grandson Osai Quamina. 
 
 The new king immediately recorded a solemn
 
 28 Ashanti. 
 
 vow not to enter his palace or see his wives till 
 he had revenged himself on those who had, by 
 their rebellion, embittered the last hours of his 
 grandfather. And well he kept his word. 
 The rebels were defeated, and the heads of 
 Kings Akombra and Afosu were added to the 
 trophies which decorate the palace of the king 
 at Kumasi. But in spite of his victories 
 and ability, he was not true to the bloody 
 worship in which his countrymen trust. He 
 was more than suspected of indifference or 
 toleration. He had encouraged, or at least not 
 discouraged, the Mahometan religion, and was 
 deposed by his nobles in 1797. He was suc- 
 ceeded by his brother Osai Apoko II. 
 
 The Mahometans of Kong instigated the 
 population of Graman to rebel against the new 
 monarch, and it was professed at Buntuku 
 that the object was to restore to his throne the 
 deposed Osai Quamina. 
 
 The Gaman army was four times as nume- 
 rous as that which Osai Apoko II. was able 
 to assemble. He retreated. The Gaman 
 army advanced across the Tando and overran 
 the open country and the plains of Massa with 
 its cavalry. At last Osai Apoko, having mus-
 
 Ashanti, 29 
 
 tered a sufficient force, defeated the Gam an 
 army in a battle which lasted for many days. 
 For the first time in the annals of Ashanti, 
 Mahometan soldiers served in the ranks of its 
 army, and assisted in inflicting this defeat on 
 the Mahometan soldiery of Gaman. 
 
 In reward for their loyalty their co-re- 
 ligionists were not sold into slavery, and Osai 
 Apoko, unlike most of his forefathers, died in 
 peace in 1799. 
 
 At his death he was succeeded by his brother, 
 much younger than himself, and with the ad- 
 vent of Osai Tutu Quamina to the throne we 
 enter on a period in which political relations 
 may be said to have subsisted between Great 
 Britain and Ashanti. 
 
 Osai Tutu Quamina was only seventeen 
 years' old when he ascended the throne; but 
 he showed, through the quarter of a century 
 which he reigned, the courage, tenacity, and 
 astuteness of his ancestors. The second year 
 of his reign was signalized by a victory. 
 Distant Ghofan and Ghobagho had attacked 
 and overrun Banna and destroyed its capital. 
 He met the invaders at Kapu and inflicted 
 a loss on them in prisoners and captives of
 
 Ashanti. 
 
 100,000 men. How Great Britain became 
 involved in disputes with Ashanti, and what 
 have been the various phases of policy which 
 have led to our present complications, must 
 be traced in a subsequent chapter. 
 
 So much has been written to show that 
 Ashanti, though barbarous, has a history and 
 a policy. 
 
 Its history in this century shall only be 
 recorded so far as it is interlaced with Euro- 
 pean action. 
 
 Osai Tutu Quamina reigned till 1824. To 
 him succeeded Osai Ockoto, his brother, in 
 1824. Osai Quaco Duah filled the throne from 
 1838 to 1868, when he was succeeded by 
 Coffee Calcalli, the grandson of Osai Tutu 
 Quamina, the present reigning sovereign. 
 
 The national characteristics of the Ashantis 
 are thus stated by an accurate observer: — 
 great traders ; short, thin, and bony in make ; 
 sharp, active, temperate, and warlike, but 
 ignorant and superstitious, and extremely filthy 
 in their habits. The king and nobles exhibit 
 on state occasions great barbaric magnificence. 
 Rich robes of silk and golden-hilted swords 
 are the becoming attributes of the Ashanti
 
 Ashaiiti. 
 
 princes. Manufactures in gold, in iron, and 
 in pottery, as well as silk weaving in narrow 
 webs, are the principal industries of the 
 country. 
 
 Excluded from the sea by their geographical 
 position, the only outlet for their manufactures, 
 when trade is closed through the Protected Ter- 
 ritories, is by the caravans which traverse the 
 desert to Timbuctu ; and some of their exports 
 find an outlet on the distant shores of the 
 Mediterranean.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EUROPEAN CONNECTION. 
 
 Having endeavoured to sketch what is known 
 of the history of Ashanti to the commencement 
 of this century, it is now proposed briefly to 
 relate how Europe became connected with the 
 Gold Coast. 
 
 Prince Henry of Portugal, the Navigator, 
 was the first to direct attention to the West 
 Coast of Africa, and it was explored as far as 
 Sierra Leone, under his auspices, in 1441. 
 Prince Henry obtained from Pope Martin Y. a 
 grant of all the countries from Cape Mogador 
 to the East Indies, but at Prince Henry's death 
 in 1463 discovery does not seem to have 
 advanced beyond Sierra Leone. 
 
 Ejng John of Portugal, in 1481, despatched 
 Don Diego d'Asambuja, with a force of 700 
 men, to the Gold Coast. He landed at El Mina 
 and built the Castle of St. George, in spite of 
 opposition from the natives. The discovery of 
 America by Columbus, and the commencement
 
 Etivopeaii Connection, 2>'h 
 
 of the West African slave trade, attracted 
 other nations to the Gulf of Guinea. The 
 Dutch formed establishments at Mouree and 
 elsewhere, and in 1637 drove the Portuguese 
 out of El Mina, which remained in Dutch 
 possession till 1872. 
 
 The English, so long ago as the reign of 
 Edward lY., had proposed to establish them- 
 selves in these regions, but were restrained by 
 the fear of infringing the rights of Portugal 
 under the Pope's grant. In the latter part of 
 Edward VI.'s reign private English adven- 
 turers traded to the Gold Coast; but the 
 Government support extended by Portugal, 
 and then by Holland, to their subjects placed 
 the English private adventurers at great dis- 
 advantage. James I. extended some support 
 to these traders, and a fort was established 
 at Cormantine. The Company of Eoyal 
 Adventurers of England trading to Africa 
 was formed in 1662 with the Duke of York 
 at its head, but the Dutch war, which com- 
 menced in 1667, proved fatal to its success. 
 All the British forts except Cape Coast Castle 
 were taken by the illustrious Dutch Admiral 
 De Ruyter, and his gold and ivory baton of 
 
 D
 
 34 European Connection. 
 
 Marshal, which for upwards of 200 years has 
 been the symbol of the Sovereignty of Holland 
 on the Gold Coast, was handed by Governor 
 Fergusson, the last of his successors, to Go- 
 Pope Hennessy in 1872. 
 
 In 1672 a new company was formed, called 
 the Eoyal African Company of England. 
 They proceeded to build or rebuild Dixcove, 
 Secondi, Commenda, Anamaboe, "Winnebah, 
 Accra, and to strengthen Cape Coast Castle. 
 Several of these forts were in close proximity to 
 the forts of the Dutch ; and of the Danes, who 
 had recently obtained a footing on the coast. 
 
 The history of the Gold Coast for more than 
 a century is a history of rivalry, intrigue, 
 and petty w^ar between the English and the 
 Dutch in the Gulf of Guinea. In 1752 a new 
 company was formed, called The African Com- 
 pany of Merchants, but the bad feeling betwixt 
 the English and Dutch continued unabated. 
 In 1782 the current of success, which had 
 generally favoured the Dutch, was turned in 
 favour of England. Captain Shirley, of the 
 ' Leander,' captured all the Dutch forts except 
 El Mina, from which he was repulsed ; but in 
 1785 they were restored to Holland.
 
 Etiropeaft Connectioft, 35 
 
 During these fifty years the Fanti tribe 
 acquired pre-eminence amongst our neigh- 
 bours on the coast, and thus absorbed the 
 De}- of Fetu, on whose ground Cape Coast 
 Castle stood, and obtained an influence among 
 their neighbours second only to Ashanti. 
 The Fantis were our neighbours and allies ; the 
 Dutch were our rivals and enemies, and were 
 thus thrown into alliance with the Ashantis. 
 
 " Though the Dutch had the right of conquest 
 from Portugal, both they and the English held 
 their forts as traders, and paid a ground rent 
 to various native kings. The Dutch Govern- 
 ment paid the King of Denkera a monthly note 
 for El Mina Castle. This note became the 
 property of the King of Ashanti, by his con- 
 quest of Denkera, and he still holds it. Simi- 
 larly the Danes paid rent for most of their 
 possessions. 
 
 These forts were not only for defence against 
 the natives, but for defence against European 
 neighbours and powers. The object of the Euro- 
 pean powers was the same ; it was to obtain from 
 the African chiefs and kings their superfluous 
 population or their captives in war, as slaves for 
 the cultivation of the American plantations. 
 
 D 2
 
 36 European Connection. 
 
 In addition to this, some gold dust, ivory, and 
 ground nuts, were, no doubt, obtained ; but the 
 slave trade was the main object of all these 
 establishments. In exchange we gave them 
 firearms, gunpowder, and rum. 
 
 The immediate effect of the cessation of the 
 slave trade has been to increase the number of 
 violent deaths. When Mr. Dupuis remonstrated 
 with Osai Tutu Quaminain 1817 for putting to 
 death 10,000 prisoners in cold blood, he replied 
 — '' I killed Denkera, and took his gold and 
 "brought more than 20,000 slaves to Kumasi. 
 '' Some being bad, I washed my stool in their 
 " blood ; some were good, and I sold them or 
 "gave them to my captains; many died, for 
 " this country does not grow corn to feed more 
 " than its own people, and what can I do ? 
 '' unless I kill or sell them, they will grow 
 ''strong and kill my own people." 
 
 Since then, no doubt, a large import trade 
 is growing up, but it must take some time to 
 induce a considerable sale of Manchester goods, 
 where, in many districts, man walks abroad in 
 all his rude and native majesty ; and the 
 gentler sex, where the fig tree does not flourish, 
 substitute for its leaf a narrow string of beads.
 
 European Connection, ^y 
 
 which appears, to the civilized observer, more 
 fitted for ornament than utility. 
 
 But in 1807 the only authority the English 
 exercised outside the forts was that of the 
 strong over the weak, and was cemented and 
 maintained by gifts, such as "Christmas presents, 
 " chiefs' customs, ground rent and water custom, 
 " Sunday's and Wednesday's liquor, and pre- 
 " sents to Caboceers," all duly recorded in the 
 books of the Company. Moreover, as has 
 already been mentioned, in the hands of the 
 Fanti and other native tribes were notes, 
 which were, in fact, the leases on which we 
 obtained possession of the forts. 
 
 The Governor of the Gold Coast in 1807 
 was Colonel Torrane, employed in that capa- 
 city by the African Company, and the king of 
 Ashanti was Osai Tutu Quamina. The two 
 principalities into which Assin was then 
 divided were governed, the one by Cheboo and 
 Apoutay, co-partners in authority, the other by 
 Amoo. One of Apoutay's followers opened 
 the grave of one of Amoo's captains and rob- 
 bed it of some treasure. Amoo, unable to 
 obtain redress from Cheboo and Apoutay, 
 appealed to the King of Ashanti. Osai Tutu
 
 38 European Connection, 
 
 Quamina gave judgment in favour of Am 00, 
 and imprisoned Apoutay. He escaped, and 
 Amoo, unable to obtain redress, marched into 
 Cheboo and Apoutay's province. The King, 
 however, attempted negotiation, and prevailed 
 on the chiefs to meet. At the meeting 
 Cheboo and Apoutay attempted a treacherous 
 attack on Amoo, which he successfully resisted, 
 killing at the time the man who had robbed 
 the grave. The King again interfered, and 
 again the wrong-doers attacked Amoo. Then, 
 after two more attempts at reconciliation, and 
 more treachery against Amoo, Osai Tutu 
 Quamina marched his army into Assin, and 
 Cheboo and Apoutay fled with their followers 
 into the Fanti territory. The King then sent 
 a present to Accom, king of Essecumah, asking 
 him to allow the Ashanti forces to pass through 
 his country in pursuit of his rebellious vassals. 
 Leave was granted, and Appia Danquah, the 
 Ashanti general, overtook and defeated Cheboo 
 and Apoutay. 
 
 But the Fantis then joined in the war, and 
 attacked the Ashantis, who were again victo- 
 rious. All the Fanti tribes now united with 
 the Assins, who had bribed their chiefs. The
 
 European Connection. 39 
 
 Dutch Grovernor at Cormantine admitted the 
 Ashantis to the fort, and the King himself 
 advanced to Abra with a considerable force. 
 Colonel Torrane attempted to mediate, but was 
 unsuccessful, and the Ashanti king, ascertain- 
 ing that Cheboo and Apoutay had taken refuge 
 with the English, laid siege to Anamaboe. 
 Mr. White, the Governor, with Messrs. Mere- 
 dith, Swanzy, Barnes, and Smith, and twenty- 
 four men, received as many of the inhabitants 
 as they could, and determined upon a gallant 
 defence. They repulsed every assault with 
 tremendous slaughter. A small detachment 
 came to their relief by sea, and Colonel 
 Torrane entered into negotiations with the 
 King. 
 
 They were not honourable to England, as 
 he agreed to give up the refugees to the ven- 
 geance of their enemies. Apoutay escaped, 
 but Cheboo was put to death with circumstances 
 of atrocious barbarity. The King, having ex- 
 pressed his respect for the brave defence of the 
 garrison, claimed the Fantis who had taken 
 refuge there as prisoners. He was at last 
 satisfied with half their number, and Colonel 
 Torrane, keeping the other half, sold them
 
 40 Eicropea7i Connection. 
 
 into slavery. The King declined to allow 
 Colonel Torrane to interfere in behalf of the 
 Fantis, but promised to recognize his au- 
 thority in the towns under the guns of the 
 British forts. 
 
 The Ashanti army was suffering severely 
 from the climate and bad water near Cape 
 Coast, but they were put in motion, and de- 
 feated the Fantis in a bloody battle near Cor- 
 mantine. 
 
 Smallpox broke out among the invading 
 army, so after overrunning all Fanti as far 
 as Accra, and leaving some garrisons, Osai 
 Tutu Quamina withdrew to Kumasi. The 
 result of this campaign was not only to subdue 
 the revolted Assins, but to subjugate the Fantis 
 and to bring into discredit the power and 
 authority of England. It is to the credit of 
 Mr. John Swanzy, then Governor of British 
 Accra, that he rose from his sick bed and went 
 by canoe to Cape Coast to remonstrate with 
 Colonel Torrane against his pusillanimity and 
 cruelty, but it was too late. Few of the wretched 
 Fanti prisoners escaped the fate of victims or 
 of slaves, and Mr. Swanzy returned to Accra 
 only to die, but with the satisfaction that he at
 
 Etiropean Connection, 41 
 
 least had striven (if in vain) to maintain the 
 honour of his country. 
 
 During all this invasion the Ashantis con- 
 tinued on friendly terms with the Dutch, and 
 the slave trade flourished briskly at El Mina 
 and Accra. So soon as the Ashanti army 
 was withdrawn, the Fantis and other tribes of 
 the English alliance, attributing the invasion to 
 Dutch counsels, in spite of the advice of the 
 English Governor assembled together and be- 
 sieged El Mina. 
 
 The Dutch Governor was killed, and the 
 blockade of El Mina by the Fantis continued 
 till 1811. 
 
 The King at last sent ambassadors to the 
 English Governor stating that he must send his 
 army and restore order among the Fantis, but 
 that he had no intention to make war on the 
 English. Two armies were marched into 
 Fanti, and at first met with some success. 
 
 But Attah, king of Akim, who appears to 
 have been a noble specimen of his race, took 
 up arms against Ashanti, routed them in two 
 battles, and freed the country south of the Prah 
 of their presence. He unfortunately died soon 
 after of smallpox, or he might have done some-
 
 42 European Connection. 
 
 thing for the regeneration of his country. His 
 brother succeeded him, but showing less inde- 
 pendence and more affection or fear for the 
 Ashantis, his people suggested to him that he 
 should put himself to death, which he obligingly 
 did, after a week passed in drinking, dancing, 
 and singing in anticipation of his own funeral. 
 His successor, Cudjia Coomah, was hostile to 
 Ashanti, and endeavoured to carry out Attah's 
 policy. The condition of what is now the 
 Protected Territory was most lamentable. 
 
 In 1814 there was another Ashanti inva- 
 sion, which met with much success. Winne- 
 bah was attacked and plundered, and its Go- 
 vernor, Meredith, murdered by exposure in the 
 forest. 
 
 Appiah Dunquah having died, the new 
 Ashanti general concentrated his forces at 
 Abra, and the unfortunate Fantis again 
 flocked for shelter to Cape Coast. Thither 
 the King sent for some refugees. A solemn 
 oath was taken that they were not there : 
 and the Ashantis established their superiority 
 over Fanti, leaving residents in many towns 
 to maintain order and authority, and to collect 
 tribute.
 
 Europea7i Connection. 43 
 
 In 1817 a present was sent by the African 
 Company for the King of Ashanti. The em- 
 bassy was composed of Mr. James, Governor 
 of Accra, and Messrs. Bowdich, Hutchinson, and 
 Tedlie. The deputation was well received at 
 Kumasi. Hospitality was shown in every 
 way, but when they came to business matters 
 did not run smoothly. 
 
 The King produced the notes or leases which 
 he had captured from the Fantis, and claimed 
 that payment on account of them should be 
 made to him in the same manner as the Dutch 
 paid him rent for El Mina, due on the docu- 
 ment which had been taken from Denkera. 
 This was resisted on various grounds, but at 
 last the notes were made over to Osai Tutu 
 Quamina, and the subjection of the Fantis to 
 him was thus acknowledged ; other difficulties 
 were raised, but reparation was made for 
 insults offered at Commenda and Amissa by 
 large payments, and the Treaty of peace and 
 amity was at last signed and sealed on the 7th 
 September, 1817. The Fanti tribes were by 
 it reduced to the condition of tributaries to 
 Ashanti, but a species of British Protectorate 
 was admitted.
 
 44 European Connection. 
 
 The Fourth Article says : — 
 
 " In order to avert the horrors of war, it is 
 " agreed that in any case of aggression on the 
 '* part of the natives under British protection 
 *' the King shall complain thereof to theGover- 
 " nor-in-Chief to obtain redress, and that they 
 " will in no instance resort to hostilities even 
 '' against the other towns of the Fanti terri- 
 " tory, without endeavouring as much as pos- 
 " sible to effect an amicable arrangement, 
 *' affording the Governor an opportunity of 
 " propitiating it as far as he may with discre- 
 " tion." 
 
 The Eighth Article says : — 
 
 "The Governor-in-Chief reserves to himself 
 " the right of punishing any subject of Ashanti 
 " or Dwabur guilty of secondary offences ; 
 " but in case of any crime of magnitude, he 
 " will send the offender to the King, to be 
 " dealt with according to the laws of his 
 " country." 
 
 The King then wrote to the Governor a 
 letter, which he concludes thus : — 
 
 " I will thank you to impress on the King of 
 " England that I have sworn not to renew the 
 " war with the Fantis out of respect to him,
 
 European Connection. 45 
 
 " and I shall consider them as his people. I 
 " hope, therefore, he will in turn consider if he 
 " cannot renew the slave trade, which will be 
 " good for me." 
 
 The mission withdrew, Mr. Hutchinson re- 
 maining as resident for some months ; and it is 
 to this mission that we are indebted for the 
 excellent work of Mr. Bowdich. 
 
 The King of Ashanti now commenced war 
 with Gaman. Rumours were circulated, which 
 proved to be false, of disasters to his army. 
 
 The Fantis and other Protected Tribes yielded 
 to the belief, and insulted and beat the servants 
 of the King. Osai Tutu Quamina, on the 
 strength of the Treaty, applied to the Gover- 
 nor for redress. The Governor refused. Other 
 messengers came whom the Governor received 
 with great indignity, presenting them with a 
 ball cartridge, in token that he was ready 
 for war. The King received the message in 
 the camp at Gaman, and his nobles at once 
 demanded to be led to the coast. But he 
 said he could not reconcile the conduct of 
 the Governor with British good faith, that 
 he believed there must be some mistake, and 
 that the Governor had been imposed upon.
 
 46 European Connection, 
 
 That the Treaty had stipulated that in the 
 event of any aggression on the part of the Pro- 
 tected Tribes he was to seek redress through 
 tlie Governor. That he had only carried out 
 the Treaty, and had no intention of giving 
 offence. 
 
 He therefore despatched a messenger of 
 high rank with a numerous retinue. A little 
 previous to this date the British Government 
 had sent out Mr. Dupuis as Consul to Ashanti, 
 and he was waiting at Cape Coast to proceed 
 to Kumasi when the Ashanti Ambassador 
 arrived. 
 
 The Governor was extremely jealous of Mr. 
 Dupuis' appointment, and seems to have been 
 determined to thwart him. When the Ambas- 
 sador appeared in the Council Chamber at Cape 
 Coast, he begged that the Fourth Article of the 
 Treaty already given might be read aloud, and 
 then required that the Seventh Article should 
 also be read aloud. The Seventh Article pro- 
 vides that " The Governors of the respective 
 " forts shall at all times afford every protection 
 " in their power to the persons and property of 
 " the people of Ashanti who may resort to 
 " the water side." The Envoy then, with much
 
 European Connection, 47 
 
 dignity, said that redress must at once be given, 
 or the King would appeal to arms. 
 
 The Envoy was then informed of Mr. Dupuis' 
 presence, and of the nature of his appointment. 
 At the close of his dignified address he had 
 tendered to the Governor the parchment on 
 which the Treaty was engrossed from which 
 he had caused extracts to be read with such 
 effect. He now, at Mr. Dupuis' intercession, 
 consented to retain it till he received fresh 
 instructions from the King. 
 
 A fresh Ambassador was then sent down, 
 a relation of the King. He abated nothing 
 of his demands, but insisted on a payment of 
 1600 ounces of gold from the inhabitants of 
 Cape Coast, and a like sum from the British 
 Governor. 
 
 Upon this Mr. Dupuis went to Kumasi. He 
 was well received by the King, who seemed 
 willing to adjust the differences without pro- 
 ceeding to war. A new Treaty was drawn up, 
 recognizing the King of Ashanti's sovereignty 
 over Fanti, and stipulating that the natives 
 under British protection should be answerable 
 only to the Governor for their acts. The King 
 withdrew his demand for 1600 ounces from the
 
 48 European Connectio7i. 
 
 Governor, but insisted on the fine to be paid by 
 the Cape Coast people. 
 
 His majesty also consented to receive mis- 
 sionaries to preach the Christian religion. 
 
 "When Mr. Dupuis returned to the coast the 
 King also sent ambassadors, whom he wished 
 to proceed to England with presents to the 
 Prince Eegent. The Governor, however, re- 
 fused to ratify the Treaty, or to assist in obtain- 
 ing the ambassadors a passage to England. 
 The policy, of these acts is justly styled by 
 Mr. Cruickshank as being short-sighted and 
 perfidious. In spite of the disavowal of the 
 Treaty, the withdrawal of the proposal to 
 satisfy the King s demands on Cape Coast, the 
 refusal to acknowledge the King's right to the 
 paynotes, and the contumacious rejection of 
 his ambassadors, Osai Tutu Quamina still 
 refrained from war. Mr. Dupuis sent him 
 word that he would lay the matter before 
 the Home Government. When several months 
 had passed without reply or redress. Prince 
 Adoom, the ambassador, was ordered to re- 
 tire from Cape Coast and to stop the trade. 
 He established his headquarters at Mansu, 
 and exercised authoritv over the Protected
 
 Ettropeaii Connection. 49 
 
 Tribes. Trade was entirely stopped, and the 
 whole territory was a scene of lawless vio- 
 lence. In consequence of this an Act was 
 passed abolishing the African Company and 
 transferring the forts and settlements to the 
 Crown. 
 
 E
 
 ( 50 ) 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 THE BRITISH RULE. 
 
 In 1821 the African Company ceased to exist 
 as a political Power, and the Gold Coast be- 
 came a dependency of Sierra Leone, under 
 the government of Sir Charles McCarthy. 
 He landed at Cape Coast on the 28th March, 
 1822, but he had enormous difficulties to con- 
 tend with. The servants of the late African 
 Company refused to give him information, 
 or to take office under him, and he seems 
 to have decided that there was no mode of 
 escape from the difficulties but by war. He 
 was a brave soldier, and a man of a noble 
 and generous nature. He hated the tyranny 
 of the Ashanti Government, and hoped to 
 deliver the Fantis from oppression. He had 
 frequent interviews with the Fanti chiefs, 
 supplied them with arms and ammunition, 
 and endeavoured to give unity and decision 
 to their councils. Osai Tutu Quamina saw, 
 with feelings of deep indignation, rebellion,
 
 The British Rule. 51 
 
 as he conceived it, now being nursed by 
 the new Governor. He fully appreciated 
 the formidable nature of the contest, and 
 secretly made great preparations for war. Sir 
 Charles McCarthy attributed his inactivity to 
 fear, and left the Gold Coast to visit Sierra 
 Leone on his ordinary tour of inspection, 
 knowing nothing of the Ashantis' determina- 
 tion to seek redress by arms. A black ser- 
 geant of a "\^^est India regiment was carried off 
 and murdered at Mansu by the Ashantis, and 
 other symptoms caused Sir Charles McCarthy 
 to hurry back from Sierra Leone. 
 
 Unfortunately, he despised his foe. An officer 
 experienced in West Coast warfare, Captain 
 Laing, volunteered to go to Kumasi to ask 
 for the release of the kidnapped sergeant, for 
 it was not then known he had been butchered. 
 The King also made overtures of peace through 
 his ally, the Dutch Governor. Sir Charles 
 McCarthy rejected all proposals and hurried 
 on the war. 
 
 Hoping to be beforehand with the Ashantis, 
 he hastened across the Prah with about 500 
 disciplined men, and such of the Protected 
 Tribes as could be mustered. Major Chisholm 
 
 E 2
 
 52 The British Rule. 
 
 was advancing in support with a larger body, 
 but he did not await his arrival. Trusting in 
 the discipline of his men he advanced to 
 Assamacow, and on the 21st January, 1824, 
 found himself in the presence of more than 
 20,000 enemies. 
 
 Sir Charles McCarthy had listened to tales 
 of disaffection in the Ashanti ranks, and had 
 believed them; for he fancied that love of 
 freedom might be more powerful than love of 
 country. Outnumbered, outflanked, he was 
 soon deserted by all but his few English 
 officers, some men of the West India Kegi- 
 ments, and the King of Denkera and his men. 
 He resisted to the last, and fell like a gallant 
 soldier, and his head, with those of many of 
 his comrades, was carried to Kumasi. One 
 of his staff, Mr. Williams, was saved from de- 
 capitation by an Ashanti captain, to whom 
 he had shown civility at Cape Coast, and he 
 lived to return to his countrymen and relate 
 the particulars of this great disaster. 
 
 Sir Charles McCarthy did not die in vain ; 
 his humanity and his bravery are still the 
 theme of story and song amongst Fanti 
 and Ashanti. Many a child is given the
 
 The British Rule. ^^ 
 
 name of Karti, in remembrance of the gallant 
 English General, and the great oath of the 
 country is by Sir Charles McCarthy. Major 
 Chisholm succeeded to the command, and by 
 prudent measures succeeded in saving the 
 forts. Major Eicketts, the careful historian 
 of the war, eventually succeeded to the com- 
 mand, but it was not till 1826 that Colonel 
 Purdon was able to inflict so serious a defeat 
 on the Ashantis as to cause them to withdraw 
 from the Protected Territory. With great judg- 
 ment he secured the forts, and removed the 
 base of his operations to Accra. There, from 
 the hardy western tribes and a nucleus of 
 English regiments, he assembled a force of 
 10,000 men. With this he advanced along 
 the comparatively healthy and open plains of 
 Accra, and about 25 miles N.E. of it, at 
 the village of Doondowah, was able to bring 
 the Ashanti army to action. In the mean- 
 time the astute and able Osai Tutu Quamina 
 had been gathered to his fathers, and was 
 succeeded by Osai Ockoto, his brother. 
 
 The new king had not the sagacity of his 
 brother, but endeavoured to prosecute the war 
 with vigour.
 
 54 The British Rule. 
 
 On the 26th of August, 1826, the battle of 
 Doondowah was fought with determined ob- 
 stinacy. The native British allies at one time 
 wavered, but Colonel Purdon was able to apply 
 for the first time to African war the then 
 novel arm, the Congreve rocket, and thus 
 struck dismay into the enemy, and the result 
 of the battle was the complete destruction of 
 the Ashanti Army. Cheboo, king of Denkera, 
 and Cheboo Coomah, of Assin, contributed 
 much by their conduct to the success of the day. 
 The Danes also assisted to win the victory. 
 
 The Protectorate was thus relieved of the 
 Ashanti invasion. Sir Neil Campbell ar- 
 rived as Governor, and wished the allies and 
 Protected Tribes to consent to terms of peace ; 
 but he found it impracticable to obtain their 
 consent. 
 
 In 1830 the Government, being dissatisfied 
 with the state of affairs on the Gold Coast, de- 
 termined to abandon it. They sent out a ship- 
 of-war to remove the English merchants and 
 officials, and were prepared to leave the Pro- 
 tected Tribes to their fate. This was to some 
 degree averted by the action of the African 
 Merchants. A committee was formed in
 
 The British Rule. 55 
 
 London, which received power to appoint an 
 officer as Groyernor, and 4000^. a year w^as con- 
 tributed by the public to assist in maintaining 
 our connection with the Gold Coast. Fortu- 
 nately for the name of England, George Maclean 
 was induced to accept this appointment. He 
 had been Military Secretary to Colonel Lumley 
 at Cape Coast in 1826, and was eminently fitted 
 for the post which he held with such advantage 
 for fourteen years. He found the country in a 
 deplorable condition, but both Ashantis and 
 Fantis were momentarily exhausted by war. 
 After long negotiation he succeeded in 1831 in 
 obtaining a Treaty from the Ashantis which 
 is still in force, and which guaranteed the in- 
 dependence of Apollonia, Ahanta, Wassaw, 
 Fanti (including in that term Effutu, Abra, 
 Akumfi, Agunah, Gomoah, and Accra), Assin, 
 Akim, and Akuapim, and placed them under 
 British protection. It also acknowledged 
 the independence of Cudjoe Cheboo, King 
 of Denkera, who was to reside near Cape 
 Coast. These extensive districts were hence- 
 forth relieved from the yoke of Ashanti, and 
 its king no longer permitted to treat with 
 them excepting through the English Governor.
 
 56 The British Rule. 
 
 The King of Ashanti's relations taken prisoners 
 at Doonclowah, and all prisoners on each side, 
 were released. The forts were to be open for 
 trade, and in security for the performance of 
 the Treaty, two hostages of royal blood, and 
 600 ounces in gold, to be returned in ten years 
 provided the Treaty was not infringed, were 
 sent to Cape Coast Castle. 
 
 Osai Quantibissah, a son, and Osai Ansah, a 
 nephew, of the King were accordingly delivered 
 over, as was also the gold, and peace having 
 been kept for ten years the gold was returned 
 to the King at the time specified in the Treaty. 
 It surprised the Ashantis, an industrious and 
 trading people, to find that the gold so returned 
 had never been disturbed in its packages. 
 
 Osai Ansah lived at Cape Coast until this 
 year, esteemed by all who knew him. 
 
 A popular disturbance directed against those 
 who harboured Ashantis caused the murder of 
 five members of his household, and he has been 
 advised by the British Government to remove 
 to some safer residence until the present troubles 
 are over. 
 
 For thirteen years Governor Maclean con- 
 tinued to administer the affairs of the Gold
 
 The British Rule, 57 
 
 Coast successfully, and during all that time 
 Osai Quacoe Duah maintained the most friendly 
 relations with the English authorities and 
 with the Protected Tribes. Indeed, Governor 
 Maclean has placed on record his opinion that 
 Quacoe Duah was a lover of peace. Parlia- 
 ment in 1843 decided to take the Gold Coast 
 again under the imperial Government, and Sir 
 Stephen Hill was appointed to the charge as 
 Governor, having George ^laclean as his sub- 
 ordinate. Governor Hill had the wisdom to 
 rely on his subordinate, and Maclean died in 
 1847, having advanced the interests of England 
 in Africa during his seventeen years' tenure of 
 ofifice more than any man who went before or has 
 succeeded him ; a reserved, silent, resolute man, 
 full of latent energy and resource, his name 
 will always be had in remembrance amongst 
 those whom he so ably governed. In 1838, 
 as we have already mentioned, Osai Ockoto 
 died, and Osai Quacoe Duah succeeded to the 
 throne^ but no change resulted whilst the able 
 counsels of Mr. Maclean continued. It was not 
 till near the end of this sovereign's long reign 
 in 1863 that a cause or pretext for war again 
 occurred. A slave of Quacoe Duah's became
 
 58 The British Ride. 
 
 possessed of some gold nuggets found in 
 Ashanti. The dust belongs to the finder, 
 or, if a slave, to his master, the nuggets to 
 the king. The slave who had stolen the nugget 
 fled for refuge to Cape Coast. The Governor, 
 Mr. Eichard Pine, refused to give him up. 
 The King of Ashanti invaded the territory. 
 The Home Government, ill-informed, took no 
 steps to support the Governor, but they au- 
 thorized him to invade Ashanti. 
 
 Four staff officers were sent, and some addi- 
 tional companies of a West India regiment, 
 amounting in all to about 800 men. No sup- 
 plies, no transports, no hospital comforts, no 
 means of carrying on the war in a dangerous 
 climate were sent, and sickness deprived the 
 country of many valuable officers and men. 
 Instead of the threatened invasion of Ashanti, 
 the Protectorate was invaded, but at last, after 
 ravaging the country, the Ashantis withdrew. 
 
 The prestige which had attached to the 
 English name from the battle of Doondowah 
 till the death of George Maclean was gone, 
 and the question again came to be debated 
 whether we should maintain or abandon our 
 imperial connection with the Gold Coast.
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE BRITISH RULE. 
 
 The House of Commons Committee, appointed 
 in 1865 to inquire into our colonies and de- 
 pendencies on the West Coast of Africa, met 
 under depressing circumstances — England had 
 been defeated and disgraced because no pro- 
 vision had been made in men, material, or 
 appliances to carry on the war, and it was felt 
 that it was better to prepare to withdraw than 
 to risk further contumely and disaster. 
 
 The Government of the Gold Coast, which 
 in 1844 had been created independent, was in 
 1865 again attached to Sierra Leone, whence 
 the Governor-in-Chief, as in the days of Sir 
 Charles McCarthy, was to exercise supervision 
 over the whole. 
 
 The British Government then proceeded to 
 make an arrangement with Holland, by which 
 all the forts and stations to the west of the 
 Sweet- Water River were to belong to Holland ; 
 the Dutch making over to Great Britain all to
 
 6o The British Riile. 
 
 the eastward of that boundary. This arrange- 
 ment was exceedingly distasteful to many of 
 the tribes to the westward of El Mina, who had 
 long enjoyed the benefit of British protection. 
 Nevertheless, nearly 200,000 persons were 
 thus transferred without being consulted. They 
 showed their disapprobation of the transfer in 
 the only way open to them, namely, by resist- 
 ing the Dutch authorities. The Dutch were 
 prompt to use coercive measures, and Com- 
 menda, long faithful to England, was bombarded 
 in 1869 by the Dutch squadron to correct its 
 contumacy. 
 
 The King of Apollonia made a dignified 
 written protest against the' transfer of the fort 
 which stands in his dominions, and accepted 
 with a bad grace the new rulers; and other 
 chiefs expressed their discontent. 
 
 In 1868 Osai Quaco Duah died, and was 
 succeeded by Coffee Calcalli, the present King 
 of Ashanti. In 1869 it was decided to reduce 
 the garrisons on the Gold Coast and else- 
 where, and as a measure of economy the 3rd 
 West India Regiment was disbanded, the 
 Minister for War stating in parliament that 
 20,000/. a year was saved by the trans-
 
 The British Rule. 6i 
 
 action. It is true that the men of the West 
 India regiments had not shown the same im- 
 punity to climate since they had been largely 
 recruited in the West Indies; and a local 
 force composed of Houssas, a Mahometan mar- 
 tial tribe very loyal to England, had been 
 suggested as a substitute. But the West India 
 Regiment was disbanded without taking any 
 steps to provide the substitute. The result 
 was, that in February, 1873, the Administrator 
 had to report that he only had 160 soldiers 
 to defend 160 miles of territory. 
 
 To show how this reduction affected our 
 power on the West Coast of Africa, it may 
 be mentioned that in 1869 the Government of 
 the Gambia was threatened by some unfriendlv Hans. 
 
 '^ ^ Vol. 203, 
 
 tribes, and British lives and property to a con- p. 35i. 
 siderable amount were placed in great jeopardy. 
 The Administrator was obliged to apply for 
 protection to the neighbouring French Govern- 
 ment. Two French men-of-war were at once 
 despatched, and the colony saved. The result 
 of this example was — not to cause a proper 
 force to be sent to the Gambia, but to offer 
 the Gambia, without consulting its inhabitants 
 or the British parliament, to France. Strong
 
 The British Rule. 
 
 remonstrances were made by the people of 
 Gambia. They represented that they belonged 
 principally to the AYesleyan branch of the 
 Christian Church, who had established schools 
 in every district; that all their relations 
 and sympathy were with a Protestant power, 
 and that they could never be contented 
 under a Eoman Catholic power, whose mis- 
 sionary agencies, however active and beneficial, 
 would only produce heart-burning and discon- 
 tent where order now reigned. These remon- 
 strances were treated with disdain, and the 
 transfer of Gambia would have been completed 
 to France, as the transfer of the western divi- 
 sion of the Gold Coast had been made to Hol- 
 land, without consulting the wishes of the 
 people, had it not been for the outbreak of the 
 Franco-German war. 
 
 Meantime the Dutch natives of El Mina and 
 the Gold Coast, who had from time immemorial 
 been at feud with the British natives, invoked 
 the assistance of Ashanti to subdue those 
 whom we had made over to them. 
 
 Coffee Calcalli, the new king, was not slow 
 to intervene. He knew the dissensions pre- 
 vailing between the Dutch and British natives,
 
 TJie British Rule, 63 
 
 and the attenuated companies which repre- 
 sented the army of England. He saw an oppor- 
 tunity for restoring the power of his kingdom, 
 and of signalizing his reign by some great 
 achievement. He despatched an army com- 
 manded by a cruel but brave general, Atjiem- 
 pon, his uncle, to assist the Dutch to put 
 down the natives who were friendly to British 
 influence. 
 
 All these elements of discord were at work 
 when the British Government entirely changed 
 its policy, and obtained from Holland the 
 cession not only of the old British forts and 
 settlements transferred to Holland in 1867, but 
 of the whole of the Dutch possessions on the 
 Gold Coast. 
 
 The price paid to Holland for this arrange- 
 ment was the cession of the English possessions 
 in Sumatra, and the Acheen war is the result. 
 
 To us the Treaty has been even more 
 disastrous. 
 
 The transfer was completed, and the new 
 government installed at St. George d'Elmina 
 with becoming dignity by Governor Pope 
 Hennessy and Commodore Commerell on the 
 6th April, 1872 ; and it appears to have been
 
 64 The British Rule, 
 
 assumed that the Dutch natives' hatred of 
 Britain and British protected natives would be 
 at once assuaged by a well-drawn proclamation. 
 But at the very moment of transfer an 
 Ashanti general and army were in the heart 
 of the newly-acquired province, and the dis- 
 content at once showed itself at Cape Coast by 
 the murder of the Dutch officer, Lieutenant 
 Joost, who had been left to complete the 
 evacuation. 
 
 The Dutch natives were as discontented at 
 being transferred to British rule without their 
 consent, as had been the British natives who 
 had been transferred to Dutch rule only four 
 years before. 
 
 The British administration on the Gold Coast 
 had, unfortunately, frequently changed hands 
 during these proceedings. Sir Arthur Kennedy 
 was relieved in 1872, and after a short delay 
 Governor Pope Hennessy succeeded him. 
 
 They took different views of several of these 
 transactions, and Governor Pope Hennessy him- 
 self had no time to carry out his policy before 
 he was relieved by Governor Keate, who, un- 
 fortunately, died on the 17th March, 1873. He 
 was succeeded by Colonel Harley, the Adminis-
 
 The British Rule. 65 
 
 trator at Cape Coast, who himself had shortly 
 before been disabled by illness. The office 
 of administrator had been held by Mr. Simpson, 
 Mr. Ussher, Mr. Salmon, Mr. Chalmers, and 
 Colonel Harley, and the policy of these gentle- 
 men had been subjected to alteration by the visits 
 of the before-mentioned Governors-in-Chief. 
 This rapid change of governors must, in some 
 degree, have caused the want of unity which 
 seems to have paralyzed the action of the Home 
 Government. There was no want of information 
 that an Ashanti war was probable. Lord 
 Granville writes to Sir Arthur Kennedy, whilst g°^^^ 
 disapproving of Mr, Simpson's proceedings, " If ^i^^^ |^- 
 " unhappily war shall have broken out, it is 1^69. 
 " impossible for me to foresee the state of things 
 *' which may exist when this despatch reaches 
 " you, or to measure the obligations which the 
 *' steps taken by Mr. Simpson may have imposed 
 **on the British Government." 
 
 The ominous fears of Lord Granville in 
 May, 1869, were not long without fulfilment. 
 Indeed, at that very time not only was there 
 an Ashanti army in the Dutch territory sub- 
 duing the territory which England had aban- 
 doned; but the new king had sent troops 
 
 F
 
 66 The British Ride 
 
 also into Akuapim and Akim, and one of his 
 generals had seized a missionary, Mr. Eam- 
 seyer, with his wife and child, and had con- 
 veyed them as prisoners to Knmasi. 
 
 Successive governors have in vain endea- 
 voured to effect the relief of these unfortunate 
 captives. Looking at the astute and unscru- 
 pulous policy which has so frequently been 
 shown by the kings of Ashanti, it seems 
 astonishing how slow our governors and ad- 
 ministrators were to recognize that we were at 
 war witli Ashanti, and that the king, in dallying 
 with the negotiations, was only striving to gain 
 time and disguise his preparations. 
 
 In October, 1872, the transfer having been 
 completed, and the western districts being 
 again under British rule, it was determined to 
 seize the Ashanti general, Atjiempon, where 
 he was then residing at Half Assini, and bring 
 him to Cape Coast Castle. This was success- 
 fully accomplished; but, unfortunately, as it 
 now appears, Atjiempon, a prince of the blood, 
 was sent back with all honours to his country, 
 without first insisting on the release of the 
 captive missionaries in exchange for him. He, 
 indignant at having been seized, so soon as
 
 The British Rule. Sj 
 
 he reached Kumasi at once urged forward the 
 prosecution of the war. Early in February, 
 1873, three Ashanti armies crossed the Prah 
 and invaded the Protected Territory. The 
 kings and chiefs immediately applied to the 
 Admimistrator for arms, but no provision had 
 .been made to meet the emergency, which had 
 been foreseen so long ago as 1869. Even in 
 December, 1872, we find a correspondence 
 between the War OflSce and the Colonial Office, 
 not vigorously preparing for war, but trying to 
 arrange for a reduction, or at least that there 
 should be no increase to the 160 soldiers who 
 were then vainly trying to garrison the forts Gold 
 
 • P k t ' Coast, 
 
 against the advancing armies of Ashanti. Part i. 
 
 Attention must now be directed to the civil 
 arrangements prevailing in the Protected 
 Territory. 
 
 The reduction of the troops, the failure to 
 provide any local force for defence, the delay 
 in distributing arms, the hasty transfer of the 
 British territory to Holland in 1867, and the 
 preparations for the transfer of all the Dutch 
 possessions to Great Britain ; the disturbed state 
 of all the districts, the stoppage of trade, and 
 the unopposed occupation of portions of the 
 
 F 2
 
 68 The British Rule. 
 
 Protected Territory by an Ashanti army, seems 
 to have iuflueneed the well-educated natives to 
 assemble, and in concert with some of the native 
 kings to endeavour to form a Fanti confedera- 
 tion for the purpose of organizing the national 
 defence and improving the country, developing 
 its industry and educating its people. This 
 course had been strongly advocated by Governor 
 Pine and other British authorities, and it cer- 
 tainly seems to have deserved respectful con- 
 sideration. On the 4th of December, 1871, 
 this scheme was submitted to the Administrator, 
 and he at once caused the gentlemen who pre- 
 sented it to be arrested, and treated them as 
 persons who had outraged the laws of the 
 country.' The impolicy of this course seems 
 H. of c. manifest. It may not have been politic to grant 
 
 Pari. 
 
 Paper 173, the proposcd Coustitution, which, indeed, does 
 i87if ^" ' not seem to have been extensively approved, at 
 least by the more distant kings and chiefs of 
 the Protected Territory ; but after the failure to 
 provide for the orderly government or defence 
 of the territory, it does seem to have been im- 
 politic in the last degree not to have advised 
 and assisted the tribes to form at least some 
 municipal government for themselves.
 
 The British Rule. 69 
 
 In addition to all these causes of discontent 
 there was superadded the refusal of the British 
 merchants to pay a kind of brokerage to persons 
 giving accommodation to strangers who visit 
 Cape Coast for the purposes of trade. This 
 had been the immemorial custom until the 
 stoppage of trade in 1863 ; and now that a 
 little trade was occasionally occurring, it was 
 claimed by the natives of Cape Coast, and 
 the refusal to pay it was the cause of a riot 
 so serious on the 25th October, 1872, as to 
 be described by Mr. Salmon as an occasion on 
 which " he had never seen a crowd so excited." 
 Whether it would have been prudent to con- 
 tinue to pay this tax, as suggested by the 
 Government authorities, or whether it was an 
 exaction which the merchants were justified in 
 resisting, it is impossible to say, but at least 
 the time for its discussion was unfortunate. It 
 must be added to the causes which contributed 
 to the discontent* 
 
 The full tide of invasion in February, 1873, 
 had swept down on the Protected Territory, and 
 found a people without unity, without arms, 
 and without a leader. 
 
 Early in March it was known in England
 
 70 
 
 The British Rule. 
 
 that the Ashanti war had become a reality 
 against which we were bound to provide. It 
 was known that multitudes of men, women, 
 and children had been driven to take refuge 
 under the walls of Cape Coast Castle, and that 
 their crops having been ravaged, and their 
 houses destroyed, famine was inevitable. Some 
 rice w^as accordingly sent from this country for 
 their sustenance, and arms and ammunition 
 were also despatched. A body of Houssas 
 was brought down from Lagos. The King of 
 Assin, the King of Anamaboe, Mr. Bentil a 
 native gentleman of great authority, and others. 
 Gold at once mustered their forces. And a very 
 Partii. remarkable letter arrived from the King of 
 ^' ~^^' Fanti, at Mankessan, who had been named as 
 one of two Kings President of the Fanti Con- 
 federation. It is dignified in tone, and is 
 worth quoting at length. 
 
 Sub-Enclosure 3, in No. 135. 
 
 Mankessim, 1 February, 1873. 
 
 Your Excellency, 
 
 Intelligence having reached me that the 
 Ashantees have crossed our frontiers on the Prah 
 and attacking the Assins in large force, I hasten to 
 communicate the fact to your Excellency, and to
 
 The British Ride. 7 1 
 
 ascertain from you the measures the local Govern- 
 ment intend adopting in the present crisis. 
 
 I now address your Excellency, as the head of 
 the Fanti Confederation, for the purpose of learning 
 from you what amount and the nature of the assis- 
 tance your Government will render to the country in 
 the present state of affairs. 
 
 Since the Fanti Confederation has not yet received 
 the support of H.M. Government, but has been left 
 to shift for itself as best it can, and the powers in- 
 herent in all governments have been, in the case of 
 the Confederation, deprived of their legitimate exer- 
 cise and functions, by the action of H.M. officials 
 here, and by the neglect and discouragement of 
 H.M. Government, I am thus constrained to appeal 
 to you, as we infer from these facts that H.M. Go- 
 vernment is prepared to accept, and has accepted, 
 and will accept in the present emergency, the re- 
 sponsibilities that attach to it as "the protecting 
 power." 
 
 I might here advert to the policy that has led to 
 these results ; but the fact of our ancient foes beino- 
 in our territory compels me to leave for iho^ present 
 such observations as I might have to submit to you, 
 for the purpose of inquiring into the steps that are 
 to be taken, and will be taken, to rid our soil of the 
 invader. 
 
 Having been divested of the power to obtain 
 means for our self-defence, I now appeal to your 
 Excellency in the name of the Confederation, and 
 the Protectorate at large, for aid in money and arms.
 
 72 The British Rtcle, 
 
 and I respectfully solicit that I may be informed, 
 with as little delay as possible, if such assistance will 
 be rendered, as we cannot take the field too early to 
 oppose, and, with God's aid, drive off tlie enemy. 
 Anxiously waiting your Excellency's reply, 
 I remain, &c. 
 (Signed) King of Mankessim. 
 
 To Eis Excellency Colonel R. W. Harleij, C.B., 
 Administrator, &c. &c., Gold Coast. 
 
 Information also arrived that the King of 
 El Mina had joined the Ashantis. The central 
 Ashanti army rapidly advanced, burning 
 Attobiasi, Prashu, Assampah Naya, Dansamsu, 
 Emhi, Barraco, Eniquah, Akonasi, and Yanku- 
 masi. And the native forces having been 
 twice defeated, the Ashanti army appeared 
 within twelve miles of Cape Coast Castle 
 and El Mina.
 
 ( 73 ) 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 RECEXT EVENTS. 
 
 It now only remains to be told what has 
 been done since Goyernment recognized that 
 an Ashanti invasion had occurred, and that 
 it was their duty to defend the Protected Terri- 
 tory. 
 
 On the 5th June, 1873, the Ashantis 
 totally routed the Fanti army at Jouquah, 
 and advanced to Effutu, a village fifteen miles 
 from El Mina, and twelve miles from Cape 
 Coast Castle. The defeated Fantis poured in 
 great disorder into Cape Coast, and swelled 
 the already formidable crowd of panic-stricken 
 wretches, amongst whom dysentery and small- 
 pox were rapidly doing their work. About 
 the same date the Dutch natives of Chama and 
 El Mina, with a division of the Ashanti forces, 
 commanded by Atjiempon, proceeded to attack 
 Commenda, where there was no preparation h. of a, 
 
 ' ^ ^ C.804,p.4. 
 
 whatever to defend the place. 
 
 The force at Colonel Harley's disposal appears
 
 74 Recent Events. 
 
 to have consisted of about 100 soldiers of the 
 2nd West India Eegiment, commanded by- 
 Captain Haj^nes, the senior military officer; 
 210 Houssas armed with breech-loaders under 
 Lieutenant Hopkinson, recently arrived from 
 Lagos ; a volunteer corps raised in Cape Coast 
 and its neighbourhood armed with Enfield 
 rifles ; and a small body (about fifty) of Fanti 
 police armed with Sniders. There were also 
 on the Coast H.M.S. * Druid,' Captain Blake, 
 'Argus,' Captain Luxmore, and the gunboats 
 'Merlin,' ' Decoy,' and ' Seagull.' 
 
 With these slender forces Colonel Harley 
 had to prepare for the defence of Cape Coast 
 Castle and of St. George d'El Mina against an 
 Ashanti army flushed with success, and num- 
 bering 12,000 men. The ' Merlin' was at once 
 despatched to Commenda. Lieutenant Day 
 reports a pitiful scene. The frantic population 
 clustering on the beach implored his protec- 
 tion. He did what was possible under the 
 circumstances. There were but few canoes to 
 embark the helpless multitude. Nevertheless, 
 H. ofc, a merchant ship, the 'Albertina,' which had 
 two surf boats, was freighted with 350 of the 
 most helpless, though several were drowned in
 
 Recent Events. 75 
 
 the surf during the embarkation, and Lieutenant 
 Day remained in the 'Merlin' to give such 
 protection as his gun might afford to the re- 
 maining population. 
 
 On the 8th Jane, 1873, H.M.S. ' Barracouta ' p- 7. 
 arrived from England. Captain Fremantle 
 then became the senior naval officer^ and he 
 brought with him a force of 110 marines and 
 marine artillery, commanded by Colonel Fes- 
 ting, E.M.A., and well supplied with muni- 
 tions of war. The orders which Captain Fre- 
 mantle brought with him from the Admiralty 
 were, "That the marines are to be landed to 
 '' occupy the forts, should you [the Admin is- 
 " trator] so desire it, and I propose to make 
 " arrangements for their disembarkation in con- 
 " cert with yourself at the earliest possible 
 " moment." 
 
 Though these orders, which were wise and 
 prudent, had been issued by the Admiralty 
 early in May, yet so unconscious was the Go- 
 vernment that any war existed, and so igno- 
 rant of the character of the adversary with 
 whom they have to deal, that on the 26 th May, 
 the ink hardly being dry on the orders above 
 given, the First Lord of the Admiralty stated
 
 76 Recent Events. 
 
 to the House of Commons, to reassure those 
 who felt natural anxiety because no hospital 
 ships had been sent to bring away the inevi- 
 table number of fever-stricken men, that "strict 
 '' orders had been issued with regard to the 
 " landing of seamen and marines, which would 
 '' not take place except in case of emergency." 
 
 Captain Fremantle arrived none too soon. 
 It was known that the Ashanti advanced 
 posts were in the immediate vicinity of El Mina, 
 and that the Dutch natives were assisting them 
 with provisions and information. The Admi- 
 nistrator on the 12th June decided, by the 
 advice of his Council, on proclaiming martial 
 law at El Mina, and its execution was placed in 
 the hands of Captain Fremantle and Colonel 
 Festing. It could not have been placed in 
 better hands. 
 
 Colonel Festing, as senior military officer, 
 took command of the land forces. By arrange- 
 ments skilfully made, a night march was planned 
 and executed to El Mina. The squadron ar- 
 rived simultaneously and occupied the river 
 and outlets of the town to seaward by its 
 boats. 
 
 The notorious disaffection and rebellious
 
 Recent Events. jj 
 
 spirit of the El Mina people made it necessary 
 to remove tliem from the neighbourhood of the 
 Castle. 
 
 Notice was accordingly given them to deliver 
 up their arms, and after sufficient delay, no 
 attention being paid to this order, about noon 
 on the 15th June the disaffected town was 
 burnt, ample time having been afforded for the 
 inhabitants to withdraw. 
 
 So soon as the flames of the burning town 
 
 were seen, an Ashanti force of over 3000 men c. 802, p. 
 
 10. 
 advanced to attack the British forces. Captain 
 
 Fremantle, though the superior officer of 
 Colonel Festing, with a chivalrous delicacy 
 worthy of all praise, placed his seamen and 
 marines under Colonel Festing's orders, and 
 acting as a volunteer with that officer, set an 
 example of courageous devotion in the fore- 
 front of the battle. Colonel Festing was thus 
 able to oppose them with nearly 500 men, 
 and inflicted on them a severe loss, driving 
 back the attacking forces. A portion of the 
 seamen and marines having embarked, the 
 Ashanti general renewed the attack about 
 5 P.M. Colonel Festing's force, then reduced 
 to about 200 men, but with the prestige of
 
 78 Recent Events, 
 
 success, again defeated and pursued them to the 
 village of Achimun, about three miles from 
 El Mina. An Ashanti general, a nephew of 
 the King, and other chiefs, were killed, and 
 the Ashanti forces were again concentrated at 
 Effutu. Armed police and provisions were 
 thrown into Dixcove and Secondi, under the 
 civil Commandants. 
 
 Immediately after, Commodore Commerell, 
 one of our bravest and most experienced naval 
 officers, and then Commanding-in-Chief on the 
 West Coast, arrived on the spot; but in making a 
 reconnaissance up the Prah, to see how far it was 
 navigable by boats, he was treacherously fired 
 upon from an ambuscade and most dangerously 
 wounded. At the same time Captain Luxmore 
 of the * Argus,' was also severely wounded, and 
 the service deprived of those and other valuable 
 men. 
 
 Meantime, an officer of great capacity, Major 
 General Sir Garnet Wolseley has been sent as 
 Governor-in-Chief. But as yet it may be said 
 he is a General without an army. Without an 
 army, indeed, he has shown the superiority of 
 a handful of disciplined men to hordes of bar- 
 barians. In the latter days of October he has
 
 Recent Events, 79 
 
 three times defeated the enemy. The number 
 of officers wounded in proportion to men shows 
 how they have had to expose themselves 
 Avhile leading half-disciplined natives ; but the 
 fringe of the jungle has been scoured and 
 penetrated, only to show the difficulties of such 
 warfare. 
 
 Captain Glover, R.N., the Governor of Lagos, 
 perhaps the most experienced officer in the 
 management of these tribes since the days of 
 Governor Maclean, is endeavouring at Accra 
 to raise a native force ; and other officers are 
 attempting to infuse some spirit into the broken 
 bands of the Fanti Confederacy. Arms and 
 a railway have been sent out, but there seems 
 to be no decision yet arrived at as to the ter- 
 minus from which the railway is to proceed, 
 nor the direction in which it is to be carried. 
 
 It seems unfortunate that Cape Coast Castle 
 and El Mina have been fixed upon as the base 
 of operations. 
 
 The Ashanti invasion of 1824 was not 
 defeated until the base of operations was trans- 
 ferred to Accra. From Accra any European 
 troops that it might be thought proper to em- 
 ploy could, by a convenient march of 27 miles.
 
 8o Recent Events. 
 
 be encamped in the healthy mountains of 
 
 Akropong. The Yolta is the true base of 
 
 operation. 
 
 H. ofc, At this moment, as has already been men- 
 
 Enclosure tioued, oue English firm alone has a squadron 
 
 * ' " of small river steamers in the lagoons at the 
 
 mouth of the Assini. Is it too much to hope 
 
 that Grovernment may provide a similar flotilla 
 
 on the Yolta ? 
 
 About 50 miles up the Yolta is the healthy 
 station of N. Pong, within 15 miles of Akro- 
 pong, and affording good water carriage for any 
 troops that might be assembled there. In this 
 healthy mountainous district are the brave 
 and loyal tribes of Krobo and Akim, whose 
 services would be infinitely more valuable than 
 the spiritless natives of the coast. The Ashanti 
 frontier is 20 miles further up the Yolta, and 
 water carriage would place any troops and 
 forces within 100 miles of Kumasi, or at least 
 20 miles nearer than Cape Coast Castle. This, 
 which seems the wisest strategy, would have the 
 further advantage of placing the tribes to the 
 N.E. of Ashanti in connection with Europeans, 
 and of enlisting allies whose hatred of Ashanti 
 must be deep and bitter. The attempts of the
 
 Recent Eve7its, 
 
 Government to overcome the difficulty have not 
 as yet been adequate to the emergency. The 
 experience of the successful campaign in Abys- 
 sinia affords an excellent guide for the requisites 
 to success. If the base of operation be the 
 Volta, then the line of communication to be 
 guarded is only 100 miles as compared to the 
 400 miles for which Lord Napier of Magdala 
 had to provide in his march to that strong- 
 bold. 
 
 Moreover, the co-operation of friendly natives 
 can be counted on to protect the communication 
 with the base on the Volta. Abundant supplies 
 of healthy provisions, of medical comforts, of 
 arms and ammunition, should be provided, and 
 small airy swift steamships should be sent out, 
 so that every week all the sick and wounded 
 might be conveyed away to a healthy climate. 
 Sufficient transport should be left at anchor 
 on the coast, so that every man might remain 
 on board ship till the advance is determined 
 on, and every man re-embarked and con- 
 veyed away so soon as success has crowned 
 their efforts, a success we may hope for under 
 the prudent and skilful direction of Sir Grarnet 
 Wolseley. Let us hope that an effort will be 
 
 G
 
 82 Recent Events. 
 
 made worthy of the English nation to redeem 
 our promises to the Protected Tribes, to free 
 the unfortunate captives in Kumasi, and inflict 
 a never to be forgotten punishment on the King 
 of Ashanti. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 LONDON; PRINTED BT F.DAVAKD STANFOKD 6,7 & 8, CHABIKG CUOSS.
 
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