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In 1701, the Ashanti army conquered Denkyira, giving the Ashanti access to the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean coastal trade with Europeans, notably the Dutch. [9] The economy of the Asante Empire was mainly based on the trade of gold and agricultural exports [12] as well as slave trading, craft work and trade with markets further north. [5]
Trade in slaves was a major tradition in pre-colonial Asante culture. Slaves were typically taken as captives from enemies in warfare. Slaves were typically taken as captives from enemies in warfare. Perbi states that the Asante Empire was the largest slave owning state in the territory of modern Ghana during the Atlantic slave trade . [ 17 ]
The Asante, also known as Ashanti in English (/ ə ˈ ʃ ɑː n t iː / ⓘ), are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante people as their native language. [1] [2] [3]
The Ashanti were the main supplier of ivory as well as slaves to the Gold Coast. Most gold exports came from Ashanti and its tributaries, although that share was diminished after the Battle of Dodowa (but still probably "over half, perhaps three-quarters" of the Gold Coast total). [ 29 ]
The Asante believed that slaves would follow their masters into the afterlife. Slaves could sometimes own other slaves, and could also request a new master for severe mistreatment. [20] [21] [22] The modern-day Asante claim that slaves were seldom abused, [23] and that a person who abused a slave was held in high contempt by society. [24]
By the late 19th century, the British, through conquest or purchase, occupied most of the forts along the coast. Two major factors laid the foundations of British rule and the eventual establishment of a colony on the Gold Coast: British reaction to the Asante wars and the resulting instability and disruption of trade, and Britain's increasing preoccupation with the suppression and elimination ...
Prince Tete, a local, leans against a fence of a mass grave at the Assin Praso heritage site, Ghana. (Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters) ADIDWAN, Ghana — Nana Assenso stands at the grave of his ...
The Ashanti form of slavery was different from American chattel slavery, in a number of ways. Ashanti slaves had legal rights, could own property, inherit property and marry. At around 10 years old Kofi was either seized or sold to Fanti middlemen, the first step in the Atlantic slave trade.