# Fante Confederacy

The Fante Confederacy (also called a confederation, federation, and other similar terms) was a coalition of small kingdoms and city-states in what is now coastal Ghana, mostly inhabited by the Fante people. The core of the confederacy was centered around the town of Mankessim, and expanded in the late 17th and early 18th century to include several neighboring states. In 1807, the Fante were defeated by and incorporated into the Ashanti Empire. The growing power of the British initially helped the Fante re-establish their independence, and they re-formed an official Confederation in 1868, with a ground-breaking democratic constitution. Nevertheless, the confederation was incorporated into the Gold Coast in 1873.

## First Fante Confederacy (15th cent.-1816)
### Origin

According to local oral tradition, the Mfantefo (Fante people) descend from either Adansi or Bono Manso. It was from there that their three revered warriors and leaders, Oson, Odapagyan and Obonomankoma (meaning the whale, the eagle, and the elephant respectively) led them further south to their current location in the Central Region of Ghana. Obrumankoma and Odapagyan died during the exodus and were embalmed and carried along. Oson led the people to what would become Mankessim. They buried Obrumakankoma and Odapagyan in a sacred grove called Nana-nom-pow.
The Fante settled Mankessim in five quarters: Kurentsi Aman, Anaafo, Bentsi, Edumadze, and Nkusukum. In the beginning, Mankessim may have been under the power of the Fetu Kingdom, with a viceroy holding the title of Brafo. By the mid 15th century at the latest, however, the Fante had established an independent government led by an elected Brafo, rather than a monarchy like most of their neighbors.

### 17th century

Fanti was the scene of regular conflict throughout the 17th century, with the Brafo and the ruling council leading the member states to war against neighboring kingdoms but also repeatedly falling into civil strife attempting to establish their control. Circa 1645 Acron (Gomoa) seceded from the Agona kingdom to the east, likely with Fante backing, and by the 1680s was functionally a vassal. Fante fought a series of wars with Asebu to the west, eventually forcing the kingdom into their sphere of influence by the 1680s.
The 1690s were a pivotal decade in Fante history. In 1693-4 they defeated the Fetu Kingdom in a war, after which the longtime rival became a mostly loyal ally. The Komenda Wars saw Fante largely on the sidelines, though Fetu was weakened and meddling by the British and Dutch prompted the Asihene of Abora to overthrow the Brafo. Fante's alliance with Assin gave them an opportunity to control the Etsi kingdom in 1696, but when a Denkyiran invasion threatened their northern ally and the new Brafo refused to send help, a constitutional crisis broke out. By the early 1700s the Brafo and the council were able to re-establish a measure of internal control.

### 18th century

In 1706, the Fante launched a new series of military campaigns to re-establish their military supremacy on the coast. In nearly two decades of almost constant warfare, the confederacy permanently extended its control to Asebu and Agona, and may have conquered Fetu as well before losing it by mid-century. This was the period when the slave trade overtook the export of gold as the region's primary economic activity, and captives taken in these wars were often sold to European slavers at Anomabo, Cape Coast, and other ports. Neighboring kingdoms who were not conquered often allied with the Fante confederacy - Assin and Akwamu in the early 1700s; and Wassa, Twifo, Denkyira, Nzima, and Akyem by the 1730s as the Ashanti threat to the north grew.
The 1740s saw a period of domestic political instability, as the priest-oracle of Nananom Mpow ordered five Brafos executed for corruption in three years, leaving no one eligible to fill the office. The office's importance and power therefore declined, and the Asahin (war chief or captain) of the militarily powerful province of Abura stepped into the void. In the 1750s when the French Compagnie du Senegal tried to establish itself in Anomabo, the Nananom Mpow rejected their overtures.
For the first half of the eighteenth century, the Ashanti were pre-occupied with expanding their confederacy to the north rather than against the stronger coastal groups. The next few decades saw internal disputes within Ashanti. The Fante subsequently intervened, lending material support to rebel groups in Ashanti and offering safe harbour to refugees and dissidents fleeing the Ashanti Confederacy. The Fante introduced laws forbidding the selling of firearms to the Ashanti and curtailing the amount of trade that could pass between over Fante lands, cutting off supplies to the empire.
From 1742 to 1752 this alliance successfully blocked Ashanti trade on the coast, but at a great cost to the Fante economy. An alliance between the two rival powers lasted only a few years, before they resumed diplomatic quarrelling, with Fante supporting rebellious Ashanti vassals and benefiting from British support.

### Ashanti Dominance

In 1806 the Ashanti invaded Fanteland seeking to control all of the coastal trade. The British largely confined their role in the conflict to supplying the Fante with military equipment and supplies, continuing a decades-long tradition. The result was a humiliating defeat for the Fante. Subsequent campaigns in 1809, 1810, 1811, and 1814-16 firmly established Ashanti domination on the coast, where they replaced the chiefs who led the resistance with loyalists.
Despite the Ashanti victory, Fante resistance to the occupation continued. British policy towards their new neighbors was confused and inconsistent, encouraging the Fante and enfuriating the Ashanti. The new British governor, Sir Charles MacCarthy, provoked a conflict and was killed at the Battle of Nsamankow in 1824. At the 1826 Battle of Dodowa, however, a Fante-European coalition decisively defeated the Ashanti. An 1831 treaty ending the war recognized the independence of the Fante states.

## Organization

The Fante confederacy was structured as a commonwealth, without a high king, although some of the non-Borbor Fante states had kings. The head of state was the Brafo, who led the Fante army in war and represented the state in negotiations with external powers. He was elected by the council of chiefs, the Mfanise Ahernfo Nbyiamu, which was composed of the heads of the various quarters of Mankessim. Each one of these 'Curranteers' also represented the interests of one of the Fante provinces.
The chiefs and kings of other states in the confederation, called 'Caboceers' in European sources, came to Mankessim at least once a year for the Ahoba Kuma festival, where they formed a body that served as a parliament to make important decisions. The Nananom Mpow shrine grew into a regionally important site, enforcing oaths, providing oracles, and advising the ruling council.

## Modern Confederacy (1868-1873)
### Background

Increasing trade in Fanteland following the defeat of the Ashantis led to the formation of a wealthy, educated class of African merchants. In 1844, some Fante states placed themselves under British protection through the Bond of 1844, hoping to protect themselves from the Ashanti without sacrificing their domestic power. The 1850s, however, saw the British impose increasingly onerous taxes on the Fante at the same time as competition from European traders was putting many locals out of business. Military setbacks and discussion in the British Parliament on whether to return the area to local administration raised questions about whether British rule was sustainable.
The most controversial action was an 1867 agreement between the British and Dutch to trade forts along the coast. Previously the entire coast had been a mix of British and Dutch forts. The British and Dutch governments agreed to exchange forts: the British would control all the forts east of the Kakum River, and the Dutch would get all the forts to the west, including most of those in the Fante areas. The local Fante rulers, annoyed at not being consulted, were worried about the threat posed by the alliance between the Dutch and the Ashanti.

### Establishment

This led to a January 1868 meeting in Mankessim of the leading Fante Paramount Chiefs and representatives of their Akan allies Twifo and Asen. Together they formed the Fante Confederation and King Ghartey IV (c. 1820–1897) of Winneba was elected as the first King-President, while King Nana Amfo Otu Gyandoh I of Abura was placed in charge of the United armed forces. Wealthy Fante merchants from the port cities played a prominent role behind the scenes.

### Confederate Rule

In February 1868 the Dutch bombarded the town of Komenda in an attempt to impose their rule on an unwilling population. The Confederation, joined by Denkyira and Wassa, marched 15000 men to Komenda to prevent the Dutch from taking control of the fort vacated by the British. This effort was successful and the Dutch were rebuffed at Komenda and later at Dixcove. Amfo Otu next turned to trying to take Elmina, the centre of Dutch power on the coast, where the Fante forces became bogged down in a long siege. Although the confederation effectively controlled Fanteland, commerce was at a standstill and their coffers were nearly empty.
In November 1871 the constitution was rewritten and a new Executive Council was created, dominated by educated merchants. Amfo Otu of Abura and Kwesi Edu of Mankessim were elected co-King-Presidents, but by 1872 Otu was alone in the role.

### Collapse

The Fante Confederacy faced many major challenges. The long fighting around Elmina drained the resources of the state, and it was unable to compensate with a poll tax or duties on trade. For a time the Ghartey brothers funded the state out-of-pocket, but soon the Confederacy's coffers dwindled. Competition between Mankessim and Abura for leadership of the coalition made this worse.
Faced with the Fante's determined resistance, the Dutch sold their coastal possessions to the British in 1870. Now in control of the entire region, they approached the leaders of the Confederation and offered them money and also sowed distrust among the Fante paramount chiefs. Recalcitrant leaders were imprisoned for treason. With the main threat (the Dutch and, by extension, their Ashanti allies) sidelined, unity collapsed in the Confederation. The wealthy, educated merchants pushing the nationalist project were powerless without the traditional leaders' support. By 1873 the Confederacy had ceased to exist, and was annexed into the Gold Coast colony.

## Government

The Fante Constitution promulgated in 1871 had a King-President as its head of state, but his role was largely ceremonial and judicial. An Executive Council composed of educated men held the real power, along with a federal assembly of kings and elders and a national assembly that met once a year to review the work of the executive council and set strategic priorities. The new government built roads, promoted education, introduced a poll tax covering the region, and built a judicial system with a federal court based in Mankessim presided over by the King-President.

## Economy

The Fante were the vital middle-men in trade between European ports on the coast (especially Anomabo and Cape Coast) and the Ashanti Empire and other inland states. The control of trade routes was the key issue that brought the Fante Confederacy into conflict with its neighbors. They also established long-distance maritime trade links with the Kingdom of Kongo around the Congo-Angola region. This was accomplished with dugout canoes powered by sails of woven palm fronds.