Ashanti Wars

Four British expeditions 1873–1901 to the interior of modern Ghana to wrest control of trade in West Africa from the indigenous Ashanti people and end the slave trade which thrived in the area.

The first Ashanti War broke out in April 1873 when Garnet Wolseley was sent with 2,500 troops to defeat the Ashanti ruler, the Asantehene Kofi Karikari, and free the coastal regions from further incursions. This was settled by the Treaty of Fomena on 14 March 1874 under which the Asantehene promised free trade, an open road to Kumasi, an end to human sacrifices, and to pay an indemnity to Britain. The agreement was broken and further expeditions followed: the area was declared a British protectorate in August 1896 and the Asantehene was deported. The Ashanti territory was incorporated into the neighbouring Gold Coast colony in September 1901.