colony · West Africa
Ashanti Colony
Origins
British forces occupied Kumasi in 1896 and exiled the Asantehene Prempeh I, eventually to the Seychelles. In 1900 the governor's demand for the Golden Stool, the sacred symbol of the Asante nation, provoked a rising led by Yaa Asantewaa, queen mother of Ejisu. After its suppression Britain annexed Ashanti as a crown colony on 1 January 1902.
Rule and society
A chief commissioner at Kumasi governed through Asante chiefs. The colony became the heart of Gold Coast cocoa production, and Kumasi grew into a major commercial centre linked by rail to the coast. Prempeh I was allowed to return in 1924, and in 1935 the British restored the Asante Confederacy under his successor Prempeh II.
Decline and legacy
In the 1950s the National Liberation Movement, based in Ashanti, demanded a federal constitution, but on 6 March 1957 Ashanti became part of a unitary Ghana. The Asantehene remains the most influential traditional ruler in the country.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Ashanti Colony was a colony of British Empire1902 CE – 1957 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ashanti Colony. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ashanti-colony
- MLA
- “Ashanti Colony.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ashanti-colony. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Ashanti Colony.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ashanti-colony.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ashanti Colony’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ashanti-colony (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻