Fighting Asante is like the world going to fight USA. The Asante Kingdom just like the USA, is the last Akan Kingdom to evolve out of the many Akan states and Kingdoms that already existed.
Asante is a formation of individual Akan states who were once speaking different Akan dialects, before accepting one dialect which was dominating among the individual states and branded it as Asante Twi as their official language when they came together just like how the USA adopted English as their official language and mode of communication.
Imagine the world going to fight the most influential country in the universe in all aspects, the United States of America? America is the only country nobody or no race nor the indigenous continents can claim as theirs, not we the Black Negroes (Africa), the White Caucasians (Europe) nor the Yellow Mongolians (Asia). It is a country built by the whole world. The blacks contributed, and the Whites contributed so as did the Asians to make the country what it is today.
That is why it is only in the USA where we have Black Americans like Barack Obama, Beyoncé, etc, Asian Americans like Kamala Harris (US Vice President whose father is from the Caribbean), and European Americans like Hillary Clinton, Joe Bidden yet they’ve all come together to build a beautiful America irrespective of how their ancestry got there. Have you heard of Black Europeans or Black Asians before? NO!!!!
So if the world is going to fight the USA, then the world is going to fight against their own ancestry and blood, because USA was established by the whole world and the last country to be formed out of the world in 1776.
Irrespective of them being the last country/continent to emerge, often termed as the new world, nobody can resist the fact that they have become a powerful country and very influential in the world.
Just like the formation of the USA, the Asante Union also evolved out of the many Akan states and kingdoms to become one people for one common destiny, the United States of Asante (USA).
Interestingly, Asante is the last Akan Kingdom to be formed in 1701 yet it has grown to become a very great kingdom, one of the most powerful kingdoms in Africa which name ASANTE/ASHANTI has travelled far and wide, been recognized and recorded in the archives of the world’s history, dictionaries, etc. It is a fact that no one can deny, the physical evidence is there.
When the individual states of Akans led by Kwamanhene Osei Tutu I united these states and became a powerful force, Okomfo Anokye warned the newly built Asante Union that should they conquer any Akan or non-Akan state or tribe in a war or join willingly, NEVER, should they treat them as slaves like how Denkyira treated their Akan brothers as slaves and pawns when they were at the peak of power and kinship.
The individual Akan states that now form part of the Asante Union like Mampong, Juaben, Kumawu, Asumenya, Kokofu, Adanse, Kwaman (Kumase), etc and other Akan states who no longer forms part of the Asante Union like Sefwi, Assin, Wassa, etc really suffered in the hands of Denkyira Kingdom and this led to the formation of Asante in other to fight for our freedom from Denkyera.
Through Otweduampong, Nananom Nsamanfuo, and the various sacrifices, the Asante Independence War of 1701 was fiercely fought at Feyiase, Denkyera lost the war and that led to the collapse of the Powerful Denkyira Kingdom.
We Asantes can never deny the fact that we were slaves to Denkyera, indeed we were slaves. Denkyira treated us as such and that is what led to the war of 1701. If Denkyira had treated the fellow Akans fairly I’m sure there wouldn’t have been any war and I’m sure even Asante wouldn’t have been formed.
Denkyira didn’t do this, but rather the opposite.
However, when the Denkyira Kingdom collapsed, we never used the Denkyira strategy. When Denkyira collapsed, a lot of families with stools from Denkyira dispersed, some went to live at the Kwahu Mountains, Akyem, Fante, Sefwi, etc.
A lot of them came to settle in Asante, the then Asantehene gave them the vast Atwima land for them to settle on. Towns like Nkawie, Toase, Nhyinahini, and the majority of towns in Antwima Province were established by the people of Denkyira. They became a part of us and we became a part of them.
One incident happened when Nkrumah was president when he was persuing chiefs who did not agree with his governing style, Nana Owusu Bore was forced out by Nkrumah as Denkyirahene, the chief came to Nkawie and was enstooled as Nkawiehene. This shows that a very large part of Asante has Denkyira origin. With this, I can state without equivocation that the likes of Former President John Agyekum Kuffuor, I.K Acheampong, Chief Justice Anin Yeboah, Kessben, Nana Acheampong, Diana Hamilton, etc are great descendants of Denkyira because the aforementioned personalities all hail from Atwima.
Same as the Asante-Akyem Province, some of the towns were originally Akyem people in the present-day Eastern Region but due to war, Asantehene Opoku Ware took most of their lands and annexed their people to Asante. Henceforth, the name Asante-Akyem. Even though some Asante-Akyem towns like Agogo etc migrated to live in their present location. We have become one blood, living peacefully and together taking pride in ourselves as “Otekokoosuo nana”.
When Dormaa people migrated from Suntreso to Tepa and Bomaa in Ahafo to their present location they left most of the people there who are today Asantes.
Before the formation of Asante, Adanse was already an established and independent state until it became a vassal to Denkyira. When Asante finally defeated Denkyira Adanse became part of the Asante Union and we have been living as one people with a common destiny.
When Asante annexed Banda State (Banafuo) in the present Bono Region through war, they have become a part of Asante till now and Banda is one of the Asante states that fought for the restoration of the Asante Confederacy in 1935.
Just like how trade, succession disputes, expedition, and hunting led some families to migrate from Asante to establish towns like Nkoransah, Berekum, Sunyani etc in Bono and Bono East Regions, Worawora, Apesokubi, Kadjebi, Tapaman all in Oti Region, Kwahu, Koforidua (New Juaben) in Eastern Region, Agona Nyarkrom in Central Region, Bauole Kingdom in Ivory Coast etc.
So just like the USA, nobody can claim Asante as ownership. We all own ourselves because we built Asante together. It is a group of people who saw the importance of unity, united and have made a huge impact in the history of the world.
That is why it’s only in the Asante Kingdom that we have provinces (Regions) even before Ghana started demarcating Regions. No proper or learned Asante can mention his or her town without knowing the province it is located.
We have;
1. Kwaman (Kumasi) Province.
2. Atwima Province.
3. Adanse Province.
4. Sekyere Province.
5. Amansie Province.
6. Kwabre Province.
7. Asante-Akyem Province.
8. Ahafo Province.
9. Offinso Province.
10. Bosomtwe Province.
11. Tano-Subin Province.
End of part 1
