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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The government of Fante in the seventeenth century
Author:Law, RobinISNI
Year:2013
Periodical:The Journal of African History (ISSN 0021-8537)
Volume:54
Issue:1
Pages:31-51
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:Fante polity
leadership
power
conflict
1600-1699
External link:https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021853713000054
Abstract:This article reconsiders the political organization of Fante, a leading State of the Gold Coast (now Ghana), during the seventeenth century, mainly on the basis of contemporary European records. It questions the conventional depiction of Fante as lacking any effective central authority, showing that the Brafo (head of State) in fact exercized significant power. However, there were recurrent conflicts, both between the Brafo and other chiefs in the capital, and between the capital and the provinces. These tensions are situated within the context of growing European trade in gold and slaves, and endemic local warfare, which generated new resources that upset the existing balance of power. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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