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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Denkyira in the Making of Asante, c. 1660-1720
Author:McCaskie, T.C.ISNI
Year:2007
Periodical:The Journal of African History
Volume:48
Issue:1
Period:March
Pages:1-25
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:Ashanti polity
State formation
Denkyira
history
Akan
1600-1699
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
History and Exploration
Education and Oral Traditions
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/4501014
Abstract:This article examines the complex and fluid relationship between Denkyira and Asante in the period c. 1660-1720 that saw the former supplanted by the latter as the leading power among the Twi-speaking Akan peoples of the central southern Gold Coast (Ghana). Dense oral traditions supplemented by a range of other materials are used to identify the site of the ancient Denkyira capital of Abankeseso, and to give an account of the settlements that served it and the gold resources that supported it. These same sources provide a detailed understanding of the reasons for defections from Denkyira to Asante, and how this process contributed to the first Asantehene Osei Tutu's epochal military victory over Denkyirahene Ntim Gyakari at Feyiase (1701). Asante policy towards defeated Denkyira is then discussed, and the legacy of the events described is considered. At a general level, this article makes a case for looking in detail and depth at the local conditions that gave rise to particular sociopolitical arrangements, and argues that studies of this kind can advance understanding of the formation and nature of polity and identity in precolonial Africa. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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