Akyem Abuakwa is one of the four states of Akyem in 14th century

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Currently, it is part of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

. Historically, the Akyem were part of the Adansi Kingdom, which was the first

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by th ...

to build

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out of mud. They were therefore were named

Adansi Adansi is the name of an Akan ethnic group inhabiting the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The capital of the Adansi is at Fomena. An Adansihene (king of Adansi) is still designated. The Adansi has seven paramountcies: the capital, Fomena, New Edubiase, ...

(builders). In the

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave tradi ...

, the

Ashanti Empire The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of Iv ...

emerged, and under the leadership of King Osei Tutu, defeated the Adansi and annexed them into the Ashanti Empire. The three Akyem nations that were part of the Adansi Kingdom seceded and crossed the River Pra.

History

King Tutu I decided to pursue the Akyems across River Pra against the advice of Okomfo Anokye. While crossing the river with his army, he was shot by the Akyems in an ambush. He was killed and fell into the river. The Ashantis say "Meka Yawada" which means "I swear by Thursday" because the day the king died was on Thursday and the Akyems were known as "Abuakwanfo" or "Abuakwafo" ( guerrilla fighters). The Ashantis retreated and this defeat created a

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

preventing any Ashanti

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

up to the time of Nana Prempeh I (in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

) to cross the Pra to the south. After his death, his nephew King Opoku Ware I became the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

of the Ashanti Empire and vowed to avenge his uncle's death. He restarted the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against the Akyems. The Akyems, knowing that the Ashantis would invade again, migrated southeastwards. Because of the travel, most of the Kotokus and some others settled in the present-day Ashanti Akyem region. The majority traveled until they met Akwamus, a powerful nation inhabiting and ruling the

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

from Asamankese to Nyanawase, which was then their capital and part of Akwapim. The Abuakwas fought the Akwamus and

settled A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

in the area of the Akwamus. The Abukawas made temporary capitals in several areas, including Praso, before settling at Pameng. In the reign of King Ofori Panin the capital was moved to Kyebirie. The Abuakwas fought few battles with their rival tribes and were an independent state until in 1852, the Abuakwas surrendered to the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

and they became a British administrative region.

References

External links

Okyeman Association, Toronto
Akan Akyem Geography of Ghana Former countries in Africa {{Ghana-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links