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The Second Anglo–Ashanti War also known as the Second Anglo–Asante War[1] and Third Anglo–Asante War[2]
1863–1864[3]
source to use?[4]
Background
[edit]In 1826, the British had defeated the Ashanti at the Battle of Dodowa, the Government attached no great value to the area. Indeed, they tried to abandon the forts; but pressure from merchants who were interested in the Gold Coast led to their retention. Captain George Maclean then appeared on the scene, and for nearly twenty years worked to pacify the region. He was considered to be a stolid, patient, hard-headed Scot, who earned the trust both of the Ashanti and the coastal peoples. Through his personal influence a type of British paramountcy grew up in the Gold Coast which was taken to imply that the Fante and the neighbouring states would be supported by Britain against the Ashanti — hence the name 'protectorate'. Maclean became the chief element in a tripartite system of mediation between Ashanti, the coastal states and the British traders.[5]
Within the states of the protectorate, Maclean's influence was even higher. The inhabitants submitted disputes to his jurisdiction, and a semblance of legality was given to his system in 1844. In that year the British Government granted him extra-territorial jurisdiction over British subjects outside the forts. At the same time, some, but not all, of the African rulers signed the Bond, by which they consented to Maclean's continuing to 'mould the customs of the country to the general principles of British law'. Thus a modest form of 'informal empire' was created; but it was not allowed to become a burden on the British taxpayer.[6]
In 1850 a novel experiment was tried to raise revenue in the Gold Coast. The British forts (along with some forts purchased from Denmark) were constituted into a separate Crown Colony. Two years later the governor convened a conference, which he dignified with the title of 'Legislative Assembly'. It consisted of the governor, his council and a number of Fante chiefs, who were persuaded to levy a modest poll tax. At home, Lord Grey, the Colonial Secretary, hailed the conference as a 'rude negro Parliament'. He envisaged Britain training the Gold Coast peoples into a 'nation capable of protecting themselves and managing their own affairs'. But his enthusiasm was not shared in England. Few politicians took any interest in the experiment and the Gold Coast was neglected until 1864.[7]
Until his death in 1847, Maclean successfully mediated in disputes between Ashanti and the coastal states. In subsequent years the Ashanti had ever-growing cause to resent British interference. They had given up claims to their former coastal conquests and to rent which they once claimed for the British forts, in return for assurances that they would have unmolested access to the coast. But Britain suppressed the export of slaves by sea. Above all, Britain protected the states such as Assin, Akyim and Denkyira, which lay on the Ashanti routes to the sea. Here Ashanti travellers were often molested, and tension was endemic.[8]
In 1863 the ruler of Ashanti, the Asantehene Kwaku Dua I, could restrain his war-chiefs no longer. The British governor, Richard Pine, granted asylum to a runaway Ashanti slave-boy and a man fleeing from justice. Repeated requests for their extradition, and categorical assurances that they would not be executed, were rebuffed. In March 1863, three Ashanti armies marched into the protectorate and Britain's noble was placed in jeopardy.[9]
Conflict
[edit]In 1863, after 30 years of peace between the Ashanti and the British, the First Anglo–Ashanti War, the second war began when Ashanti forces pursue a fugitive into British–controlled territory.[10] The war was a fiasco for Britain. A small force of 400 men of the West India Regiment was scraped together from the other settlements, but their commander was too timid to attack the Ashanti. The governor tried to rally resistance, but he fell ill. As the rainy season set in in the autumn of 1863 the Ashanti armies retired from the protectorate, but they were undefeated and were still a potential threat. The governor, therefore, planned to strike a blow at the Ashanti capital to forestall a further invasion. At first his suggestion was rejected by the Secretary of State; but in December 1863 he changed his mind and agreed to provide reinforcements for a march on Kumasi. The offensive against the Ashanti was never made. Detachments of the West India Regiment, which were sent to the Ashanti border to await reinforcements and prepare for the attack, languished in the rains through the early months of 1864, suffering growing casualties from malaria and yellow fever. Over half the officers were struck down and thirteen out of sixty-four died. As news of demoralisation and confusion reached England, the opposition in Parliament challenged the Government in the House of Commons and decisively affected Britain's West Africa policy.[9]
On 20 May 1864, Sir John Pakington denounced the proposed invasion of Ashanti as 'wild and visionary... hopeless and impossible'. Only three days later, Edward Cardwell, the Colonial Secretary, cancelled the operations. Sir John Hay's motion of censure failed on 17 June, but its import was not lost on Cardwell. On the day after the debate he made it known that a commissioner would besent to make a full inquiry in West Africa. On 23 June he issued an order that British troops could not be used against future Ashanti attacks. If the protectorate was to continue, the governor was to confine his efforts to encouraging the chiefs to unite and providing arms and advice. British protection of the Gold Coast protectorate was virtually withdrawn.[11]
The Ashanti twice defeated the Anglo–Fante troops.[2]
The war ended in a stalemate as a result of rampant disease among the troops of both sides.[10]
Aftermath
[edit]The war did more than strike a blow at the Gold Coast protectorate in 1864. The Lagos Colony, over 300 miles away to the east, was also affected. On the day Cardwell called off the Ashanti expedition, he also cancelled an 'energetic policy' which he had recently approved in the Yoruba states on the mainland. Lagos underwent the same critical scrutiny as the Gold Coast as a result of this war.[12]
In 1873, the Third Anglo–Ashanti War occurs, fought over territorial disputes and the British desire to expand their territory. It lead to the Ashanti capital being burned before the eventual ceasefire.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ Miller 2021, p. 106.
- ^ a b Stokes 2009, p. 68.
- ^ Lynn 2011, p. 398.
- ^ Macdonald, George (1898). The Gold Coast, past and present; a short description of the country and its people. Robarts - University of Toronto. London, Longmans, Green, & co.
- ^ McIntyre 1967, p. 84.
- ^ McIntyre 1967, p. 84-86.
- ^ McIntyre 1967, p. 86.
- ^ McIntyre 1967, p. 86-87.
- ^ a b McIntyre 1967, p. 87.
- ^ a b c Stanton 2012, p. 36.
- ^ McIntyre 1967, p. 87-88.
- ^ McIntyre 1967, p. 88.
Bibliography
[edit]- Stanton, Andrea L.; Ramsamy, Edward; Seybolt, Peter J.; Elliott, Carolyn M. (2012). Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, & Africa (1st ed.). Sage Publishing (published 13 March 2012). doi:10.4135/9781452218458. ISBN 9781412981767.
- Miller, Stephen M. (2021). Queen Victoria's Wars. Cambridge University Press (published 17 June 2021). ISBN 9781108490122.
- Stokes, Jamie (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East. Infobase. ISBN 9781438126760.
- McDonald, Lynn (2011). Florence Nightingale on Wars and the War Office. Vol. 15. Wilfrid Laurier University Press (published November 2011). ISBN 9781554583829.
- McIntyre, W. David (1967). Imperial Frontier in the Tropics. Macmillan Publishers (published 1 November 1967). ISBN 9780333051528.