Canteen Bonsu Kumaa

Mensa Bonsu Kumaa (or just Mensa Bonsu ; * around 1840, † 1896 ) was Asantehene (ruler) of the Kingdom of Ashanti from 1874 to 1883 , which ruled the entire area of ​​what is now Ghana at the beginning of the 19th century .

Mensa Bonsu took over from his predecessor Kofi Karikari an empire that had already shrunk significantly in terms of territory, in which even the central provinces of Kokofu, Bekwai and Dwaben (parts of the “metropolitan Asante”) sought independence from the power of the Asantehene.

He managed to win back Kokofu and Bekwai through diplomatic channels. Dwaben, on the other hand, was supported by the British, resisted him and incited other neighbors to rebel. In October 1875 Mensa Bonsu marched into Dwaben, whose population then fled to the Akim in southern Ghana. There they were given a piece of land by the British, on which they built villages that they named after their old towns.

In the conflict with the rebellious Gyaman on today's border with Ivory Coast , Mensa Bonsu relied on diplomacy again in 1878, but this time unsuccessfully; Gyaman even attacked the Banda, allied with the Ashanti. Mensa Bonsu did not come to the aid of his allies. This, along with the charge of greed, may have been a reason for his removal in February 1883.

See also

• Government of Ashanti
• History of Ghana

literature

• Basil Davidson : A History of West Africa. 1000 - 1800. New revised edition, 2nd impression. Longman, London 1977, ISBN 0-582-60340-4 ( The Growth of African Civilization ).

Web links

• worldstatesmen.org