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Journal of African History, (), pp. . Cambridge University Press
doi:./S
ROBIN LAWUniversity of Stirling/University of Liverpool
AbstractThis article reconsiders the political organization of Fante, a leading state of the Gold Coast, 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 exercised signicant power. However, there were recurrent conicts, 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.
Key WordsGhana, state, politics, precolonial, trade.
FANTE, situated on the central section of the Gold Coast (nowadays, the Central Region of Ghana), was one of the most important precolonial states of the Akan-speaking group, which also included Asante in the interior. It was a signicant participant in the supply of gold into the Atlantic trade in the seventeenth century, and became even more prominent in the slave trade in the eighteenth century, when its principal coastal port, Anomabo, was the main point of embarkation of slaves on the Gold Coast. It was also a signicant military power, engaging in expansionist wars, which extended its control over several neighbouring states. But while the history of Fante in the eighteenth century has been the subject of a fair amount of academic study, including most recently by Rebecca Shumway, the seventeenth century has not attracted comparable attention. This article seeks to redress this neglect, by an exploration of the nature and evolution of the internal
* An earlier version of this article was presented at the Biennial Conference of the African Studies Association of the UK, University of Leeds, Sept. . Thanks to Tom McCaskie for his comments, and to Natalie Everts for advice on the translation of Dutch texts. Authors email: r.c.c.law@stir.ac.uk
Nowadays the term Fante is used with a wide application, and includes originally distinct communities that were brought under Fante control or inuence in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In this article, it designates the original Fante polity, as it existed c. .
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