Akwamu Empire
Akwamu Empire Akwamu | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early 17th century | |||||||||
| Status | Former sovereign state; now a non-sovereign traditional kingdom in Ghana | ||||||||
| Capital | Akwamufie Asamankese Nyanaoase Nsaki | ||||||||
| Common languages | Twi | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Akwamuhene | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Migration from Twifo-Heman | Early 17th century | ||||||||
• Conquest of Accra | 1677 | ||||||||
• Defeated by Akyem | 1730 | ||||||||
• Incorporated into the Gold Coast Colony | 1886 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Ghana Togo Benin | ||||||||
The Akwamu Empire was a powerful Akan state that rose to prominence in the 17th century in what is now southeastern Ghana. According to oral tradition, the Akwamu traced their origins to the Twifo-Heman area, but the earliest historical records place them inland, straddling the Atewa Hills and controlling trade routes between the coast and the forest interior. Emerging as a dominant force in the second half of the century, Akwamu developed into an expansionist polity, exerting authority over diverse territories through military conquest, tributary networks, and control of regional commerce. At the height of its power in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Akwamu Empire extended approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) along the Gulf of Guinea—from Ouidah in present-day Benin to Winneba in modern Ghana.