In 1872, without consulting the Ashanti Empire from whom they'd been renting the land, the Netherlands agreed to trade their holdings on the Gold Coast to the British.
In 1872, without consulting the Ashanti Empire from whom they'd been renting the land, the Netherlands agreed to trade their holdings on the Gold Coast to the British. This deal threatened the Ashanti. Allowing the British to possess a monopoly on the coast was absolutely antithetical to Ashanti foreign policy. Thus began the Elmina Controversy. Kofi Kakari, who had previously been offering ransom on a group of European missionaries who had been captured during a previous, unrelated conflict, suddenly changed his tune. The new asking price for the missionaries was the complete British withdrawal from the former Dutch Gold Coast. When the British refused, it seemed war was right on the horizon. However, not everyone was so keen to go to war. The general Adu Bofour and Asantehemaa Afua Kobi in particular urged restraint and negotiation. Another general, Amankwatia IV, as well as the majority of the Ashanti parliament, on the other hand, pushed for war. Learn more about the Elmina Cri...