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 In 1814 the
Ashanti ( Asante), under the leadership of Asantehene Osei Bonsu, again defeated the Akim-Akwapim alliance, but when they
followed up their victory by pillaging Accra, instead of attacking the
Europeans, they lost a valuable ally in the Ga people. The coastal people, primarily some of the Fante and the inhabitants of the new town of Accra, who were chiefly
Ga, came to rely on British protection against Ashanti incursions.
However, in 1816 the Ashanti advanced into Fante country,
capturing and killing the
fleeing Akim-Akwapim leaders and they established themselves as overlords of all the
region between the Ashanti and the sea. Local British, Dutch, and Danish
authorities were all forced to come to terms with Ashanti, and in 1817 the
African Company of Merchants signed a treaty of friendship that recognized
Ashanti claims to sovereignty over large areas of the coast and its
peoples.
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