|
In 1811 the Asante moved south again, in response to an appeal for help from
the people of Elmina, who were being attacked by the Fante. This time it was the
Asante who were let down by their allies. The state of Akim Abuakwa, which had
promised to help them, suddenly supported the Fante. A big battle was fought,
the Asante being supported by the Ga people of Accra as well as those of Elmina,
against the Fanti-Akim alliance, which was joined by the Akwapim. The Asante won
the pitched battle, but then had to retreat in the face of the guerrilla tactics
used by the Akwapim in the Akwapim Hills, where the Asante had the disadvantage
of not knowing the terrain so well. The jubilant Akwapim, like the Asante in
1806, tried their new-found strength against the Europeans. They took a Dutch
fort a Apam and a British one at Tantamkweri.
|