ABSTRACT
The chief event that is remembered of this period is that the old feud between Kumasi and Juaben broke out into open war. The fundamental cause of the trouble was that the Ashanti could reconcile themselves to the loss of Assin, Akim and Denkyera, which they had for so long regarded as provinces of their empire. The matter came to the Governor’s knowledge, and he sent a soldier to Otibu to summon him to Cape Coast for investigation. In March 1853 the Ashanti party, some 300 strong, arrived in Assin under the command of a chief named Akyeampon. The Governor, Richard Pine, was in a dilemma. In December a formal embassy arrived from Kumasi to demand the surrender of Kwasi Gyani. Among the ambassadors was the bearer of the Golden Axe, a symbolic weapon which was regarded by the Ashanti as having magic power to cut a way through all difficulties and misunderstandings.
