The Asantes and the British fought several times. Those battles were called Anglo-Asante wars. Prominent amongst them are the Nsamankow war (January 21, 1824), Akatamanso war (August 1, 1826), Sagrenti war (March 14, 1874) and Yaa Asantewaa war (March 25, 1900).
During the colonial era, so many wars were fought especially between the Asante and the British. The Anglo-Ashanti Wars were five conflicts that occurred between the Ashanti Empire and the British Empire and which ultimately resulted in the Ashanti Empire being incorporated into the British Gold Coast Colony (now Ghana).
The Third Anglo-Ashanti War occurred from 1873 to 1874. In 1874, an army under Sir Garnet Wolseley crossed the Pra River into the Asante territory. The people of Gold Coast referred to this War as the “Sagrenti War” because they could not pronounce the name Sir Garnet Wolseley.
The British army were very strong and well-armed than the Asante Kingdom as a result after series of long and tough fight, agreed to sign a peace treaty at Fomena.
On March 14, 1874, the two sides signed the Treaty of Fomena, which required the Asante to pay an indemnity of 50,000 ounces of gold, to renounce claims to Elmina and payments for the use of forts, and to terminate their alliances with several other states, including Denkyera and Akyem.
Additionally, the Asantehene agreed to withdraw his troops from the coast, to keep the trade routes open. The British victory and the Treaty of Fomena ended the Asante dream of bringing the coastal states under their power.
The northern states of Brong, Gonja, and Dagomba also took advantage of the Asante defeat by asking for their independence. The Asante empire was near collapse. In 1896 the British made efforts to control the Asante Kingdom and exiled the Asantehene, Nana Prempeh, his immediate family, and several close advisers to the Seychelles Islands.
In 1899-1900, the British tried twice to take possession of the Asantehene‘s Golden Stool, which is the symbol of Asante power and independence. In April 1900, the Asante reacted to these attempts by launching an armed rebellion and by laying siege to the Kumasi fort, where the British governor and his party had sought refuge. The British eventually defeated the Asante, both capturing and exiling the rebellion’s leader, Yaa Asantewaa, and fifteen of her closest advisers.
The British based on the defeat of the Asantes in the Sagrenti War and the Yaa Asantewaa War to colonize the Asantes. Finally, on January 1, 1902, Asante became a British Crown Colony and a resident chief commissioner was sent to Kumasi to take full charge of the territory.