The Fante Confederation: Ghana's First Modern Constitution

In 1868, a coalition of Fante states drafted a constitution for self-governance, creating the Fante Confederation. This episode explores the visionary leaders behind it—men like King Ghartey IV of Winneba, James Bannerman, and William de Graft—and the confederation's ambitious goals: a unified army, a supreme court, and control of their own resources. We examine the famous Bond of 1844, which established British judicial power, and the 1868 Mankesim Conference that sought to counter it. The confederation's story is one of early African statecraft, resistance, and the brutal suppression by Governor Charles Strahan and the British. It's a foundational moment in Ghana's political history, predating the independence movement by nearly a century. And it raises a haunting question: what if the Fante Confederation had survived? #FanteConfederation #Mankesim #KingGharteyIV #JamesBannerman #WilliamdeGraft #BondOf1844 #GovernorStrahan #GoldCoast #GhanaHistory #PreColonialAfrica #AfricanConstitutions #19thCentury #Fante #Elmina #CapeCoast #Resistance #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo