The Twifo: a political, social and economic history, 1600-1987

Abstract

Using extensively oral sources through interviews and archival materials, this study examines the origins, migrations and settlements of one of the major Akan states, the Twifo, between the periods 1600 and 1987. Also examined is the Twifo factor in the political dispensation of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in the 19th century as well as the economic impact the arrival of the Twifo had on the Central region and the economy of the Gold Coast as a whole. The aim is to bring to light the part the Twifo played in the political, social and economic evolution of the Gold Coast. As one of the Asante’s formidable allies in the Asante’s many wars of expansion, the Twifo contributed to the making of the Asante kingdom. In the same manner, their secession from the Asante kingdom and joining forces with the British, the Twifo contributed to the destruction of the Asante power in 1826. It was after the defeat of the Asante in that year that the process to settle the Twifo at their current location began. As a people basically engaged in the primary occupation of farming, a special interest was developed for the land-mass, and this in addition to their military prowess became the major factors for the domination of the lands around the River Pra area.