Convulsions Further West

Abstract

The chapter seeks to map what happened west of Allada/Dahomey, on the Western or “Little” (peripheral) Slave Coast. It was conditioned in part by occurrences on the Gold Coast – the center of the European presence in West Africa – among the Twi-speaking Akan. The central event is the conquest on the Eastern Gold Coast of the Ga-Adangbe of Accra by Akwamu in 1677–82. It sent waves of refugees into the Western Slave Coast. Many of these Ga-Adangbe refugees supported themselves as bandits and mercenaries, putting pressure on the local Ewe population. In the region of Aneho-Little Popo the refugees turned into conquerors and established the polity of Glidji which held uneasy relations with Grand Popo. The impact of all this remained fairly limited and the interest of the Europeans remained equally limited. An unresolved question is to what extent and how Akwamu dabbled in the affairs of the Western Slave Coast.