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For the writer, see John Fante. Fante can also refer to the Fante language..

The MFantsefo or Fanti are an ethnic group mainly gathered in the south-western coastal region of Ghana, with some also in the Côte d'Ivoire. Along with the "'Asantefo'" or Ashantis, they belong to the Akan peoples (who also include the Akuapem, the Guam, and others). Despite the rapid growth of the Ashanti Empire in historic times, the Fanti have always maintained hold of their state to this day. Currently, they number about 1,850,000. Inheritance and succession to public office among the Fanti are determined mostly by matrilineal descent (which is common amongst most Akan peoples).

When the Portuguese arrived in 1482 the Fanti prevented them from venturing in land and rented out properties for the Portuguese to stay and carry out trading missions. However, when the Portguese became tiresome of the Fanti rules and regulations the Fante had no choice but to drive them away. Thenceforth the Dutch arrived followed by the English, soon to be British. The Fanti served as middlemen in the commerce between the interior and British and Dutch traders on the coast. With the assistance of the British the Fanti waged war against the Ashanti-Dutch alliance, The Dutch had managed to penetrate inland for the purpose of trading slaves with the Ashanti King. In the early 18th century, they formed the Fante Confederacy, with the aim of establishing themselves as a nation to be taken seriously by their European counterparts. Thus, in 1844, a bond was written between the Fante, on behalf of the Gold Coast, and the British, allowing the Gold Coast to gain their independence without war 100 years later. Several Ashanti-Fante wars followed. On one occasion, the Fante were aided by the British, who, however, destroyed the strong Fante confederation established between 1868 and 1872, believing it a threat to their hegemony on the coast.

They were allied with the British during the Anglo-Ashanti wars (1873-1874). In 1874, a joint Fanti-British army defeated the Ashanti, and in the same year the Fante followed suit and became part of the British Gold Coast colony.

The Catholic prelate Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson is perhaps the most prominent Fante in the world. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is of Fante descent, as is Canadian television journalist Jojo Chintoh.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.

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