Anlos were the first kingdom to be established under British rule in Gold Coast – Historian reveals

Anlos, were the first ethnic group to be recognised to have established a kingdom in the British-ruled Gold Coast, a renowned historian has revealed.

Per the historical account, the British colony identified the Anlo ethnic group as the assembly which had the most organised system of chieftaincy and hierarchy.

Spokesperson to the Awoemefia, Togbi Kumassah while explaining the Anlo chieftaincy system, revealed in the final episode of GhanaWeb’s People and Places show focused on the Anlos that, the landmark was observed and established after the British signed a treaty with them in 1874.

He also disclosed that, the Ashanti Kingdom, the largest in the Gold Coast joined the jurisdiction 26 years after the Anlos had been confirmed.

Breaking down the criteria for selection, Togbi Kumassah noted that they qualified as a kingdom based on their structure of authority practiced by families belonging to the Anlo group of people.

“Kingdoms are based on the structure of authority. Because in Anlo, the first source of authority is the father in the house; the father is the chief in the house. Then from there we go to the family head, that is siblings, the head of those siblings and the families. Then you have the clan head… then you have the Hanua….

“From Hanua, then you come to a chief, then you have the Dufia, that is the chief of the whole town… then from the Dufia we go to Fiagawo; they are the divisional chiefs. Then from the divisional chiefs we go the Commanders… then above them we have the Avadada, who is the Field Marshall of the whole Anlo army. Then above him is the Awoemefia,” Togbi Kumassah explained.



He further proffered that their system showed the hierarchy of authority by the Anlos.

“…so, you find out that it is very well structured. So, you know how authority descends from the top to the bottom. That made them recognise us as the first kingdom they met in the Gold Coast,” Togbi Kumassah added.