Kate Efua Ketse Dawson: The Fante woman behind the famous Sargrenti War

The history of the Sagrenti War, the famous war between the Ashanti Kingdom and the British in 1874, most people hear about is what is told by Asantes.

The Asanteman, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, at a commemorative durbar on February 8, 2024, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Sagrenti War, reiterated the Ashanti side of the story behind the war that the British, without any instigation from the Asantes, attacked Asanteman and looted artefacts worth over 2 billion pounds.

It appears there is more to the story behind the famous war than the history given by the Ashanti side.

Everything Fante, a pro-Fante group, has given the Fante side of the story behind the Sagrenti War, which involves how one woman, Kate Efua Ketse Dawson, started the war.

Kate Efua Ketse Dawson was a very wealthy Fante woman who, according to history, saved the Fante Nation on more than one occasion, using her wealth and influence.

Kate Dawson is said to have on one occasion single-handedly bought off a threatened Asante invasion of the Fante nation with £486 worth of gold.

“The Asantehene threatened an attack on Cape Coast. As a single Fante State (Oguaa), it did not have the troops (numbers)

and artillery to face a large force from the Asante, so Kate decided to approach the Asantehene to negotiate a payoff to avert the attack.

“Nana Kofi Karikari, the Asantehene, insisted he needed only gold because it was only gold that would satisfy him. The greedy Nana Kofi Karikari was obsessed with gold. Kate Dawson paid him off to stop the invasion. The Asantehene was in shock and awe because he had never seen so much gold as what Efua Ketse gave him. He was amazed at the wealth and opulence of Efua Ketse,” part of the post reads.

This success earned Kate Dawson the title of “Ebum,” which means “The breaker of the Asantehene's mighty balance.”

The Asantes came once again for more gold in 1873, but Kate Dawson refused to give it to them. King Kofi Karikari was infuriated by her refusal and ordered his men to invade Cape Coast to “break the Cape Coast Castle and return all the blocks to Kumasi and annihilate every living Fante soul from the face of the earth.”

This attack, which resulted in the Abakrampa War, saw the Ashanti Kingdom being heavily defeated, losing over 20,000 men.

After this heavy defeat, the Ashanti Kingdom once again threatened to attack the Fantes, and Kate Dawson was called to action.

This time around, she led six other Fante women to seek the support of the British against the Ashanti. She is said to have paid the British with a huge amount of gold to attack the Asantes.

“In 1873, the Asante again threatened to invade Cape Coast and actually marched towards Fanteland. Kate Efua Ketse Dawson and seven strong prominent Fante ladies urged the governor of the day to help the citizens of Cape Coast and offered to pay for a military expedition against the Asante.

“This led to the expedition against Asantes in the Sagrenti War of 1874, described by G. A. Henty in 'The March to Coomassie (1874).' The Sagrenti War of 1874 was planned and financed by Kate Efua Dawson and seven powerful Fante women,” Everything Fante wrote.

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