Akwamu Empire

The Akwamu Empire was an Akan state that rose in the 17th century in what is now southeastern Ghana. According to local tradition, the Akwamu trace their origins to the Kingdom of Twifo, but the earliest historical records place them inland, around the and controlling trade routes between the coast and the inland forest. Akwamu developed into an expansionist state that enforced authority over many territories through military conquest, tributary networks, and control of regional trade. At the height of its power in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Akwamu Empire extended approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) along the Gulf of Guinea, from Ouidah in present-day Benin to Winneba in modern Ghana.