Mensa Bonsu

Mensa Bonsu Kumaa (or even Mensa Bonsu, * in 1840, † 1896) was from 1874 to 1883 Asantehene (ruler ) of the Kingdom of Ashanti, which dominated the whole territory of present-day Ghana at the beginning of the 19th century.

Mensa Bonsu took over from his predecessor Kofi Karikari a territorially already significantly shrunken realm, where even the central provinces Kokofu, Bekwai and Dwaben (ie parts of the " metropolitan Asante " ) after independence sought by the power of the Asantehene.

He succeeded in nonviolently regain diplomatic channels Kokofu and Bekwai. Dwaben other hand, was supported by the British, opposed him and incited more neighbors to rebellion. In October 1875 Mensa Bonsu marched into Dwaben, then fled the country whose population is Akim after southern Ghana. There they received from the British a piece of land allocated to where they built villages which they named after their old cities.

In the conflict with the rebel Gyaman at today's border with Ivory Coast sat Mensa Bonsu in 1878 back to diplomacy, but this time without success, Gyaman even attacked the allied with the Ashanti Banda. Mensa Bonsu was not his allies for help. This may, in addition to the accusations of greed, have been a reason for his dismissal in February 1883.