Bono Manso
Manso
Maaso (Akan) | |
|---|---|
  Manso Location of Manso in Bono East Region, Ghana | |
| Coordinates: 7°42′04″N 1°50′46″W / 7.70111°N 1.84611°W | |
| Country |  Ghana |
| Region | Bono East Region |
| Founded | c. 1000 |
| Population | |
| • Ethnicities | |
| Time zone | GMT |
| • Summer (DST) | GMT |
| Climate | Aw |
Manso or Maaso, often referred to as Bono-Manso in historical contexts, is a village north of Techiman in Ghana. Founded c. 1000 CE, it was the capital of the Bono state from the 15th century to 1723.
History
[edit]Archaeologists date the founding of Bono Manso to c. 1000 CE,[1] although both local traditions and archaeological data show that the town's inhabitants were descendants of the proto-Akan who occupied the nearby rock shelters some 600 years earlier.[2] The town had developed into a commercial and ritual center by the 14th and 15th centuries,[3] at which point the state of Bonoman had developed, the earliest of the Akan states.[4] The town was a key node in the Trans-Saharan trade network, linking the Akan goldfields with northern markets such as Djenné and Timbuktu. Goods traded through Bono-Manso included gold, kola nuts, salt, leather, and cloth.[3]
Bono-Manso was destroyed in 1723 by Opoku Ware I of the Asante Empire. A rump state survived in Techiman, which remained a vassal of the Asante until the late 19th century.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Konadu 2010, p. 35.
- ^ Effah-Gyamfi 1974, p. 220-1.
- ^ a b Effah-Gyamfi 1974, p. 221.
- ^ Boahen, A. Adu (2005). "Akan states: Bono, Denkyira, Wassa, Akyem, Akwamu, Fante, Fifteenth to Seventeenth centuries". In Shillington, Kevin (ed.). Encyclopedia of African History. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 33-34.
- ^ Arhin 1979, p. 11-12.
Sources
[edit]- Arhin, Kwame (1979). A Profile of Brong Kyempim: Essays on the Archaeology, History, Language and Politics of the Brong Peoples of Ghana. Monograph. Institute of Development Studies and Partner Organisations. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- Effah-Gyamfi, E. (1974). "Aspects of the Archaeology and Traditions of the Bono State". Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana. 15 (2): 217–227. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- Konadu, Kwasi (2010). The Akan Diaspora in the Americas. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195390643.001.0001. ISBN 9780195390643. Retrieved 23 April 2025.