A View From the Periphery: A Re-Assessment of Asante-Dagbamba Relations in the 18th Century

The article focuses on the historiography of the Asante-Dagbamba and the Asante invasions of Dagbon in 1744-1745 and 1772. It attempts to re-assess the evidence of Asante dominance over Dagbon and re-evaluate the interpretations of such evidence. It argues that the Asante invasion and control of Dagbon are unfounded and influenced by Ghanaian geopolitics, the desire of post-independence scholars to craft a definitive history and reduction notions on the structure of precolonial polities.