Mensa Bonsu

Mensa Bonsu was the Asantehene, or king, of the Asante empire in what is now Ghana, ruling from 1874 to 1883. He came to power after the British expeditionary force marched on Kumasi and the previous king was deposed.1

Mensa Bonsu attempted to adapt the Asante government to the changing political landscape, reorganizing the army and appointing some Europeans to senior positions. However, British political agents hindered his efforts to restore Asante imperial power by supporting secessionist chiefs and opponents of central government. The Asante empire continued to decline under his successor, eventually becoming a British crown colony in 1902.1

A chief is a political leader of a social group, such as a tribe or confederacy of tribes. In many societies, chiefs have limited coercive authority and rely on community consensus. The term "chiefdom" has also been used in anthropology to describe a sociopolitical organization where power is centralized in one person over many communities.23