Based in present-day Ghana, the Ashanti Empire swallowed its neighbors until it was acknowledged as “indisputably the greatest and the rising power of western Africa.” At its peak in the late 18th century, the Ashanti Empire ruled over 4 million people and controlled hundreds of miles of the West African coastline. But its reign would not last forever.Eventually, the British sought to colonize the region. The Ashanti Empire strongly resisted the invasion and even fought five gruesome wars in an attempt to keep the Europeans out of their homeland. But as the power of the Ashanti gradually weakened, they were eventually forced to surrender.Still, even their final defeat wasn’t conclusive enough to wipe them off the map entirely. To this day, the Ashanti remain a proud people under the leadership of an unbroken line of kings in their own region of Ghana.