Kingdom of Sanwi

Kingdom of Sanwi is a traditional kingdom located in the south-east corner of the Republic of Ivory Coast in west Africa. It was established in about 1740 by Anyi migrants from Ghana. In 1843 the kingdom became a protectorate of France. In 1959 it was merged with Ivory Coast and at that time the tribal population was estimated to be around 40,000 people in 119 settlements.

History

20th century

In the run up to independence for Ivory Coast the traditional administration in Sanwi attempted to organise a political movement to ensure their continued autonomy and traditional structures called Liste pour la Défense des Intérêt du Pays Sanwi'. This political party had limited success in the 1956-7 election year. After this the traditional elite sent representatives to Paris in an attempt to negotiate with the colonial master formal autonomy for Sanwi within Ivory Coast after independence. They cited the treaty of protectorate between France and the Sanwi of 1843. However, they did not receive support for their cause and later (in 1959) the traditional kingdom was formally abolished.