The Kong Empire (1710–1898), also known as the Wattara Empire or Ouattara Empire for its founder Seku Watara, was a pre-colonial state centered in what is now northeastern Ivory Coast that also encompassed much of present-day Burkina Faso and parts of Mali and Ghana. It established a largely decentralized commercial empire based upon linkages between merchant houses, protecting trade routes throughout the region. Kong rose to prominence in the 1700s as a key commercial center and center of Islamic studies. In 1898, Samori Ture attacked the city and burnt it down. Although the city was rebuilt, the Kong empire did not survive and the French took control over the area.
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👉 Kong Empire in the context of Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea to the south. With 31.5 million inhabitants in 2024, Ivory Coast is the third-most populous country in West Africa. Its official language is French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété, Baoulé, Dyula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has a religiously diverse population, including numerous followers of Islam, Christianity, and traditional faiths often entailing animism.
Before its colonisation, Ivory Coast was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. The area became a protectorate of France in 1843 and was consolidated as a French colony in 1893 amid the Scramble for Africa. It achieved independence in 1960, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who ruled the country until 1993. Relatively stable by regional standards, Ivory Coast established close political-economic ties with its West African neighbours while maintaining close relations with the West, especially France. Its stability was diminished by a coup d'état in 1999 and two civil wars—first between 2002 and 2007 and again during 2010–2011. It adopted a new constitution in 2016.
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Kong Empire in the context of Bono state
The Bono State (or Bonoman) was one of the earliest Akan polities located in what is today the Bono Region and Bono East Region of Ghana. Archaeological and oral evidence situate its origins at Amowi near Nkoranza, with later expansion to Bono Manso, which became its capital during its formative period. The state played an important role in the development of Akan civilization and trade between the forest and savanna zones. Bonoman was a trading center connecting merchants across Africa.
The state's wealth grew substantially through the control of gold production and trade, with material culture such as goldweights, brassworking, and textiles attesting to its urban complexity. The Akan gold trade to the savanna and beyond had been active since the opening of the Akan goldfields to Juula merchants under the Mali Empire and Songhai Empire from at least the 15th century. Gold from Begho was sent north through Kong and Bobo-Dioulasso, from where it was carried to the Djenné–Timbuktu corridor and across the Sahara. The Bono state was strategically located in the northern forest fringes of the Akan world, within the forest–savanna transition zone south of the Black Volta. This location facilitated frequent caravans from Djenné, Timbuktu, and other trade centers across Sudan and Egypt, making Bono a major commercial hub.