The Fante Confederacy refers either to the alliance of the Fante states in existence at least since the sixteenth century, or it can also refer to the modern Confederation formed in 1868. The Confederation is seen as one of the first and most prominent self-rule movements in Ghana and the entirety of Africa. Its mission was to shake off colonialism and establish a modern free democratic state. All Fante substates including the Abura, Goamoa, Oguaa, Edina, Ekumfi, Asebu, Edith and many others joined this Union. Fantes, like all Akans, trace their ancestry to the Old Ghana Empire in present-day Mali. They believe the Akan people migrated further south after the collapse of Old Ghana. The Mfantefo (Fantes) settled in an area around modern day Takyiman in Bono Ahafo. It was from there that their three revered warriors and leaders; Oson, Odapagyan and Obonomankoma led them further south to their current location in the Central Region of Ghana. Fante expansion The Fante had long been in the region both inland and on the coast of what is today Ghana. In the sixteenth century, they began to expand along the coastal areas in order to defend from foreign invaders. The establishment of the confederacy was a proclamation of the several small independent kingdoms that made-up the Fante tribes. The standard explanation has long been that the Fante states were forced to form a confederation by the rapid growth of the Ashanti Confederacy in the early eighteenth century that began to threaten the security of the surrounding region. Sanders argues that the same forces that were driving the expansion and centralisation of the Ashanti, the lucrative trade with the Europeans and the introduction of firearms and other weapons, also fueled the increasing unity of the Fante. The Fante united and produced a confederacy to be recognised not only by the people of the Gold Coast, but also by the European powers. The confederacy was headed by the Chief of Mankessim, who was given the title of Breyni. It was the obligation of highest Chief to respect the wishes of a council of the leaders of the other major towns. Despite a similar political structure the Fante never managed to become as united as the Ashanti, though their differences were overcome when their kingdoms were under dire threat. During the early eighteenth century the Fante expanded at the expense of smaller neighbouring states eventually