The mission of Joseph Dupuis, sent as British Consul to Kumasi, the capital of Asante, in 1820, is well-known, principally through his own journal of it, published in 1824. In addition to his negotiations with the Asante authorities, Dupuis collected information on Asante history, and on the geography not only of Asante itself but also of neighbouring and remoter countries in the interior. His principal informants were African Muslims whom he met in Kumasi. This paper looks at the information Dupuis provides on the coastal area of Asante, including the major states of Dahomey, Oyo and Benin. This area corresponds roughly to that known to contemporary Europeans as the Slave Coast (present-day Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria); but to Dupuis it comprised the central and eastern portions of a region called ‘Wangara’. The paper discusses Dupuis’ informants, his use of the term ‘Wangara’, his division of the area into several ‘sections or districts’, his reference to river systems of the West African interior, his accounts of Dahomey, Oyo, Benin, and a number of minor kingdoms in the area, and his reference to the Muslim ruler of a town or State called ‘Zogho’. Notes, ref.
