Kumasi rose to prominence in 1695 when it became capital of the Ashanti Confederacy due to the activities of its ruler Osei Tutu.[10] The ruler king of Kumasi metropolis, known as the King Asantehene, also served as ruler king of the Ashanti Confederacy.[10] With the Ashanti 1701 victory over Denkyira the Ashanti confederacy became the primary state among the Ashanti people ethnic group.[10] Parts of Kumasi metropolis, including the Royal Palace, were destroyed by British troops in the Third Anglo-Ashanti War of 1874.[11]
Lady Mary Alice Hodgson, the first English lady to visit Ashanti, wrote "The Siege of Kumasi" an account of the siege of the fort by the nationals of Ashanti Confederation and of the subsequent march to the coast.[11]
She was the daughter of Hon. W. A. G. Young, C.M.G., former Governor of the Gold Coast, and the wife of Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson, K.C.M.G., the Governor of the Gold Coast (1900).[11]
Kumasi remains a royal city of the Ashanti people; and in 1926, the Ashanti was restored ceremonial control over Kumasi, the full role of king was restored in 1935.[6] Kumasi metropolis holds an important place in the history of the Ashanti people, as legend claims that it was in Kumasi Okomfo Anokye received the Golden stool, an embodiment of the soul of the Ashanti people nation Ashanti.[6]