The greatest resistance to colonial rule in Ghana came from the Ashanti people. If the British had thoughts of easily subduing the Ashanti, they got a rude shock when they encountered the fierce and proud people who put up a resistance that lasted for almost a century before they were completely defeated. King Asantehene Prempeh I was the ruler of the Ashanti kingdom when one of the last wars against the British was fought. Prempeh I reigned over the Ashanti kingdom from March 26, 1888 until his death in 1931. Prince Prempeh was only 16 years old when he became king in 1888. No sooner had he ascended the throne than the British came asking him to accept their protection so the kingdom would be a British protectorate.