<P> At about the same time, growing acceptance of the advantages offered by the British presence led to the initiation of another important step . In April 1852, local chiefs and elders met at Cape Coast to consult with the governor on means of raising revenue . With the governor's approval, the council of chiefs constituted itself as a legislative assembly . In approving its resolutions, the governor indicated that the assembly of chiefs should become a permanent fixture of the protectorate's constitutional machinery, but the assembly was given no specific constitutional authority to pass laws or to levy taxes without the consent of the people . </P> <P> In 1872 British influence over the Gold Coast increased further when Britain purchased the Dutch Gold Coast . The Asante, who for years had considered the Dutch at Elmina as their allies, thereby lost their last trade outlet to the sea . To prevent this loss and to ensure that revenue received from that post continued, the Asante staged their last invasion of the coast in 1873 . After early successes, they finally came up against well - trained British forces who compelled them to retreat beyond the Pra River . Later attempts to negotiate a settlement with the British were rejected by the commander of their forces, Major General Sir Garnet Wolseley . To settle the Asante problem permanently, the British invaded Asante with a sizeable military force . The attack, launched in January 1874 by 2,500 British soldiers and large numbers of African auxiliaries, resulted in the occupation and burning of Kumasi, the Asante capital . </P> <P> The subsequent peace treaty required the Asante to renounce any claim to many southern territories . The Asante also had to keep the road to Kumasi open to trade . From this point on, Asante power steadily declined . The confederation slowly disintegrated as subject territories broke away and as protected regions defected to British rule . Enforcement of the treaty led to recurring difficulties and outbreaks of fighting . In 1896 the British dispatched another expedition that occupied Kumasi and forced Asante to become a protectorate of the British Crown . The British abolished the position of asantehene and exiled the incumbent from the colony . </P> <P> The core of the Asante federation accepted these terms grudgingly . In 1900 the Asante rebelled in the War of the Golden Stool but were defeated the next year . In 1902 the British proclaimed Asante a colony under the jurisdiction of the governor of the Gold Coast . The annexation was made with misgivings and recriminations on both sides . With Asante subdued and annexed, British colonisation of the region became a reality . </P>

When did the british came to gold coast