formerly Coomassie
City (pop., 1998 est.: 578,000), south-central Ghana.
A 17th-century Asante king chose the site for his capital and conducted land negotiations under a kum tree, which gave the town its name. Located on north-south trade routes, it became a major commercial centre. The British gained control of the city in 1874. Called the "Garden City of West Africa," it remains the seat of Asante kings. Its central market is one of the largest in western Africa. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (1951) is located there.