Guns and Ships: The Cabinet of Amfo Otu and Kwesi Edu, 1871


How does a ragtag army, refusing to cower, somehow defeat a global superpower? That’s up to the delegates in the Cabinet of the recently elected leaders of the Fante Confederacy, Amfo Otu and Kwesi Edu.

The Fante Confederacy was an independent state in southern Ghana run by merchants, who facilitated trade between the inland Ashanti Confederacy and external sea powers. Besieged on all sides by military conflict with the Ashanti and the interference of the British and Dutch colonial powers, the Fante Confederacy carved out an independent, democratic governance. Surrounded by colonial European powers, the Fante refused to surrender and effectively liberated the region from Dutch rule, but success merely begets deeper troubles.

The Brits began bribing the Fante, stoking internal conflict and challenging Fante unity, just as economic crisis hit Fanteland. Bogged down by years of fighting the Dutch, the Fante struggled to fund basic governance projects, from road-building to education to establishing an independent judiciary. In 1871, the Fante reconfigured the government with a democratic constitution and Amfo Otu and Kwesi Edu were elected as co-King-Presidents. It is up to Otu, Edi, and the new government to stand up to colonial rule, while building an independent nation from the ground up. Will the Fante Confederacy become the lone success story, or will its democratic aspirations crumble from foreign interference and domestic unrest? For this to succeed, there is someone else we need – the delegates! The world will never be the same.

Chair:
Bridget Galibois

  • Bridget Galibois is a member of the class of 2028 in the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, majoring in International Politics with a minor in Spanish. She proudly calls the great city of Chicago, Illinois home. Bridget has been involved with Model UN since her first year of high school, and she enjoys how MUN creates meaningful learning experiences to discuss important international issues. At NCSC LII, she served as a Crisis Analyst in the backroom for Democracy, Take Two: Council of the Baltic Sea States, 1992. Bridget is also involved with Georgetown’s high school conference, NAIMUN, where she served as an in-room Crisis Director in the Ad-Hoc Committee of the Secretary-General at NAIMUN LXII and now serves as Director of Marketing and Media for NAIMUN LXIII. Outside of MUN, Bridget is involved with the Georgetown International Relations Club, The Hoya (Georgetown’s on-campus newspaper), and a student-run consulting group for D.C. nonprofits. In her free time, Bridget loves to read, write, host picnics with friends, and explore D.C. Bridget is incredibly excited to be your Chair for Guns and Ships: The Cabinet of Amfo Otu and Kwesi Edu, 1871, and cannot wait to meet everyone at NCSC LIII!

CRisis Manager:
Noah Warner

  • Noah Warner is a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown University with a major in Political Economy. Born and raised in Kansas City Missouri Noah is a Chiefs fanatic and a big fan of KC BBQ. He staffed NCSC LII as a Crisis Analyst last year. He competed at NAIMUN as a delegate in high school and for NAIMUN LXII directed the Chilean Cabinet in the NSA. This year, he serves as one of the USGs of Contemporary Crises for NAIMUN. Outside of Model UN he loves to run, bike, and swim and coincidentally also participates in the Georgetown Club Triathlon Team. Noah is extremely excited to serve as your Crisis Manager NCSC LIII and hopes that everyone's experience at NCSC as a delegate and staffer are as exciting and entertaining as his have been.

    (Bio courtesy of Bridget Galibois)

USG: Ava Manaker

This committee is in the Cabinets Organ, and your Under-Secretary General is Ava Manaker. Committees in this organ are governmental crises with around 20 delegates.


If you have any questions about your committee, please reach out to a.manaker@modelun.org.