The Royal Navy used Tribal-class names to build relationships with the communities those ships claimed to represent. HMS Ashanti visited Freetown and received a silver bell, a golden shield, and ceremonial blessings from the people whose name she carried. The Ashanti king had rebelled against British rule only a few years earlier, giving the ceremony a clear realpolitik dimension. Ashanti later survived the war relatively intact, a result jokingly credited to the blessing. The visit joined warship naming to diplomacy and imperial politics.
Chapter · 55:43-56:59
HMS Ashanti's Freetown visit and the politics of a ship's name
Ashanti's visit, gifts, and blessing turned a Tribal-class name into a carefully managed imperial relationship.