This article highlights the stipulation of the provision of formal schooling in a regional constitution drafted in West Africa in 1871, almost 150 years ago. The constitution under discussion originated in Fanteland, a coastal region of the Gold Coast (modern-day southern Ghana), and was the main achievement of a historical movement which sought to unite several smaller kingdoms and communities into a Fante Confederation (1868-1873). While the whole idea of a written constitution which includes the aspect of formal schooling may seem rather "European" or "Western" at a first glance, it is remarkable in that one would not expect it to have occurred in West Africa at that time. The author of this article argues that the Fante Constitution in fact represents a unique early African attempt to construct a modern nation-state based on a written constitution, and that the sections which stipulate and regulate formal schooling are central to its vision. The author embeds the sections concerning education in an analysis of the specific historical situation of the Fante people in West Africa before the establishment of formal British colonial rule on the Gold Coast. She develops two main theses: the constitution (a) is an "African" contribution to educational policymaking, which (b) accords "modern" schooling a crucial role in state-building. She presents these theses in the light of the historical record and competing interpretations in historical discourse.