Description

Empire. Plunder. Resistance.

The forgotten history of Britain and the Asante gold.

‘A compelling, challenging and important book.’ William Boyd

1874. Kumasi, the Asante capital, burns. British soldiers prowl the palace, looting as much gold as they can find, before razing it to the ground. In Britain the soldiers are feted as heroes. In 1896 they return, looting the palace a second time and carrying off more gold to London in triumph.

Royalty, aristocracy and London’s most illustrious museums divide the spoils. ‘It is scarcely possible to do justice to the variety and beauty of these specimens,’ The Times declares. There are golden masks, swooping eagles and an exquisitely wrought ram’s head. One mpomponsou – a ceremonial sword – comes wrapped in a leopard skin sheath.

Tracing the course of Britain’s wars with the Asante alongside the course of its plundered relics, Barnaby Phillips weaves a thrilling and poignant tale of imperial ambition and African resistance. Travelling from the Gold Coast to the museum galleries, officers’ mess rooms and aristocratic homes of Britain, The African Kingdom of Gold confronts us with urgent questions about the legacy of Empire and, in particular, how our museums should respond.

Publisher Review

‘A brilliant work of historical and cultural investigation. A compelling, challenging and important book.’ -William Boyd ‘This detailed and well researched book is more than just another chronicle of bad behaviour in Britain’s less than glorious colonial past. Yes, it captures in excruciating detail imperial avarice, but it also beautifully renders the courage and resistance of a people… This is a timely intervention in the ongoing debate over colonial thievery and appropriate restitution.’ -Clive Myrie ‘A book that will take your breath away – a story that may make you angry, perhaps sad, but will ultimately leave your heart bursting with vicarious joy – an epic generational tale of a people’s grace, tenacity, and sheer indefatigability.’ – Gus Casely-Hayford, director of V&A East ‘This carefully researched and compelling read provides an unsettling insight into one important episode in the global criminal enterprise which accompanied Britain’s imperial expansion. Barnaby Phillips’ book will prove an invaluable tool as we confront the uncomfortable truth of the presence of hoards of stolen treasure in some of our great national institutions. The cry for restitution on the part of the dispossessed cannot be ignored indefinitely and this book illustrates with detailed scholarship the manifest justice of their cause.’ -Lord Boateng of Akyem and Wembley, CVO