War Against The Ashanti or: How To Acquire An Empire...


The kingdom of the Ashanti has existed on the territory of present-day Ghana in West Africa since around 1650...:



At the height of its power, it covered the entire territory of what is now the Republic of Ghana, with the exception of a narrow strip in the very north of the country and a small enclave on the south coast (the territory of the Fanti Federation) surrounded by the Ashanti Empire and only briefly ruled. To the east and west it still included parts of today's neighboring republics of Togo and Ivory Coast. The Ashanti Empire is sometimes referred to as the "Ashanti Federation" because of the large amount of freedom that the Asantehene gave to the internal structures of the conquered territories.

The kingdom has its own flag...



...and is governed in a federalist and surprisingly modern way...:




The Ashanti are rich!

Significant gold deposits were (and still are) on their territory, which lead to lively trade relations with the powerful empires of the Sahel zone. In addition, important trade routes from the major trading cities of the north (Timbuktu, Gao, Djenné and others) and the west (Kano, Sokoto and other cities in present-day Nigeria) cross here on their way to the coast. In addition, the Ahanti Empire supplies Europe with gold from about 1500 and supplies about a tenth of the entire world demand from the 16th century.

And the Ashanti appreciate the value of their most important resource!

In order to keep the price high, they ensure that only a part of the yield from gold production reaches national trade.

Traditionally, a certain proportion of the gold products are hoarded as treasure, and the eldest woman in each village is in charge of keeping them. The elder of a village managed the gold and decided on the allocation as a dowry or as goods for long-distance trade for the benefit of the entire village community.

At that time, the area was also called the "Gold Coast" - a name that has survived to this day.

The legendary wealth and its easy accessibility for their Royal Navy at some point calls the British on the plan, who want to bag riches and gold in passing, so to speak. Why pay for gold when you can conquer it? At least that's what the (pre-appointed) British governor Sir Charles MacCarthy thinks...:



With a small army, Sir Charles lands and goes straight for the Ashanti capital of Kumasi.

But he doesn't get far!

On January 21, 1824, the British are crushed by superior Ashanti troops!



The lords of the country had also bought modern rifles with their gold (also in England), which the would-be conquerors had missed...:



The British army is almost wiped out to the last man - that "last man" is, seldom in history, Sir Charles McCarthy himself.

The Ashanti leave the Brits where they are - and take the head of the British governor as a trophy!

It is publicly displayed on the walls of Kumasi.

The skull has survived to this day...:



It's the first time the British have lost a battle against "natives" - and the Ashanti Empire is now at the height of its power!

But the Brits are like the Romans: defeat or not, they always come back.

In 1896, under the supreme command of Field Marshal Sir Garnet Wolesley...



... , the British four armies will land and march to Kumasi.

The Conquerors have something the Ashanti don't have: Maxim Machine Guns!



Three of the British detachments, however, fare like Sir Charles McCarthy's troops: they are beaten...:







But the Fourth Army will reach its goal, because the Ashanti troops have run out of ammunition!

The British storm Kumasi, almost level the city...:





....and kidnap the Ashanti king Kwakuh Prah III.



... to Sierra Leone and later interned in the Seychelles until the end of his life.

Before that, the king must publicly kiss the feet of the British commander in the face of the surviving capital city population!





The Ashanti Empire will be demoted to a British crown colony - and the gold will flow to London in the future...

The more one reads about our glorious empire, the more one realises why nobody really likes us. The galling thing about the acquisitional nature of Victoria's reign was that none of this loot benefitted the nation, only the upper 2%.

Phil