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.
Barnaby Phillips, author:
- My new book tells the story of how the British looted the West African Kingdom of Asante (today part of Ghana), Asante resistance, and the anguished debates within our museums over returns. It’s full of scoops- historical sources never used before, and embarrassing revelations from more recent times.
