The Lost Kingdoms of Africa: Assante Kingdom

BBC (2013)

Film Review

The Asante kingdom arose out of federation of Akan states. Dentye had the richest goldmines and was the most powerful. In the 15th century the Akan used primitive axes and slaves (most likely imported from modern day Nigeria) to clear their forests for agriculture. As the owner of one of the largest gold fields in the world, the Akan used gold to pay for their slaves, a well as textiles, brass, salt (from North Africa) and guns (from Portuguese traders). Asante slaves were allowed to own property and could marry into the families who owned them.

The Assante kingdom reached its zenith in the early 1800s, with over 2 million people and a geographic area 20 times the size of South Africa. The king ruled from a central palace in the capitol Kumasi and created a bureaucracy of administrators to implement his laws. Gold dust was the main currency, and nuggets and ingots were melted down to dust so they could be weighed accuracy. Taxation was used both to fund the government and to ensure no single individual became too wealthy.

As Asante’s power increased, Britain became more interested in the black slaves they captured in battle than their gold. During the 18th century. Asante was in a state of constant war* with inland neighbors and began selling their war captives to the British rather than killing them.

The Asante kingdom was significantly weakened in 1807 when the British abolished slavery. As trade in other commodities increased, traders moved away from the capitol to the southern coat. Gold became more scarce as people began burying it instead of paying taxes. In the second half of the 19th century, some of the southern provinces rebelled and turned to the British for support. In 1874, after British troops burned Kumasi to the ground, the southern provinces became British territory known as the Gold Coast.

In 1880, 16-year-old Prepe I became king and reestablished the gold trade. Determined to make the entire kingdom a British colony, the UK used military force to force Prepe I into exile and incorporate all of Assante into the Gold Coast. In 1924, Prepe returned from exile as a puppet king under British rule. In 1957, all the old Asante traditions were revived with Ghana’s independence.

Osei Tutu II (born Nana Barima Kwaku Duah May 6 1950) is the 16th Asantehene, enstooled** on 26 April 1999. He governs the Asante region of Ghana.

The Asante Mansa is a modern sacred ceremony celebrating the seven clans of Akan people  who cleared forest to found the Assante kingdom. According to tradition, the seven clans emerged from holes in the ground.

*Asante had no standing army, but every village had reservists who were summoned by drums when needed to defend the king.

**In the Asante kingdom, a small stool was used to designate authority. Replicas are still sold in markets in southern Ghana.