British professor Tom McCaskie narrates how Sagrenti War looted Asanteman artefacts and gold

The book, which was edited by McCaskie, is an autobiography of the 14th Asantehene, who reigned from 1931 to 1970.

The book launch was among the activities marking the 150th commemoration of the Sagrenti War and the silver jubilee of the current Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Research material

Launching the book, the Minister of Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum, said it would bridge the gap in Asante history and also serve as Asante historical research material.

He said there have been books on the history of Asanteman but none as comprehensive as the one written by the late Otumfuo Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II and edited by one of the foremost experts on Asante history.

He appealed to writers of children’s books to consider writing juvenile or summary versions of the book to be read by children.

Dr Adutwum said the book was a comprehensive history of the Asante kingdom and should be on the shelves of every library in the country.

Symposium

Before the book launch, there was a symposium on the 150th anniversary of the Sagrenti War, which was fought between the British colonial army and the Asantes in February 1874.

The Kumasi Centre for National Culture staged a play written by Emmanuel Jewel Peprah Mensah to depict the war.

The purpose of the stage play was to give the audience an idea of what triggered the war, the context in which it happened and the wreck it left in its wake.

Sharing his views on the war, McCaskie said that besides the royal regalia stolen from the palace, British soldiers also looted gold and gold dust kept by the then-Asantehene, Otumfuo Kofi Karikari.

He estimated that the value of the gold stolen by the British army could well be worth more than £2 billion.

McCaskie said some of the items stolen from the palace are still on display in museums in the UK. He cited a brass basin used for spiritual cleansing, which is still on show at the Military Museum in London.

He said the growing supremacy of the then Asante Confederacy posed a threat to the British colonialists, who had to seek the support of other tribes to enable them to conquer the Asante.

For her part, a discussant at the symposium, Eugenia Anderson of the Department of History and Political Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), eulogised the contributions of Asante women in the war and to the sustenance of the Asante kingdom.

She said although women of childbearing age did not play much role on the front line because of socio-cultural barriers, those advanced in age were allowed to play an active role in the kingdom’s socio-political life.

Anderson cited the role played by three Asante queen mothers, namely Afia Kobi, Nana Yaa Akyaa and Yaa Asantewaa. These women were instrumental in protecting the Golden Stool, she said.