Overview

Power. Empire. Plunder. The forgotten history of Britain and the Asante gold. Kumasi is burning. British soldiers prowl the streets, stoking the fires. The royal palace is filled with explosives and razed, but not before its most precious occupants are rescued – gold, lots of it. There is an abua or peace pipe, almost a metre long. Countless rings and amulets, each meticulously crafted. Finials, shaped like swooping eagles, and a mpomponsou – a ceremonial sword – its sheath and pommel wrapped in leopard skin. A coiled serpent, wrought in gold, hangs from the sheath. They are destined for Britain’s most prominent museums – the V&A, the Wallace Collection, the British Museum. Tracing the course of Britain’s wars with the Asante Empire alongside the course of its plundered relics, Barnaby Phillips weaves a thrilling tale of colonial expansion, resistance and stolen treasure. Travelling from the Gold Coast to the heart of Empire, The African Kingdom of Gold reveals the surprising connections between Britain today and its nineteenth-century exploits.

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9781836431336

Table of Contents

Reviews

'A fascinating and timely book. A brilliant model of expertly marshalled historical research and compelling narrative.' —William Boyd on Loot

'A fascinating and timely book. A brilliant model of expertly marshalled historical research and compelling narrative.' —William Boyd on Loot 'An extraordinary story, very well told.' —Spectator on Another Man's War

'A brilliant work of historical and cultural investigation. A compelling, challenging and important book.' —William Boyd '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 hordes 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 

'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 

Author Information

Barnaby Phillips spent over twenty-five years as a journalist, reporting for the BBC from Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria and South Africa before joining Al Jazeera English. He is the author of Another Man’s War: The Story of a Burma Boy in Britain’s Forgotten African Army and Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes. He grew up in Kenya and now lives in London.

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