The Fall of the Asante Empire : The Hundred-Year War For Africa'S Gold Coast

Rating:
Summary: The hundred year war for Africa's gold coast.
Review: A good book about the end of the Asante Empire. Edgerton tells the end of this empire from both the British and Asante perspectives. The Asantes were a militaristic society who preyed on the weaker societies around them, notably the Fante. The British desired trade and gold, and the conflict was inevitable when the Asante sent armies to conquer the Fante. This brought the British into conflict.
The author takes too much of a nativist perspective in his depiction of the Asante Empire. This empire gloried in slaves and human sacrifices. It had a great military tradition, but why would a author try to paint a positive view of a society that sought entertainment value in the putting to death of slaves. The British may have been interested in conquest and colonization of this land for trade and gold reasons. They may have been rascist, but the Asante were a brutal society. The expiration of this empire was perhaps not such a tragedy after all. The British brought Ghana and the Asante into the modern world.

Rating:
Summary: The hundred year war for Africa's gold coast.
Review: A good book about the end of the Asante Empire. Edgerton tells the end of this empire from both the British and Asante perspectives. The Asantes were a militaristic society who preyed on the weaker societies around them, notably the Fante. The British desired trade and gold, and the conflict was inevitable when the Asante sent armies to conquer the Fante. This brought the British into conflict.
The author takes too much of a nativist perspective in his depiction of the Asante Empire. This empire gloried in slaves and human sacrifices. It had a great military tradition, but why would a author try to paint a positive view of a society that sought entertainment value in the putting to death of slaves. The British may have been interested in conquest and colonization of this land for trade and gold reasons. They may have been rascist, but the Asante were a brutal society. The expiration of this empire was perhaps not such a tragedy after all. The British brought Ghana and the Asante into the modern world.

Rating:
Summary: a fascinating story, well-told
Review: For centuries the Ghana nee the Gold Coast nee the Ashanti kingdom has been a major producer of gold. The 16th century arrival of European powers on the West African coast opened up vast new trading opportunities. The Europeans tried to push inland to locate the source of the gold, while the Ashantis tried to subjugate the coastal dwelling Fantes who intermediated the trade between the seafaring Europeans and the Ashanti and other inland groups.

This book describes the 100 years on-again off-again war between the British (and their Fante allies) and the Ashanti (supported by the Dutch). The author is an anthropologist and his intepretation of events emphasizes the cross-cultural incomprehension of two societies (Victorian Britain, and late Ashanti Empire) which in some ways were remarkably similar: aristocratic, hierarchical, chauvinistic, imperialistic, militaristic. Some of the stories are fascinating as in the depressing case of the British kidnapping and torture of an Ashanti peace emissary which predictably leads to Ashanti mobilization and the seige of the British castle at Cape Coast. Or the fact that it takes 70 years for the British to figure out that desertions by the Fante were less motivated by cowardice than the fact that the British were forcing their Fante porters to do culturally innappropriate "women's work." Nevertheless, the author clearly likes both the British and the Ashanti, so he makes constant references to the "cowardly" "perfidious" etc. Fante. What the Ashanti could not do, malaria and dysentary did (they don't call West Africa "White Man's Grave" for nothing) and in the end, the British need howitzers and Yoruba troops brought in from Nigeria to capture the Ashanti capital of Kumasi. The final armed resistance to the British is led by an old woman named Yaa Asantewaa who after her capture died in exile in the Seychelles.

The Ashantis never really made their peace with the British and this history has relevance for contemporary Ghana as manifested by the underrepresentation of the Ashanti in the politically influential armed forces, relative to other ethnic groups.

Rating:
Summary: a fascinating story, well-told
Review: For centuries the Ghana nee the Gold Coast nee the Ashanti kingdom has been a major producer of gold. The 16th century arrival of European powers on the West African coast opened up vast new trading opportunities. The Europeans tried to push inland to locate the source of the gold, while the Ashantis tried to subjugate the coastal dwelling Fantes who intermediated the trade between the seafaring Europeans and the Ashanti and other inland groups.

This book describes the 100 years on-again off-again war between the British (and their Fante allies) and the Ashanti (supported by the Dutch). The author is an anthropologist and his intepretation of events emphasizes the cross-cultural incomprehension of two societies (Victorian Britain, and late Ashanti Empire) which in some ways were remarkably similar: aristocratic, hierarchical, chauvinistic, imperialistic, militaristic. Some of the stories are fascinating as in the depressing case of the British kidnapping and torture of an Ashanti peace emissary which predictably leads to Ashanti mobilization and the seige of the British castle at Cape Coast. Or the fact that it takes 70 years for the British to figure out that desertions by the Fante were less motivated by cowardice than the fact that the British were forcing their Fante porters to do culturally innappropriate "women's work." Nevertheless, the author clearly likes both the British and the Ashanti, so he makes constant references to the "cowardly" "perfidious" etc. Fante. What the Ashanti could not do, malaria and dysentary did (they don't call West Africa "White Man's Grave" for nothing) and in the end, the British need howitzers and Yoruba troops brought in from Nigeria to capture the Ashanti capital of Kumasi. The final armed resistance to the British is led by an old woman named Yaa Asantewaa who after her capture died in exile in the Seychelles.

The Ashantis never really made their peace with the British and this history has relevance for contemporary Ghana as manifested by the underrepresentation of the Ashanti in the politically influential armed forces, relative to other ethnic groups.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is a great book, epically for a novice in African history. While American are taught about the different European civilizations we are thoroughly ignorant about similar African civilizations. The Asante Empire was long established in Western Africa (present Ghana) and had an advanced civilization. They had a well organized army, with at the time of the first conflict with Britain, were armed with modern muskets. They had a well organized government and religion.

The conflict with the British was far from a cake walk for the British. The Asante fought bravely for their freedom and gave the British everything that they could handle. The British were not able to subdue the Asante until the progress in arms technology made the Asante armaments obsolete and gave the British a huge advantage. Eventually it was British howitzers vs. Asante muskets.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is a great book, epically for a novice in African history. While American are taught about the different European civilizations we are thoroughly ignorant about similar African civilizations. The Asante Empire was long established in Western Africa (present Ghana) and had an advanced civilization. They had a well organized army, with at the time of the first conflict with Britain, were armed with modern muskets. They had a well organized government and religion.

The conflict with the British was far from a cake walk for the British. The Asante fought bravely for their freedom and gave the British everything that they could handle. The British were not able to subdue the Asante until the progress in arms technology made the Asante armaments obsolete and gave the British a huge advantage. Eventually it was British howitzers vs. Asante muskets.