The African Kingdom of Gold

<B>Power. Empire. </B><B>Plunder. The forgotten history of Britain and the Asante gold.</B><BR> <BR>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.<BR> <BR>There is an <I>abua</I> or peace pipe, almost a metre long. Countless rings and amulets, each meticulously crafted. Finials, shaped like swooping eagles, and a <I>mpomponsou</I> – 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.<BR> <BR>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, <I>The African Kingdom of Gold </I>reveals the surprising connections between Britain today and its nineteenth-century exploits.