Britain's Looted Asante Gold: The 1895 Sack of Kumasi and the Question of Repatriation
In 1895, British forces led by Sir Francis Scott destroyed the Asante royal palace in Kumasi, seeking the Golden Stool and a gold tribute. Asantehene Prempeh I, who took the throne in 1888, was exiled to the Seychelles for almost 30 years, during which the sacred stool was concealed. This assault came in the aftermath of the Sagrenti War of 1873–74, when Sir Garnet Wolseley had previously devastated the city, leaving lingering scars. Barnaby Phillips's 2026 publication, The African Kingdom of Gold: Britain and the Asante Treasure, explores this act of plunder and questions why Britain has yet to return the stolen gold to Ghana.
Key facts
- Prempeh I was enstooled as Asantehene in 1888.
- British forces led by Sir Garnet Wolseley sacked Kumasi during the 1873–74 war, known as the Sagrenti War.
- In late 1895, British forces under Sir Francis Scott marched into Kumasi, looting and burning the royal palace and mausoleum.
- The British demanded a vast indemnity in gold and the Golden Stool, the most sacred symbol of Asante identity.
- Prempeh was deported to the Seychelles, where he spent nearly three decades in exile.
- The Golden Stool remained hidden and protected from the British.
- Barnaby Phillips's book The African Kingdom of Gold: Britain and the Asante Treasure (2026) reconstructs the history and follows the afterlives of the looted objects.
- The article questions why Britain will not return the looted gold to Ghana.
Entities
Artists
- Prempeh I
- Sir Garnet Wolseley
- Sir Francis Scott
- Maxwell
- Barnaby Phillips
Locations
- Ghana
- Britain
- Kumasi
- Seychelles
- Gold Coast
- Africa
- Asante