Asante Gold in the British Museum (with British Museum Visit)

What is the course about?

An examination of the history of one of the most controversial group of objects in the British Museum: the Asante gold. This one-day workshop will start with an overview of the Anglo-Asante Wars, with a particular focus on 1874 and 1896, when British armies looted the palace of the Asante king - the Asantehene- in Kumasi, modern-day Ghana. We look at contemporary reactions to the arrival of the Asante regalia in Britain, why curators at the British Museum were determined to acquire some of it, and how they did so. We move into the twentieth century and reveal how in the 1970s the British Museum came close to returning some regalia to the Asante, and why this ultimately did not happen. In the twenty-first century, we see how the British Museum responded to renewed calls for restitution by loaning back to the Asante in 2024 some of the most important pieces of gold regalia, and we discuss what may happen in the future.  The workshop ends with a visit to the BM to see some of the objects we have learnt about.

Tutor: Barnaby Phillips. Barnaby is a journalist, historian and writer who has recently completed a book on the controversy surrounding Asante Gold.    

What will we cover?

1. British imperialism. How Britain’s expanding interests in West Africa drew it into conflict with Asante
2. Asante gold regalia arrives in Victorian Britain. 
3. The British Museum’s Asante collection. We learn of previously untold stories; thefts and attempted thefts of the museum’s Asante gold.
4. The restitution of the 2020s and the returns of 2024.   
5. A short guided tour of the BM- see five or six key objects associated with the Anglo-Asante wars - and learning their extraordinary backstories.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

By the end of the workshop students will have a better understanding of;

1. The conflict between the British Empire and the Asante kingdom, as well as the motivations and processes through which an imperial British army looted the treasure of a defeated enemy.
2. The processes by which the British Museum acquired objects following a military expedition in Britain’s imperial hey-day.
3. The politics and legal constraints which define the British Museum’s response to restitution demands, how these have changed over time, and how the British Museum is adapting to cultural and political changes in the twenty-first century.
4. How the Asante were able to navigate Ghanaian politics and negotiate directly the return of some of their regalia, the significance of this to them, and their hopes for a different relationship with the British Museum in the future.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This is an introductory course and no prior knowledge is required. An interest in the topic and a willingness to engage respectfully in any class discussions/debates are both essential.   

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

The workshop will be a mixture of lectures, source analysis and plenty of group discussion. Lectures will be illustrated with photographs, contemporary drawings and maps, and sources include original documents, published works, and extensive interviews in Kumasi and London. A guided tour of the BM at the end of the workshop will put much of it we have learnt into context. There will be no work outside class.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

No other costs. 

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

You may wish to join Barnaby for one of his lunchtime lectures - please see the Africa area for further details.