Why Won’t Britain Return Looted Gold to Ghana?
Hyperallergic reviews the history of British colonial plunder of Asante gold and regalia through Barnaby Phillips’s book “The African Kingdom of Gold: Britain and the Asante Treasure,” due in 2026. The account centers on the Asante Empire’s clashes with Britain, including the 1873–74 “Sagrenti War” led by Sir Garnet Wolseley and a later invasion in late 1895 under Sir Francis Scott that looted and burned the royal palace and mausoleum in Kumasi. The British demanded a large gold indemnity and sought the Golden Stool, the sacred symbol of Asante identity, while Asantehene Prempeh I—enstooled in 1888—was deported to the Seychelles for nearly three decades. Phillips traces how looted objects moved into museum storage and collections, raising ongoing questions about why Britain has not returned stolen gold to Ghana.
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Restitution Stalemates, Biennale Censorship, and Stolen Masterpieces