History of Africa

Season 3 Episode 23: The Third-Anglo Ashanti War Part 1 - The Offensive of 1873

In 1873, Ashanti crowds celebrated as the nation's army marched through the streets of Kumasi. This army was en route to leave the city in a southern direction, where they would invade the British protectorate and force the British to relinquish their claims on Elmina. This celebration would not last long, as the Ashanti offensive of 1873 would soon devolve into a major military humiliation, and open the gates for a far worse fate to befall Asanteman. Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 22 - The Elmina Controversy

When the British annexed the Dutch Gold Coast in 1872, a new conflict kicked off between the Ashanti and British Empires. Allowing the British to possess a complete monopoly on the Ghanaian coast was not an acceptable option for the Ashanti government. In response, the Ashanti government debated its next move. Would it be war?Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 21 - The Rise of Kofi Kakari

In 1867, Asantehene Kwaku Dua passed away suddenly after four decades of ruling the Ashanti Empire. Shortly after, roving gangs of royal executioners would begin massacring thousands of civilians in Kumasi. Amidst this chaos and violence, an unlikely candidate ascended to the golden stool: a previously minor prince named Kofi Kakari. Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 20 - The Second Anglo-Ashanti War

Much more obscure than its earlier and later wars, the second Anglo-Ashanti war is certainly a fascinating topic. This brief conflict almost ended the British colonial project in Ghana altogether.Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 19 - Kwaku Dua Fixes a Broken Empire

Following the disastrous rule of Osei Yaw Akoto, the Ashanti Empire was not in its best spot. The refugee crisis of the people of Juaben was on the verge of boiling over into a full-blown civil war, the economy was in terminal decline, and an ever-growing number of Ashanti workers and peasants were becoming relegated to debt slavery. Into this mess rose Kwaku Dua, an obscure diplomat of vague royal birth but with a reputation as a great military and civic leader. He will institute radical reforms to try and save his empire, solving some problems while creating entirely new ones along the way.Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 18 - Osei Yaw Akoto and his Troubles with Palm Wine

After his humiliating defeat at Katamanso, the asantehene Osei Yaw Akoto attempts to drown his sorrows in Akpeteshie. However, as the king's behaviors become increasingly unhinged, a crisis begins to envelop the Ashanti Empire, leading to the first foundation of New Juaben.Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 17 - The First Anglo-Ashanti War Part 2: The Rockets’ Red Glare

After decimating a British invasion force at the Battle of Nsamankow, the asantehene Osei Bonsu passed away. The responsibility to finish his war fell to his younger brother Osei Yaw Akoto, who will struggle to live up to the enormous expectations created by his brother's success. At the coming Battle of Katamanso, the British and Ashanti will face off one final time, and the outcome of this battle will determine Ghana's future.Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 16 - The First Anglo Ashanti War Part 1

In 1822, two empires clashed in the coastal forests of southern Ghana. When the British Empire dissolved their West African trade company, the previous treaties signed between the Ashanti and the company were made void. The British began to establish treaties of submission with the Ashanti's Fante vassals, provoking the Ashanti kingdom to war. Osei Bonsu mobilized his armies and the two most powerful empires that the region had ever seen met in a true war for the first time.Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 15 - Daily Life in the Ashanti Empire

Throughout the show, we've covered the lives of Ashanti kings, queens, bureaucrats, merchants, and religious elites. What about the Ashanti average working-class Kwadwo? This episode attempts to paint a picture of the lives, labor, leisure, and education of the average Ashanti subject. *Disclaimer* This episode covers a sensitive issue, namely enslavement. While, obviously, we all have great passion and interest in Ashanti history, we shouldn't let this fascination turn into infatuation. It's paramountly important to be honest about the realities of the past, even when these realities make us uncomfortable and question our own relationship to the past. Enslavement as a series of global institutions is tragically a part of the grand human history, and worthy of reflection and condemnation. Rather than engaging in self-congratulatory moral grandstanding about how much we've progressed as a species, personal shame over the actions of our ancestors, or, god forbid, historical denialism to sanitize our image of the past, I personally believe that the most productive moral discussion to have regarding the history of enslavement is one of moral improvement. Think: what are some institutions we rely on today that future generations might find condemnable? What aspects of our own societies cause undue suffering that we justify as necessary or natural? And, of course, what can we do to improve our own moral standing in the eyes of history.If you are interested in further research on the topic, here's some good reading:Buying Freedom by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Martin Bunzl Friendly Assistance: Archetypal Pawnship in Pre-Colonial Akan Society by Kwabena Adu-BoahenThe Marriages of Abina Mansah: Escaping the Boundaries of ‘Slavery’ as a Category in Historical Analysis by Trevor Getz and Lindsay Ehrishman in the Journal of West African History.Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Episode 14 - Gyaaman Must Pay

Osei Bonsu's rule has already seen the most significant Ashanti conquest in decades, but he's far from done. When the Fante and Akyem rise up in rebellion against Ashanti overlordship in 1811, the asantehene mobilizes another army to reassert control over the south. Meanwhile, a brewing diplomatic crisis in the north, stimulated by the creation of a second golden stool, provoke the Ashanti to assemble the largest army in their history to subjugate their northwestern neighbor. Notre Dame StoriesStories highlighting Notre Dame’s work to be a force for good in the world.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices