Asante Empire

Flag of the Asante People



What up World!!! Today I'm going to promote an empire never talked about much, but nevertheless just as important as any other empire in world history. "The Asante ultimately became the most powerful empire in West Africa ruling over 3 million subjects, at its height in the 19th century. By the time the Asante were conquered by the British, the Asantehene could expect tributary payments from 40 neighboring kingdoms, and the Europeans had to pay him rent and customs duties to live and trade along the coast south of the Asante heartland."[1]

The current Asantehene, Osei Tutu II

The Golden Stool

"The stool is the symbol of political authority in the forest kingdom. When Osei Tutu assumed rule, he required that subaltern political leaders bury their stools. No better example exists of the symbolic connection of a ruler with the divine. This stool, which was later to be coveted by the British, became the symbol of the new nation of Asante, and the priests of court maintained that it contained the very soul and substance of the Asante Union." [1]

Asante Woman

References

[1] Mendosa, Eugene L. "West Africa: An Introduction To Its History, Civilization and Contemporary Situation." Durham: Academic Press, 2002.