Recent revelations indicate that the looted treasures during the Sagrenti War of 1874 in Kumasi extended beyond mere artifacts.
During a keynote address at a symposium commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Sagrenti War of 1874 on February 6, 2024, Head of the Centre of West African Studies at Birmingham University, Prof. Tom McCaskie, noted that a significant portion of the wealth amassed by Asantehene Kofi Karikari’s predecessor, Nana Kwaku Dua I, was lost in the looting, with the entire city of Kumasi left in ashes.
“Kwaku Dua was somebody who really really enforced the laws of Asante. In the process, he gathered together a great deal of money in gold dust principally but also in species and other things,” he said.
Expanding on the significance of the gold, the historian elucidated that a substantial sum of money was stored in three distinct locations within Kumasi: Kumasi itself, Aburaso, and Breman. This wealth had been passed down to Kofi Karikari following the death of Nana Dua in 1867.
“The amount of gold contained in Adakakese alone at Kwaku Dua’s death was in excess of 400,000 ounces. This in 1867 was worth 1.2 million pounds sterling. The current value of the Adakakase is somewhere over 2 billion pounds.”
“The attempt to get back the treasures looted from Kumasi by Garnet Wolseley in 1874, takes no account- because it cannot- of the gold or gold dust that the British must have carried away with them. We don’t know about this because it was loot, a private loot and so it is separate from the cultural artefacts that Otumfuo is trying to retrieve for Asanteman,” he added.
It is believed that the Asantes may be seeking restitution for more than just gold artifacts from the British.