The African Kingdom of Gold

Join Barnaby Phillips as he explores the fascinating forgotten history of the British Army and the missing gold treasures of the Ashanti.

Britain's invasion of the Kingdom of Ashanti (in modern-day Ghana) in 1874 was an extraordinary moment in military history. It marked the first time the British Army had engaged in a successful campaign into the interior of West Africa.

Despite widespread concern and hesitation in London, Major-General Sir Garnet Wolseley used his political influence to secure the involvement of three British battalions. Armed with new Snider rifles, his troops overpowered the Ashanti, marching into their capital, Kumasi, and plundering the royal palace. Wolseley later admitted that he had ‘never met a braver enemy’.

Accompanied by a large entourage of journalists, including Henry Morton Stanley, the campaign captured the Victorian public’s imagination. On his return to Britain, Wolseley was greeted by huge crowds, fêted by royalty and politicians, and later rose to become Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.

Barnaby Phillips tells this dramatic and sometimes uncomfortable story, taking multiple perspectives into account. He brings new light to a now overlooked chapter in the Army's history, drawing on the extraordinary and previously undiscovered diary of a British soldier to provide a vivid narrative of events.

About the speaker

Barnaby Phillips spent more than 25 years as a journalist, reporting for the BBC from Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria and South Africa before joining Al Jazeera English. He is the author of 'Another Man’s War: The Story of a Burma Boy in Britain’s Forgotten African Army' and 'Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes'.