A Re-examination of Colonial Perceptions About the Asante of Ghana

Abstract

Prejudices bothering on ethnicity is one of the colonial legacies in Africa. The European colonisers have been held responsible for separating groups which were once together, and also, for raising or developing one group above others, and for these actions, have been blamed for some of the ethnic conflicts the continent is grappling with in modern times. Other groups had also been perceived in certain negative terms, and these still linger on, and have become labels on them, the Asante ethnic group in Ghana being a typical example. It can be observed from the political, religious, economic and socio-cultural spheres in the colonial era, that the Asante people were largely depicted more in negative terms vs-a-vis the other ethnic groups in the country. Terms such as warlike, quarrelsome, aggressive, and bloodthirsty, just to mention a few were used to describe them. Were these accurate descriptions of the Asante people, or mere exaggerations? What were some of the underlying reasons for this stand by the Europeans regarding the Asante? These colonial perceptions need to be critically re-examined, re-assessed, and if need be, corrected.