When the Asante rebelled in 1900, the British locked themselves up in their fort at Kumase while the Asante tried to starve them out. Down to little ammunition and no food, the British, in true Victorian style, carried their women out of the fort. A combination of sheer luck and the stupidity of an Asante officer saved them. While the Asante soldiers were busy looting British luggage which, in their weakened state, the British porters were forced to leave behind, the prisoners all but strolled to safety. (Armitage and Montanaro)
This log stockade, one of dozens surrounding Kumase built during the war of 1900, was probably a quarter of a mile long and the product of much labor. Most of the war was fought with the Asante firing at British troops from behind the walls of a stockade. This method of defense was extremely effective until the British learned to blow them up with artillery and charge them with bayonets. (Armitage and Montanaro)
All Asante officers and many of the soldiers wore shirts, such as the one pictured above, as they walked to battle before stripping down to fight. Most were made of cotton, although some were animal skins and a few officers wore silk warshirts. The shirts were decorated with animal teeth and small pouches. The triangular and rectangular pouches were believed to hold Islamic charms acquired from the Moslems who had been conquered by the Asante, but many of the amulets proved fraudulent. One was found to contain a verse from the Bible, and another contained a fragment of a proclamation posted by a British governor. (Fowler Museum, UCLA)
The Fall of the Asante Empire Page 34
