The Asante Kingdom (African Civilizations) [Library Binding]

Carol Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Series: African Civilizations

Surveys the history and culture of the Asante Kingdom in West Africa, from its founding in the late seventeenth century to its clashes with the British and eventual decline in the nineteenth century.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 64 pages
• Publisher: Franklin Watts (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531202879
• ISBN-13: 978-0531202876
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,401,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It helps fill a gap in the history of Africa before the European colonial era, August 2, 2007

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Asante Kingdom (African Civilizations) (Library Binding)

In general, the history of the world as it is taught to U. S. schoolchildren describes the great empires of Egypt that built the pyramids over four thousand years ago and then there is little more about Africa. When it is mentioned, the topic is the slave trade but there is nothing about the powerful empires and great civilizations that existed south of the Sahara desert.
One such kingdom was the Asante kingdom that ruled what is now the African nation of Ghana. It rose to prominence in the late seventeenth century and was a flourishing nation that traded in gold and raided the neighboring tribes to capture the people and sell them into slavery. After Great Britain abolished the slave trade, the British decided to take control of the Asante Empire. After years of fierce resistance, the Asante territory was incorporated into the British Colony of the Gold Coast. However, British control was always somewhat tenuous and Ghana was the first European colony in Africa to be granted independence.
Written at the level of the middle school student, this is a book that helps satisfy a great need. There were many times throughout history when great nations flourished in Africa south of the Sahara desert. However, as history is taught, before the Europeans arrived it was a savage "dark continent" lacking most of the characteristics that we associate with higher civilizations. That is a false premise and this book describes one of the greatest of the African powers.