Asanteman: When a Pre-Colonial African Kingdom Nearly Industrialized

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:51:30 +0200

As Europeans explored the interior of the African continent in the mid-19th century, the societies they encountered were often characterized as technologically underdeveloped.

Deep in the jungles of what is present-day Ghana, however, paved roads guided these explorers to large cities with multi-story buildings that rose above the tree line.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:43 - Part I: Because of War
03:38 - Treasury, Medicine, Politics
05:37 - The Great Roads
07:50 - Part II: Cormantine and Saturday
11:13 - Agriculture
13:42 - Anglo-Asante Wars
17:00 - Part III: Days of Torment
19:15 - Joint Ventures
23:00 - Rebellion, But Not the Last

Audio:
Lucid Haze - YouTube Audio Library
Origins - EU4 OST
The Dark Continent - YouTube Audio Library
I Saved Your Life - Beasts of No Nation
Surrender - Beasts of No Nation
Helicopters - Beasts of No Nation

Sources:
- Ivor Wilks. Asante in the Nineteenth Century: The Structure and Evolution of a Political Order. (African Studies Series, number 13.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1975.
- Africa's 100 years' war at the dawn of colonialism: The Anglo-Asante wars (1807-1900) by Isaac Samuel