Ondertussen: {elders achter & voor de coulissen}!?



ROYAL
POMP, GOLD
~AND SLAVES

Ashanti courts
really celebrated rich victories:
misschien zit hier wel de kern v/d zaak ~ 't samen willen vieren
van grote overwinningen t.a.v. aanval & verdediging, vee, grond,
voedsel, jacht, rituelen & goden. 'n "Gewoon mens" heeft genoeg aan eigen huis & tuin,
lichaam & geest, maar 'de anderen' zijn gek op opgeblazen toestanden, schittering & lawaai,
werk & verdeling, brood & spelen, overmacht &
opperheer, toeval &
't Lot
...

The court
of the Ashanti kings
astonished the 18th Century
British explorers and traders who saw it:
they had a keen eye for wealth;
what impressed them most
was the gold.

'THE KING
WAS SITTING ON A THRONE
ENCASED IN MASSIVE GOLD,
ENVELOPED IN THE RICHEST SILKS
AND WEARING AS MANY ORNAMENTS OF PURE GOLD ON HIS NECK,
ARMS, WRISTS, FINGERS, ANKLES AND TOES
AS HE COMFORTABLY
COULD SUPPORT',
wrote one Briton.
'The display of barbarian riches was dazzling,
and all this wealth of the Ashanti king was derived from the enormous profits of his slave sales!'
This was not entirely true ~ the Gold Coast was so named because of the metal once found there,
which the Ashanti natives mined and worked, and of which the kings obtained a good supply through taxation. But the sale of slaves, like the recently captured groups of 'enemies', did account for the bulk
of their wealth. One famous occasion, according to & based on the accounts of several British agents, was
the celebration at the court of King Osai Kojo around the year 1765. Osai Kojo's immediate predecessors had been excellent warriors, as he was himself ['n soort mengsel van Idi Amin, Muammar Khadaffi & de
oude oerfarao's met hun 'geldingsdrang'], and had carved out a kingdom of about 14,000 square miles!
Armed both with native weapons and more recently with Dutch {!} & British muskets obtained in trading,
they were well-nigh invincible. War for them was a steady,
thriving business; the more slaves they sold,
the more muskets they obtained,
and the more muskets,
the more slaves.

After each victory
slaves were apportioned among the king,
chiefs and army officers according to established law.
The king was allowed to have no more than 3,333 at one time, and the principal chiefs 1,000.
Only a portion of the captives were sold to the international slave trade. Yankee slave traders sometimes
argued that, since the slaves were already slaves at the time of purchase, their lot would be improved by
transportation to the more "civilized" New World. But actually the reverse was true.
African slaves had many rights ~ they could marry, possess property,
own slaves themselves and
even become heirs
to their
master
...

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21 mei 2010 - meld ongepast verhaal
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Profielfoto van Asih
Asih, man, 80 jaar
   
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