Abolition

One day during the summer of 1765 a young black man, an enslaved person called Jonathan Strong, stumbled into a doctor’s surgery on Mincing Lane, off Fenchurch Street in the City of London. He was seriously injured, having been badly beaten about the face by his ‘owner’, and there were fears he might lose his sight. The doctor, William Sharp, though respected enough in his profession to be called upon to treat members of the royal family, was also known to be willing to tend those who had no means of paying. Sure enough, Sharp cared for the injured man, and he and his younger brother Granville arranged for Strong to be admitted to St Bartholomew’s Hospital, where he remained for more than four months.

As a metal, gold never corrodes. As a possession, the reverse is too often true. It has the power to warp morality, destroy decency and tarnish humanity. This duality – entrancing beauty alongside corrupting potency – lies at the heart of this magnificent book that engagingly blends African history with a current relevance that reaches far beyond the continent. The history is laid out with clarity and conviction. The Asante nation (Barnaby Phillips wisely settles on this spelling over a variety of homophones including Ashante, Ashanti and Achantis) is a component part of the modern west African nation of Ghana. Much like the Zulus in South Africa, their foundational history dates back only a few hundred years and is underscored by military prowess bordering on barbarism.