The Akan People: A Documentary History

The 25-million-strong Akan, a cultural-linguistic group found predominantly in present-day Ghana and to a lesser extent Togo and Ivory Coast, has established a legacy as widely known as its bright kente cloth. From the fourth century on, the Akan created numerous states based largely on gold production, commerce linked to Sudanic Africa and the Mediterranean world, and an agrarian culture. Attracted by its gold, Europeans established their West African bases in the region they called the Go...