The National Archives UK - CO through time

Kumasi 1870–1955 17 photos of this spot

17 photographs taken at the same spot in Kumasi, spanning 1870–1955 — 17 of them from before 1980. Line them up and watch the place change.

Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Kingdom, photographed in 1870 and held in the British colonial archive, a period preceding the Anglo-Ashanti conflicts that would draw increased British attention to the city.

The National Archives UK - CO 1870 Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Kingdom, photographed in 1870 and held in the British colonial archive, a period preceding the Anglo-Ashanti conflicts that would draw increased British attention to the city.

The National Archives UK - CO 1870 A further 1870 photograph of Kumasi, the Ashanti capital, from the British colonial archive, documenting the city in the years before it came under British control.

The National Archives UK - CO 1870 Held in the UK National Archives' Colonial Office collection, this 1870 photograph is captioned as showing the interior of a British house in Kumasi, referred to here by its historic spelling, Coomassie.

The National Archives UK - CO 1870 Catalogued in the UK National Archives' Colonial Office series, this 1870 image is captioned 'On the road to Coomassie,' depicting a scene along the route leading into Kumasi, historically known as Coomassie.

The National Archives UK - CO 1890 A photograph from the Colonial Office's CO 1069 collection at the UK National Archives, taken in Kumasi, in what was then the Gold Coast, around 1890.

The National Archives UK - CO 1890 One of a series of Colonial Office photographs (CO 1069) documenting Kumasi in the Gold Coast around 1890, now held at the National Archives, UK.

The National Archives UK - CO 1890 The private quarters of the palace of Asantehene Prempeh I in Kumasi, photographed in 1890. Kumasi was the capital of the Asante Empire, and its royal palace stood at the center of Asante political life until the British-Asante wars of the following decade.

The National Archives UK - CO 1896 This 1896 photograph, held in the UK National Archives' colonial file series CO 1069, documents a scene in Kumasi, the Ashanti capital in present-day Ghana, during the period of British colonial expansion into the Gold Coast interior.

The National Archives UK - CO 1896 A scene in Kumasi, photographed in 1896 and held in the UK National Archives' Colonial Office photographic collection. Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti kingdom, came under British control that year following the Anglo-Ashanti conflicts of the 1890s.

The National Archives UK - CO 1896 This 1896 photograph was taken in Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti kingdom, in the same year that a British military expedition occupied the city and exiled its ruler, the Asantehene.

The National Archives UK - CO 1897 This 1897 photograph, part of the UK National Archives' colonial file series CO 1069, documents a scene in Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti kingdom in what is now Ghana, in the years before it was fully incorporated into the British Gold Coast colony.

The National Archives UK - CO 1897 Taken the year after Kumasi came under British occupation, this 1897 photograph shows the former Ashanti capital in the Gold Coast interior.

The National Archives UK - CO 1915 A 1915 photograph from Kumasi, held in the UK National Archives' Colonial Office collection, taken in the city that served as traditional capital of the Ashanti people under British colonial rule of the Gold Coast.

The National Archives UK - CO 1915 Kumasi, historic capital of the Ashanti Kingdom and by 1915 an administrative center within the British Gold Coast colony, is recorded in this photograph from the Colonial Office archive.

The National Archives UK - CO 1937 A 1937 photograph from the UK National Archives' Colonial Office collection (reference CO 1069/39/7), depicting a scene in Kumasi, then part of the British Gold Coast colony.

The National Archives UK - CO 1937 Kumasi, seat of the Ashanti Kingdom and administrative center of Ghana's Ashanti Region, pictured in 1937 during the period of British colonial rule over the Gold Coast. This image is held in the UK National Archives under a Colonial Office reference number.

The National Archives UK - CO 1955 A 1955 photograph of Kumasi held in the UK National Archives, taken two years before Ghana achieved independence from British colonial rule in 1957, when the country was still known as the Gold Coast.