R.S. Rattray and the Construction of Asante History: An Appraisal

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Periodical article

Title:	R.S. Rattray and the Construction of Asante History: An Appraisal
Author:	McCaskie, Thomas C.
Year:	1983
Periodical:	History in Africa
Volume:	10
Pages:	187-206
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Ghana
Subjects:	Ashanti historiography Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) History and Exploration
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/3171695
Abstract:	To the historian, no less than any other student of Asantesem (Asante matters), the collected works of Rattray (1881-1938) are unavoidable, an ineluctable presence. All historians of Asante use Rattray and are grateful to him. It is important to record that fact of simple gratitude, for, to the historian of Asante, there is much to criticise in Rattray's work. Rattray - and the point is very easily overlooked - was not a historian, nor in any strict sense did he think of himself as such. However, his influence over the way in which the study of the Asante past has evolved in the twentieth century has been profound and very deep; it has also proved remarkably persistent, and in some areas it survives and endures. In reviewing the work of Rattray, one is reviewing, fundamentally, the entire corpus of Asante historiography. With this basic premise the author gives a critical assessment of Rattray's work. Notes.