''In 1872 the Netherlands severed its last link with the African continent when it gave up to Great Britain its three hundred years' old foothold on the Gold Coast. So precarious was the Dutch position on the Coast by the time, that this cession was in a sense little more than a formality. But the events which led up to and followed it were decisive in inducing Britain to undertake for the first time a policy of 'effective control' of the peoples of what is now Southern Ghana. Primarily a study in British colonial policy, this book also throws fresh light upon the aims and motives of both Dutch and Ashantis during a little-known period of West African history. Much use is made of relevant Dutch archive material most of which has until now remained virtually untouched.''--Provided by the publisher.