Asante Empire
Infrastructure

Infrastructure such as road transport and communication throughout the empire was maintained via a network of well-kept roads from the Asante mainland to the Niger river and other trade cities. English visitors to Kumasi in the 19th century, noted the division of the capital into 77 wards with 27 main streets; one of which was 100 yards wide. Many houses especially those near the king's palace were two story buildings embodied with indoor plumbing in the form of toilets that were flushed with gallons of boiling water. Bowdich revealed in his 1817 account that all streets of Kumasi were named. Stationed at various points of Asante roads were the Nkwansrafo or road wardens who served as the highway police; checking the movement of traders and strangers on all roads. They were also responsible for scouting and were charged with the collection of tolls from traders.

In the early 19th century larger rivers were either forded in the dry season or crossed by canoe or line-and-raft ferries. Smaller rivers were either waded, or were bridged by a tree trunk: in both cases a rope handrail was usually stretched across the river to assist the traveller. In response to the delivery of a carriage by Thomas Freeman in 1841, the Asante Empire began to build bridges across water bodies for transport that year. Asantehene Kwaku Dua ordered proper bridges to be built across streams in the metropolitan area of Kumase. Thomas Freeman described the construction as:

Some stout, forked sticks or posts are driven in the centre of the stream at convenient distances, across which are placed some strong beams, fastened to the posts with withes, from the numerous climbing plants on every hand. On these bearers are placed long stout poles which are covered with earth from fourth to six inches thick....
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