Yaa Asantewaa
Led the Ashanti's last large-scale uprising against Britain to defend the Golden Stool.
Life
Queen mother
Yaa Asantewaa was born c. 1840 and was queen mother of Ejisu, a state within the Ashanti Confederacy. In Akan society, the queen mother held an honored position, nominating chiefs and taking part in deliberations on state affairs. In 1896 the British arrested and exiled the Asantehene Prempeh I; her brother, the chief of Ejisu, was among those exiled, and she thus became the de facto guardian of the Ejisu stool.
War of the Golden Stool
In March 1900, the British Governor Hodgson summoned the Ashanti chiefs to Kumasi and demanded that the Golden Stool be handed over for him to sit on. The Golden Stool was regarded as the soul of the Ashanti nation, and not even the king was allowed to sit on it. As the chiefs hesitated, she is said to have delivered a rousing speech calling on everyone to take up arms. The Ashanti then besieged the British fort at Kumasi for several months.
Exile and remembrance
After British reinforcements lifted the siege, they split up to carry out mopping-up operations; she was captured that same year, exiled to the Seychelles the following year, and died there in 1921. The Golden Stool never fell into British hands. She is regarded as a symbol of the anti-colonial struggle in Ghana and Africa, and both Kumasi and Ejisu have museums and schools commemorating her.
Legacy
Yaa Asantewaa was a rare female military leader in Africa's anti-colonial struggle. Although the War of the Golden Stool she led ended in defeat and the Ashanti were then incorporated into the Gold Coast colony, the British never seized the Golden Stool, and this national symbol of the Ashanti was preserved. In Ghana she is regarded as a national hero and a symbol of women's strength; her deeds are often invoked to inspire the independence movement and women's emancipation, and they are still celebrated in songs and plays.
Major works & achievements
- Led the 1900 War of the Golden Stool
- Besieged the British fort at Kumasi
- Kept the Golden Stool out of British hands
Key dates
- 1896Prempeh I and the chief of Ejisu exiled
- 1900Called for the defense of the Golden Stool and led the uprising
- 1900Besieged the British fort at Kumasi
- 1901Exiled to the Seychelles
- 1921Died in the Seychelles