Yaa Asantewaa

Lore & Background

Yaa Asantewaa was born around 1840 in Besease, daughter of Kwaku Ampoma and Ata Po. Her brother, Afrane Panin, became chief of Edweso. She cultivated crops near Boankra and entered a polygamous marriage with a man from Kumasi, with whom she had a daughter. After her brother's death in 1894, she used her right as Queen Mother to nominate her grandson as Ejisuhene. When the British exiled him in 1896 along with King Prempeh I, she became regent of the Ejisu–Juaben district.

Reader's Guide

Yaa Asantewaa's significance lies in her role as the first and only woman in Asante history chosen by regional kings to be war leader. After British governor Frederick Hodgson demanded the Golden Stool, she addressed a secret meeting of Asante government members, questioning the men's courage and firing a gun to dramatize her determination. She led an army of 5,000 in a rebellion that began in March 1900, besieging the British fort at Kumasi for several months. The rebellion ended with her capture and exile to the Seychelles, where she died in 1921. Though the British annexed Asante in 1902, the Golden Stool was never surrendered; a fake was delivered instead. Her remains were later returned for a royal burial, and Ghana's independence in 1957 fulfilled her goal of an Asante free from colonial rule.

Did You Know?

• Yaa Asantewaa was a successful farmer before becoming a war leader.
• She fired a gun in front of the men at a council meeting to show her determination to fight.
• The rebellion she led resulted in over 2,000 Ashanti and about 1,000 British deaths.
• The Golden Stool was never turned over to the British; a fake stool was delivered instead.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Yaa Asantewaa I (born October 17, 1840 – October 17, 1921) was the Queen Mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire, now part of modern-day Ghana." — Yaa Asantewaa "We, the women, will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields." — Yaa Asantewaa "If you, the men, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. I shall call upon my fellow women." — Yaa Asantewaa "A brave heart knows no fear. Let us face our enemies with courage and determination." — Yaa Asantewaa