Yaa Asantewaa
Queen Mother and war leader who commanded the Ashanti in the War of the Golden Stool against British colonial rule.
Yaa Asantewaa I (c. 1840 – 17 October 1921) was the Queen Mother of Ejisu, a role in the Ashanti Empire (now part of Ghana). Her brother, Nana Akwasi Afrane Okese, the ruler of Edwesu, appointed her to this position. In 1900, she commanded the Ashanti forces in a conflict against the British Empire, known as the War of the Golden Stool or the Yaa Asantewaa War of Independence.
Born around 1840 in Besease to Kwaku Ampoma and Ata Po, Yaa Asantewaa had an uneventful childhood. She grew crops on land near Boankra and later entered a polygamous marriage with a man from Kumasi, with whom she had one daughter. She worked as a farmer and mother, and was also an intellectual, politician, human rights activist, queen, and war leader. She died in exile in the Seychelles in 1921.
Her older brother, Nana Akwasi Afrane Okpase, selected her as Queen Mother, a prestigious role that involved protecting the Golden Stool, advising the Ashanti king, and choosing candidates for the next ruler. During her brother’s reign, the Ashanti Confederacy faced a civil war from 1883 to 1888. When her brother died in 1894, she used her right as Queen Mother to nominate her own grandson as Ejisuhene. After the British exiled him, along with King Prempeh I and other Ashanti leaders, to the Seychelles in 1896, she became regent of the Ejisu–Juaben district. Following Prempeh I’s exile, the British governor-general of the Gold Coast, Frederick Hodgson, demanded the Golden Stool, the symbol of the Ashanti nation. This sparked a secret meeting of remaining Ashanti government members in Kumasi to discuss securing the king’s return. When disagreement arose, Yaa Asantewaa addressed the council, declaring she would not pay the governor and challenging the men to fight rather than act cowardly. To show her resolve, she seized a gun and fired a shot in front of them. Several regional Ashanti kings then chose her as war leader—the only time a woman held that role in Ashanti history. She rallied her people with a speech urging them to defend the Golden Stool, stating it was better to perish than live in slavery. Her passion revitalized the traditional Ashanti military, and she led an army of 5,000 in the Ashanti-British War of the Golden Stool.
The rebellion began in March 1900, laying siege to the British fort at Kumasi (now the Kumasi Fort and Military Museum). After several months, the Gold Coast governor sent 1,400 troops to suppress the uprising. During the fighting, Yaa Asantewaa and fifteen of her closest advisers were captured and exiled to the Seychelles. This rebellion marked the final war in the series of Anglo-Ashanti conflicts.
- born
- c. 1840, Besease
- died
- 17 October 1921, Seychelles
- field
- War leader, queen mother, farmer
- nationality
- Ashanti (Asante)
- known_for
- Leading the War of the Golden Stool against British colonial rule
Lore & Background
Yaa Asantewaa was born around 1840 in Besease, the daughter of Kwaku Ampoma and Ata Po. Her brother, Afrane Panin, became the chief of Edweso, a nearby community. After a childhood without incident, she cultivated crops on the land around Boankra. She entered a polygamous marriage with a man from Kumasi, with whom she had a daughter. Asantewaa died in exile in the Seychelles in 1921. She was a successful farmer and mother. She was an intellectual, a politician, a human rights activist, a queen and a war leader. Yaa Asantewaa became famous for commanding the Ashanti Kings in the War of the Golden Stool, against British colonial rule, to defend and protect the sovereign independence of the Golden Stool.
Reader's Guide
Yaa Asantewaa's older brother, Nana Akwasi Afrane Okpase, was in a powerful position in the empire and selected Asantewaa as the Queen Mother. This was a prestigious position as she was responsible for protecting the golden stool, advising the King of Ashanti, and choosing candidates for the next king. During her brother's reign, Yaa Asantewaa saw the Ashanti Confederacy go through a series of events that threatened its future, including a civil war from 1883 to 1888. When her brother died in 1894, Yaa Asantewaa used her right as Queen Mother to nominate her own grandson as Ejisuhene. When the British exiled him to the Seychelles in 1896, along with the King of Asante Prempeh I and other members of the Asante government, Yaa Asantewaa became regent of the Ejisu–Juaben district. After the exile of Prempeh I, the British governor-general of the Gold Coast, Frederick Hodgson, demanded the Golden Stool, the symbol of the Asante nation. This request led to a secret meeting of the remaining members of the Asante government at Kumasi, to discuss how to secure the return of their king. There was a disagreement among those present on how to go about this. Yaa Asantewaa, who was present at this meeting, stood and addressed the members of the council with these words: 'How can a proud and brave people like the Asante sit back and look while white men took away their king and chiefs, and humiliated them with a demand for the Golden Stool. The Golden Stool only means money to the whitemen; they have searched and dug everywhere for it. I shall not pay one predwan to the governor. If you, the chiefs of Asante, are going to behave like cowards and not fight, you should exchange your loincloths for my undergarments (Montu mo danta mma me na monnye me tam).' To dramatize her determination to go to war, Yaa Asantewaa seized a gun and fired a shot in front of the men. Yaa Asantewaa was chosen by a number of regional Asante kings to be the war leader of the Asante fighting force. This is the first and only example of a woman being given that role in Asante history. Yaa Asantewaa inspired and rallied her people to fight back against the British during which she gave a speech. The traditional Ashanti military was revitalized by her passion to resist colonization. She questioned the male leader's response to British colonization. Yaa Asantewaa challenged gender roles and urged wome
Did You Know?
- Yaa Asantewaa was the first and only woman to be chosen as war leader of the Asante fighting force in Asante history.
- The rebellion she led in 1900 resulted in more than 2,000 Ashanti deaths and approximately 1,000 British deaths, the highest death toll from the Anglo-Asante wars.
- Despite British victory, the Golden Stool was never surrendered; a fake stool was given to the British while the real one was hidden.
- Yaa Asantewaa died in exile in the Seychelles on 17 October 1921, and her remains were later returned for a royal burial by King Prempeh I.
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
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