Yaa Asantewaa was appointed queen mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire. In 1900, after the British exiled the King of Asante and demanded the sacred Golden Stool, Yaa Asantewaa rallied the Ashanti people to fight against British colonial rule in what became known as the War of the Golden Stool. When some Ashanti leaders hesitated to fight, Yaa Asantewaa famously declared that if the men would not go forward, the women would fight instead. She went on to lead the Ashanti rebellion until their defeat months later, after which she was exiled. Yaa Asantewaa remains a celebrated figure in Ghana for her courage and leadership in confronting the British during

1. “Now I see that some of you fear to go forward to fight for our king. If it [was] in the brave days of Osei Tutu,
Okomfo Anokye, and Opoku Ware, chiefs would not sit down to see their king to be taken away without firing
a shot. No European could have dared speak to chiefs of Asante in the way the governor spoke to you this
morning. Is it true that the bravery of Asante is no more? I cannot believe it. It cannot be! I must say this: if
you, the men of Asante, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. I shall call upon my fellow
women. We will fight! We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.”

2. Yaa Asantewaa 1
Yaa Asantewaa
Yaa Asantewaa (c. 1840 – 17 October 1921) (pronounced YAA
A-san-TE-WAA) was appointed queen mother of Ejisu of the Ashanti
Empire—now part of modern-day Ghana—by her brother Nana Akwasi
Afrane Okpese, the Ejisuhene "ruler of Ejisu". In 1900 she led the Ashanti
rebellion known as the War of the Golden Stool against British
colonialism.
Prelude to rebellion
During her brother's reign, Yaa Asantewaa saw the Asante Confederacy go
through a series of events that threatened its future, including 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 in 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
deportation of Prempeh I, the British governor-general of the Gold Coast,
Frederick Hodgson, demanded the Golden Stool, the symbol of the Asante
Yaa Asantewaa in batakarikese (ceremonial
nation. This request led to a secret meeting of the remaining members of war dress) in an undated photograph.
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 now-famous words:
“ Now I see that some of you fear to go forward to fight for our king. If it [was] in the brave days of Osei Tutu, Okomfo Anokye, and Opoku
Ware, chiefs would not sit down to see their king to be taken away without firing a shot. No European could have dared speak to chiefs of
Asante in the way the governor spoke to you this morning. Is it true that the bravery of Asante is no more? I cannot believe it. It cannot be! I
must say this: if you, the men of Asante, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will
fight! We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.
[1]
”
With this, she took on leadership of the Asante Uprising of 1900, gaining the support of some of the other Asante
nobility.
The rebellion and its aftermath
Beginning in March 1900, the rebellion laid siege to the fort at Kumasi where the British had sought refuge. The fort
still stands today as the Kumasi Fort and Military Museum. After several months, the Gold Coast governor
eventually sent a force of 1,400 to quell the rebellion. During the course of this, Queen Yaa Asantewaa and 15 of her
closest advisers were captured, and they too were sent into exile to the Seychelles.[2] The rebellion represented the
final war in the Anglo-Asante series of wars that lasted throughout the 19th century. On 1 January 1902, the British
were finally able to accomplish what the Asante army had denied them for almost a century, and the Asante empire
was made a protectorate of the British crown. Yaa Asantewaa died in exile on 17 October 1921. Three years after her
death, on 27 December 1924, Prempeh I and the other remaining members of the exiled Asante court were allowed
to return to Asante. Prempeh I made sure that the remains of Yaa Asantewaa and the other exiled Asantes were
returned for a proper royal burial. Yaa Asantewaa's dream for an Asante free of British rule was realized on 6 March
1957, when the Asante protectorate gained independence as part of Ghana, the first African nation to achieve this
feat.

3. Yaa Asantewaa 2
Place in history and cultural legacy
Yaa Asantewaa remains a much-loved figure in Asante history and the history of Ghana as a whole for the courage
she showed in confronting injustice during the colonialism of the British. To highlight the importance of encouraging
more female leaders in Ghanaian society, the Yaa Asantewaa Girls' Secondary School was established at Kumasi in
1960 with funds from the Ghana Educational Trust.
In 2000, week-long centenary celebrations were held in Ghana to acknowledge Yaa Asantewaa's accomplishments.
As part of these celebrations, a museum was dedicated to her at Kwaso in the Ejisu-Juaben District on 3 August
2000. Unfortunately, a fire there on 23 July 2004, destroyed several historical items, including her sandals and battle
dress (batakarikese) seen in the photograph above.[3] The current Queen-mother of Ejisu is Yaa Asantewaa II. A
second Yaa Asantewaa festival was held 1–5 August 2006, in Ejisu.[4]
The Yaa Asantewaa Centre in Maida Vale, west London, is African-Caribbean arts and community centre.[5]
A stage show written by Margaret Busby, Yaa Asantewaa: Warrior Queen, featuring master drummer Kofi Ghanaba
and with a pan-African cast, toured the UK and Ghana in 2001-2001.[6]
Notes
[1] Addy E.A., Ghana: A History for Primary Schools.
[2] Berry L.V., Ghana: a Country Study.
[3] General News of Sunday, 25 July 2004 (http:/ / www. ghanaweb. com/ GhanaHomePage/ NewsArchive/ artikel. php?ID=62490)
[4] Public Agenda: (16 January 2006) (http:/ / www. ghanaweb. com/ public_agenda/ article. php?ID=4731)
[5] Carnival Village website. (http:/ / www. carnivalvillage. org. uk/ )
[6] Margaret Busby, Obituary of Geraldine Connor, Guardian, 31 October 2011. (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ stage/ 2011/ oct/ 31/
geraldine-connor)
External links
• Works by or about Yaa Asantewaa (http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-no00-86686) in libraries (WorldCat
catalog)
• A Video clip of Yaa Asantewaa's effigy at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi. (http://www.ghanaclips.
com/view_video.php?viewkey=40ce177cf70da146c8dc)

4. Article Sources and Contributors 3
Article Sources and Contributors
Yaa Asantewaa Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=495918956 Contributors: Ackees, Alan Pascoe, Anonymous anonymous, Aricute234, Belovedfreak, Bill37212, Buddhist
Monk Wannabe, Chicheley, D6, Deb, Dsp13, FF2010, Fumitol, Green Giant, Grendelkhan, Hephaestos, Hide&Reason, Jackyd101, Johnbibby, Kernel Saunters, Kwame1234, Leonidaa,
MuzikJunky, Namiba, NawlinWiki, Neddyseagoon, Notorious4life, Ogress, Ohconfucius, Paa.kwesi, Pandora, Picaroon, Pir, Proscribe, Scope creep, Seaphoto, SimonArlott, SimonP, The Moving
Finger Writes, Unara, Zondrah89, Zoz, 66 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
Image:Asantewaa.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Asantewaa.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: 21:56, 11. Dez 2002 . . Pandora (Diskussion
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
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