Yaa Asantewaa

Yaa Asantewaa (* 1863, † 1923) was the Queen Mother of Edweso, a part of the state Aschantikönigreiches.

She led in 1900 to the last major uprising of the Ashanti against the British rule over their country and the then Gold Coast, later Ghana, at.

History of the uprising

1896 already, the British had the last ruling Asantehene ( "king" ) of the Ashanti deposed and deported to the several thousand kilometers away, Freetown. In 1900 they tried the will to resist the Ashanti finally break by demanding the surrender of the Golden Stool, the golden stool of Ashanti. This golden chair was since the days of Okomfo Anokye 1695 as the seat of the soul of Aschantivolkes. He was and is the most sacred national symbol of this people. On March 28, 1900, the British governor convened all the heads of the Ashanti from the vicinity of its capital Kumasi and required them to issue the Golden chair. The assembled leaders left the meeting with no response.

The role Yaa Asantewaas during the uprising

Yaa Asantewaa reportedly held in this critical situation between resignation and resistance a rousing speech to the chiefs of the Ashanti, in which she lamented the loss of the bravery of the Ashanti and announced that the women instead of the men would go to war against the whites, if the men did not it would do. This speech was the decisive factor for the uprising.

Probably Yaa Asantewaa has not directly participated in the hostilities. She led the uprising and was the strategic mastermind behind the fighting. The Ashanti besieged the British in the fort of Kumasi and later used a guerrilla tactic. The British took four military expeditions ( three of which were defeated ) before they could break the resistance after several months.

The fate Yaa Asantewaas

Towards the end of the uprising Yaa Asantewaa was captured by the British and exiled as well as later, the last Asantehene in the Seychelles for the rest of their lives. Yaa Asantewaa is still a legendary and popular figure in Ghana, especially among the Ashanti. On the 20 cedi bill of independent Ghana in the 1980s, it is mapped.

  • History of Ashanti
  • History ( Ghana)
  • Ghanaian
  • Born in 1863
  • Died in 1923
  • Woman
Ashanti people List of rulers of Asante Integrated Authority File
831513
de