Queen Yaa Asantewaa

"If you the chiefs of Asante are going to behave like cowards and not fight, you should exchange your loincloths for my undergarments."

QUEEN of the Ashanti Empire
Member of the Asona royal clan of Edweo-Besease
Shared in the responsibilities of leading the empire, fully active in all affairs of state, and serving as judge in her own court
One of her grandsons and her husband were exiled by the British in 1896, leaving her solely in charge
She signed a British treaty of protection, but resisted their efforts to mine in her kingdom
In 1900, when the British governor claimed himself as king and demanded the symbolic Golden Stool along with Asante slave labor, she refused to comply, forming a war council and leading the fight against the British
Although the British were at first confused by her level of involvement in the war (they couldn't believe a woman would be allowed to lead an army), they eventually caught and exiled her in 1901

Bibliography: Manuh, Takyiwaa. "Yaa Asantewaa." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Vol. 4, Oxford University Press, 2008, 452-453.
Mitchell, Saundra. 50 Unbelievable Women and their Fascinating (and True!) Stories. New York: Puffin Books, 2016. Print.

Research this Awesome Woman

Yaa Asantewaa and the Asante-British War of 1900-1

Changing Roles of Akan Queenmothers: A Study of Nana Yaa Asantewaa II: Changes In Female Traditional Authority In Ghana

Yaa Asantewaa: The Woman Who Led an Army to Resist Colonialism

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