The War of the Golden Stool, also called the Yaa Asantewaa War, the Third Ashanti Expedition,
the Ashanti Uprising, was the last and seemingly major war between the British and Asante in
the then Gold Coast (which is now the modern day Ghana).
The war was triggered on March 25th, 1900, by the Colonial Governor, Frederick Mitchell
Hudgson, when he demanded to sit on the Golden Stool, a sacred symbol of Asante strength
and independence, past, present and future.
The Golden Stool had been the symbol of power in Ashanti Kingdom since the 17th century.
According to traditional accounts, Okomfo Anokye, The High Priest and one of the two
founders of the Ashanti Confederacy, conjured the magnificent Stool, and invoked it to descend
from the sky where it floated onto the feet of the first Ashanti king, Osei Tutu 1.
The high priest then declared that the soul of the nation resided in the stool.
The Ashanti maintained the Golden Stool as their most prized possession.
Its entire surface is made with gold, and hung with golden bells to warn the king of
impending danger.
prior to war, their war chiefs consulted it.
As time progressed, and as the Ashanti scored more victories over their rivals, turning
their kingdom into an empire, the Golden Stool became even more revered.
Then, came the British.
The Queen of England had sent Sir William Edward Maxwell to the Ashanti kingdom, to
subdue them and bring them under the British crown, as a colony.
Sir Maxwell started with diplomatic talks and subtle threats (which later evolved to
force and brute) on the Ashanti people, but King Prempe and his people, strongly refused
to accept the proposition for their and and gold to be annexed and ruled by the British.
The continuous resistance of the Ashanti people led to a brief battle which lasted for about
three months, from December of 1895 to February of 1896.
The British, with their sophisticated weapons, had the upper hand, and thus, won the battle.
And as punishment for resisting and defying the authority of the British, King Prempe
was exiled to Seychelles, alongside other notable chiefs of the Ashanti kingdom.
just before leaving, king Prempe, advised his people not to put up more resistance after
his exile.
This was to try to negotiate with the British and save the lives of his people.
Little did he know that an even bigger war was brewing.
The British government was bent on totally subduing the Ashanti kingdom.
By this time, the region had been signed over to the British protectorate, and Sir Frederick
Hudgson had taken over as the governor of the region, and was intensifying the British
rule and suppression of the Ashanti people.
When news of the Ashanti Golden Stool reached Hudgson, how symbolic it was for the ruler
of the Ashanti people and tradition, Hudgson turned his attention to the chair.
He believed, as the new ruler of the Ashanti region, he should sit on the Golden stool,
instead of the ordinary chair he was offered.
Arriving on March 25th, 1900 Hodgson called a meeting of Asante Chiefs at which he said:
Your King Prempeh is in exile and will not return to Ashanti.
His power and authority will be taken over by the Representative of the Queen of Britain.
The terms of the 1874 Peace Treaty of Formena, requires you to pay with interest the sum
of £160,000 a year.
Then there is the matter of the Golden Stool of Ashanti.
The Queen is entitled to the stool; she must receive it.
Where is the Golden Stool?
I am the representative of the Paramount Power.
Why have you relegated me to this ordinary chair?
Why did you not take the opportunity of my coming to Kumasi to bring the Golden Stool
for me to sit upon?
Hodgson clearly had not the slightest idea the storm his words would bring; Perhaps he
did not understand the significance of the stool to the Ashanti empire, but the mere
suggestion that he, a foreigner, should sit on the Golden Stool, the very soul of The
Ashanti empire, and the very symbol and identity of the Ashanti people, living, dead, and yet
to be born, was far too disrespectful for the people.
Thus, the brave Queen mother Yaa Asantewa arose, and with the help of the remaining
chiefs, hid the golden stool away.
Hudgson then deployed his soldiers to search for the stool around the kingdom.
While the search was ongoing, the queen motther Yaa Asantewa gathered the remaining Ashanti
leaders in a secret meeting.
She brought them together so they could find a way to protect their sacred Golden Stool,
and ensure the return of their exiled king.
She wanted to spark a revolt against the British, but it seemed the spirits of the Ashantis
had been broken.
Many of the leaders whom she had summoned were fearful of the consequences of revolting
against the British.
But Yaa Asentewa was a fearless woman.
She was bold and brave.
observing the weakness in the men, Yaa Asantewaa said in anger: “…Is it true that the bravery
of Ashanti is no more?
I cannot believe it!
It cannot be!
If the men of Ashanti fear to fight, then I shall summon my fellow women of Ashanti!
We shall fight till the last among us falls on the battlefield!”
With this Yaa Asantewaa assumed leadership, and by her fearlessness and words, she was
able to motivate and assemble an army of 5,000.
She commanded the army to engage the British in a battle, which is known till date as the
“War of the Golden Stool.”
The Ashanti warriors ambushed Hudgson’s deputy and his forces and killed a lot of
them.
Those who survived escaped because of a rainstorm that had started.
When the British survivors reached the other soldiers and told them of the uprising, the
British soldiers stationed in the Ashanti Kingdom retreated to Kumasi, which was the
major base for the British colonial offices.
In response to the attack, the British officers immediately fortified their base with high
walls, firing turrets, and over 500 armed men.
However, the Ashanti warriors were not dumb.
They knew storming the fort would mean their deaths.
So, they laid a long siege, and eventually launched an assault on the base on the 29th
of April, which was unsuccessful.
Relentless, The Ashanti warriors stealthily surrounded the British.
They blocked all the roads leading to the town, intercepted the British food supply,
and destroyed their telegraph wires.
This was a very frustrating moment for the British officers.
They could not communicate with other regions, and they had no food.
Worst of it all, a disease broke out in their base.
Eventually, a British rescue party arrived on the 23rd of June, and helped Hudgson, his
wife and a few others who were not affected by the disease, to escape.
During the escaping, the Ashanti warriors chased after them down and killed quite a
number of them.
It looked like the war had been won, and the Ashantis celebrated their successful revolt.
However, their victory and freedom were shortlived.
Taking time to recover from the huge blow, The British waited one whole year, all the
while gathering forces and ammunition.
Finally, they launched a heavy attack on the Ashanti kingdom.
After a fierce battle, they defeated the Ashanti people and arrested their leaders, including
Yaa Asantewa.
The arrested leaders were exiled to Seychelles for 25 years.
Many of them lived and died in Seychelles without setting eyes and foot on their mother-land
again.
The great Queen mother Yaa Asantewa died in exile in 1921.
3 years later, King Prempe was released from exile in 1924 and and free to return to his
people.
By then, the British had formed strong bases in Ghana.
It is not Known how many of the Ashanti warriors died in the war of the golden, but the British
lost over 1,000 men.
For the Ashanti people, the purpose of the fight was still achieved, they had secured
the golden stool from the foreigners.
And the name of Yaa Asantewa was forever written in the history of the Ashanti people, as one
of the greatest and fearless warrior queens in Africa.
She was the gatekeeper of the Golden Stool and she fulfilled her duty diligently.
She protected the Golden stool.
The stool was their ancestral divine heritage and she and her people defended it with their
lives and blood.
Till today, the Golden Stool remains in its royal home, in Kumasi, Ghana.