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

At the end of the nineteenth century, British rule on the Gold Coast was becoming ever more expansionist and aggressive. As the age of European imperialism was intensifying and the Europeans were seeking to control all major trading routes, the idea of an independent and prosperous indigenous Asante ruler was becoming incongruous. In 1896, the British Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, authorised a military expedition to Asante. Little resistance was at first encountered, but four years later, when the British exiled the Asante ruler, Prempeh I, and claimed the Golden Stool of Asante, Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen mother, raised the banner of rebellion. Calling the Asante people to reassert their independence she led the deeply aggrieved Asante nation to take up arms, resulting in the Ashanti-British war. This is a scholarly and in-depth account of the causes and outcomes of the war, and the role of the iconic Ashanti war heroine, Yaa Asantewaa, in wider historical context.Adu Boahen, Albert A. is the author of 'Yaa Asantewaa and the Asante-British War of 1900-1 Yaa Asantewaa and the Asante-British War of 1900-1', published 2003 under ISBN 9789988550998 and ISBN 9988550995.