War of the Golden Stool
Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana
What happened
Asante (Ashanti) forces led by Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of Ejisu, fought British forces under Governor Frederick Hodgson and Major James Willcocks. In 1900 the British governor demanded the Golden Stool, which the Asante see as holding the soul of their nation, and asked to sit on it. Yaa Asantewaa urged the chiefs to resist and was chosen to lead them, the only woman ever to be Asante war leader. Asante forces surrounded the British fort in Kumasi for months until a British relief force arrived.
Why it matters
Why it matters: The British won the war and made Asante a colony in 1902. But they never captured the Golden Stool, which was hidden and kept safe.
What came next
Yaa Asantewaa was exiled to the Seychelles, where she died in 1921, and her remains were later brought home for a royal burial. A girls' school in Kumasi and a museum are named after her.
Did you know?
The war is named for the Golden Stool, the sacred throne of the Asante.
Timeline
- 25 March 1900Governor Hodgson demands the Golden Stool.
- 1900Asante forces besiege the British fort in Kumasi.
- 15 July 1900A British relief force reaches the fort.
- 1902Britain makes Asante a colony.
- 1921Yaa Asantewaa dies in exile in the Seychelles.