S3E29: Yaa Asantewaa

Outside of Ghana, Yaa Asantewaa is the most famous Ashanti historical figure by a wide margin. The queen-mother of Ejisu is widely cited as the pre-eminent symbol of Afro-feminism, a black African woman who advocated for the position of women and led Ashanti society in its last major resistance against British colonialism.

These depictions, while not necessarily incorrect, miss out on much of the context behind the rise of Yaa Asantewaa. They also often misunderstand the purpose of the rebellion she led, her role within that rebellion, and the context behind its beginning. So, who was Yaa Asantewaa? Why did she become such a dominant figure in Ashanti history? And how did the war of the Gold Stool begin?

Ashanti Goldfields Corporation mining facility in Obuasi - Taken 1910. From the Mary Evans picture library

After the British invasion of Asanteman in 1896, the Ashanti region was in a state of political paralysis. The British, while ostensibly now in control of the country, were initially largely absent. Though Prempeh was gone, the regional omanhenes continued to govern their territories as if nothing had changed at all. That all changed in 1897, when the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation moved in. Suddenly, with the influx of mining activity in Obuasi and the potential promise of expansion north, the British began to invest more heavily in their presence in Asanteman. Ghana saw its first inland railroad built, travelling from Cape Coast to Kumasi. The British increased the standards for road clearness to allow the movement of gold south, while abolishing the old systems of debt peonage and slavery. To replace these labor systems, though, they introduced a new system of conscript labor which resembled slavery in all but name to work on these new infrastructure projects. The British also began sending more soldiers to enforce this new occupation, including a garrison at the new fort build on the rubble of the Aban Dan, Fort Kumasi.

Today, Fort Kumasi is a military museum

Ashanti resistance to the British occupation was slow to develop. In the early years of the occupation, most of the Ashanti nobility were under the impression that the British presence was a short term thing. Surely the British would return the exiled Asantehene back to Asanteman and leave, albeit leaving the Ashanti as a de facto British puppet state. But, this is not what happened. The British governor, Frederick Mitchell Hodgeson, instead made a speech to the assembled asantemanhyiamu that he intended to rule Asanteman directly as a representative of queen Victoria, and that thusly he should be allowed to sit on the Golden Stool. While the demand for the stool would become the more infamous, perhaps more enraging was the governor's promise that Prempeh would never return. This confirmed to the Ashanti nobles present at the Asantemanhyiamu that the British occupation was not a temporary affair, but the first step of permanent conquest.

Ejisuhemaa and later Ejisuhene Yaa Asantewaa* 

Not everyone in the Asantemanhyiamu was sure what to do next. Doves, like Opoku Mensa, held out hope that negotiation with the British could lead to them withdrawing their forces and regranting Ashanti autonomy. The pro-war faction, on the other hand, supported organizing armed resistance against the British. One of the most prominent pro-war voices was Yaa Asantewaa, an important noblewoman from the town of Ejisu.

Yaa Asantewaa first rose to prominence due to her brother's loyal support of Prempeh during the later years of the Ashanti Civil War, adding their family into the inner circle of Prempeh's government. However, this strong relationship to Prempeh also led to her brother getting exiled alongside Prempeh after the British occupation of Kumasi. With her grandson too young to take up the mantle of Ejisuhene, no male relatives capable of taking the position, and a headstrong personality backing her up, Yaa Asantewaa instead became the omanhene of Ejisu, the only documented example of a female omanhene. Her title as omanhene allowed her to attend the asantemanhyiamu of 1900 as a key member, an opportunity she made the most of. During the meeting she persuasively scolded the other omanhenes present, questioning the masculinity of those who refused to support her policy of violent resistance to British occupation. Her rhetoric proved effective, and soon many of the moderate doves (including Opoku Mensa) decided to switch allegiance. Soon, they would organize militias in a war of resistance against the British. We will cover this war, its contentious outcome, and its legacy, in our next episode.

*This image is of dubious status. The image is very widely and popularly shared as Yaa Asantewaa, but is also often disputed as depicting an American art student. The veracity of either claim is very difficult to parse, as, after extensive searching, I was unable to discover the original source of this image. 

S3E28: Prempeh, the last Independent King of the Ashanti

 

Asantehene Prempeh I and some attendants (1900)

In this episode of the History of Africa Podcast, we examine the reign of Asantehene Prempeh I, the last man to rule the Ashanti kingdom as an independent state.

Agyeman Prempeh I was born under the name Kwaku Dua III, and had a difficult road to the Gold Stool. Born during a period of civil war, Kwaku Dua's parents, Owusu Koko and Yaa Akyaa, had previously enjoyed a brief position of privilege due to Prempeh's older brother, Kwaku Dua II, briefly holding the golden stool. However, in the aftermath of Kwaku Dua's short and disastrous reign, the family had to struggle to stay in a position of power. It wasn't until after his father's death at the hands of assassins that Prempeh was forced to step up and take charge as the new face of the Kumasi clique, a loosely associated group of generals, politicians, and businessmen who held power in the capital city. Throughout the first years of his unofficial reign, Prempeh had to endure wars against many of his rivals, including the kings of Bekwai, Kokofu, and Mampong. While not easy, Prempeh's allies eventually overcame his rivals, allowing him to officially become the first man in 4 years to hold the title of the king of a united Asanteman. 

Many of the industries that Prempeh sought to introduce to the Ashanti Empire, like cocoa production, remain staples of Asanteman's economy to this day

Prempeh's plan for invigorating the flailing Ashanti state began with re-empowering the region's economy. He planned for the introduction of three industries that, with some state support, could gradually grow to become self-sufficient private enterprises. These three industries, coffee, cocoa, and rubber, would find dramatically varying degrees of success. Coffee proved to be a dud, with international competition being too intense for the Ashanti to find a niche. Rubber proved more successful. Industry in Europe was rapidly expanding, and rubber was a necessity for many new industrial devices. But it was cocoa that proved the most successful. Cocoa was a product with enormous demand in Europe and very few large scale suppliers. As a result, the product proved incredibly profitable. Cocoa plantations arose with great speed across Asanteman.

Throughout Prempeh's rule, the Ashanti economy expanded considerably but also wracked up a large foreign debt. This debt would provide the British Empire an excuse to expand into Asanteman. British ambitions in Asanteman were motivated primarily by fear of other European powers expanding into the region. In 1884, the Germans created their first colonies in Togoland, while France began expanding its influence in the Ivory Coast. Britain had long sought to expand their own influence into the regions north of Asanteman, namely towards the city of Salaga. Not only did French threaten the British route to Salaga, but they also threatened British access to Ashanti cocoa production. The French already possessed the equally cocoa-rich area of the Ivory Coast, and possession of Asanteman would give French merchants an enormous competitive advantage over British cocoa sellers. At first, the British and French each sought to limit the other's expansion by supporting their enemies. The British, through their ports in Sierra Leone, helped the great Mande general Samori Toure fight his wars against the French by providing his armies with guns and ammunition. On the other hand, the British were afraid to attack Prempeh due to the fear that the French would similarly support the Asantehene to foil their own expansionist ambitions. The British and French eventually agreed to stop funding each other's enemies, and Asanteman was fair game for British expansion. The governor of the Gold Coast marched an army towards Kumasi. Prempeh, seeking to avoid a destructive sacking of the city, capitulated before fighting could begin. 

Prempeh is forced to genuflect before British colonial troops just before his arrest in 1896.

After his capitulation, the British arrested Prempeh and exiled him to the Seychelles, marking the official end of the Ashanti Kingdom. But, the end of the kingdom is not the end of the Ashanti history. Next episode, we will introduce a famous Ashanti noblewoman who will lead a rebellion to preserve Ashanti nationhood: Yaa Asantewaa.

S3E27: The Ashanti Civil War

The short-reigning Asantehene Kwaku Dua II pictured in the center of the frame. He was the first asantehene to be photographed during his rule.

The Ashanti civil war was rooted in the aftermath of the impeachment of Asantehene Mensa Bonsu. Following the old king's exile, a short succession dispute broke out between Mensa Bonsu's brother (also a previously impeached Asantehene) Kofi Kakari, and the official heir to the stool elected by the asantemanhyiamu, Kwaku Dua II. Kwaku Dua II, with the help of his father Owusu Koko, managed to defeat Kakari's supporters. Rather than reconciling with his defeated enemies, Kwaku Dua II lured Kakari's remaining supporters into a trap by promising amnesty before mass-executing them all. Kakari himself was killed shortly after, marking the first time in history that a former Asantehene was executed.

The rebuilt royal compound at Bekwai (pictured in 1900.)

The brutal killing of Kakari's supporters restored stability for a brief period. However, Kwaku Dua II died of (ostensibly) natural causes shortly thereafter. Due to the brutal trap that the king had sprung on Kakari's supporters, few Ashanti elites were willing to risk travelling to Kumasi to elect a new asantehene. As a result, for the first time since the foundation of the state, the golden stool was empty in 1884, and would remain so for four years. This time is periodized as the "Civil Wars" era of Ashanti history, and for good reason. The lack of a central authority resulted in Asanteman collapsing into a series of localized conflicts. Conflicts that ordinarily would have been small, brief disputes, such as questions of the succession of minor omanhene stools, escalated into outright wars when there was no central authority to arbitrate them. Omanhenes also engaged in freebooting conflicts, such as when the omanhene of Bekwai decided to try and reconquer the breakaway province of Adansi. The Adansi king managed to frustrate the Bekwaihene's attempt, and even launched a counterattack on Bekwai, killing the Bekwaihene in the process. The new Bekwaihene managed to reverse course though, and conquered Adansi in a particularly bloody fashion, depopulating much of the region in the process.

Ashanti kingdom in 1886

The Ashanti kingdom remained disunited until 1888, when a political movement led by the future Asantehene Kwaku Dua III, more commonly known by his later nickname Agyeman Prempeh I, reunited the state and ended the period of civil war.

S3E26: Reformers and Reactionaries: the Rise and Fall of the "God's Creativity Cult" in the Ashanti Empire

 

Last episode, we focused on the early military successes during the rule of Mensa Bonsu, including the successful defeat of a rebellion by the king of Juaben. Defeating this uprising temporarily restored order to the Ashanti state, but it did not guarantee a return to long-term success. The rest of Mensa Bonsu's rule will be defined by the struggle between Mensa Bonsu and other elements of the Ashanti state that sought to derail his many efforts at monetary and social reform.

"John" Owusu Ansah, Mensa Bonsu's progressive advisor and important statesman.

    One of the main influences that pushed Mensa Bonsu towards a direction of progressive reform was his uncle, the Ashanti diplomat Owusu Ansah. Ansah, who had been educated in a monastery, converted to Christianity, and even visited Great Britain on multiple occasions, was a true cosmopolitan. He was influenced by the ideas not only of British progressives, but also Fante and Ga reformers from the 1860s. He was a staunch opponent of slavery, debt bondage, and other forms of involuntary servitude despised the Ashanti government's reliance on capital punishment and sought to replace the Ashanti education system of apprenticeship with one of formalized, bureaucratic education in the western style.

The extent to which Owusu Ansah's influence had an effect on Mensa Bonsu is unclear. The asantehene did implement some policies that seemingly align with the goals of Ansah. For example, he did declare that only murder could be a crime that received capital punishment. However, it's not clear if this was based on a humanitarian desire to reduce the number of executions, or rather as an attempt to increase revenue generation through legal fines, the primary alternative punishment to execution. 

This decision angered some reactionary members of Ashanti society. Executions in Asanteman were often of an overtly religious nature, leading many foreigners to confuse criminal punishments with "human sacrifice." Regardless of if they should be labeled as sacrifices or not, the fact that the number of prisoners being offered to the ancestors declined was a bad omen for religious conservatives in Asanteman.

The reactionary backlash against Mensa Bonsu's reforms, but more generally the decline of Ashanti power and stability, took the form of a man named Kwaku. Kwaku, who claimed to be possessed by the spirit of the great Ashanti religious leader Anokye, declared himself to be the new religious leader, or Okomfo, of Asanteman. Kwaku alleged that the blame for the decline of Ashanti society could be firmly placed at the hands of a conspiracy of witches.

1925 carving of a "Sasabonsam", a supernatural creature said to act as an ally of witches

    The Ashanti view of witchcraft should not be mistaken for the Akom religion as a whole. Rather, witches were viewed as people who abused supernatural magics for evil purposes. This usually took for the form of poisoning pregnant women. As a result, witchcraft mythology in Asanteman largely functioned as an explanation for traumatic events like miscarriages or bearing children with severe defects. Witches in Akan folklore are also unusually monstrous, sometimes resembling the western myth of a "vampire" more than western conceptions of witches. 

    Kwaku preached that, if the Ashanti could destroy the conspiracy of witches, then they could reinvigorate Ashanti society as a whole. Mensa Bonsu initially supported this movement, viewing it as a potentially useful political ally. However, when the Domankama began to set up a rival court for trying accused witches, they became a threat not only to the king's authority as the primary lawgiver in the country, but also to one of his primary revenue sources. 

A site of judgment in Kranka, modern Brong-Ahafo, rumored to be a place where accused witches were punished.

The relationship could not last. In 1879, members of the Domankama marched on the Ashanti palace on the orders of Okomfo Kwaku. They planned to overthrow Mensa Bonsu, who was clearly a stooge for the cabal witches or, even worse, in league with them. The attempt failed, but not before one of the mob had the opportunity to fire one of their weapons at the asantehene's head. The assassination attempt, which narrowly failed, would leave a permanent mark on the psyche of Mensa Bonsu. The asantehene's worst traits would become more intense as his once moderate paranoia began to consume him.

S3E25: The Juaben War

Mensa Bonsu Posing with his Mother

The latest episode of the History of Africa podcast picks up where our last one left off. Kofi Kakari, after leading his nation to a defeat in a war that he was never especially enthusiastic about in the first place, was impeached after he was caught robbing graves in order to pay for a war indemnity to the British. He was exiled from Kumasi to begin what was, ostensibly, a quiet, apolitical life, and replaced by his brother.

Kakari's brother, a quiet, unassuming man named Mensa Bonsu, immediately faced a major challenge upon ascending to the Golden Stool. The king of Juaben, a man by the name of Asafo Agyei, had many reasons to be opposed to Mensa Bonsu's rule. Not only had the kings of Juaben faced mistreatment and persecution by the Asantehenes of the past, but the rise of Mensa Bonsu, in particular, was threatening. Agyei, due to disagreeing with the battle plans supported by Kakari, had refused to take part in the battle of Amofo. This move, which deprived the Ashanti army of many of its best equipped veteran soldiers, played a major role in turning the battle into a British victory. Asafo Agyei feared that Kakari's brother would attempt to prosecute him for this choice. When the Asantemanhyiamu voted to confirm Mensa Bonsu's enstoolment, Agyei and several allied towns chose to secede from the Ashanti Empire, forming a long federation that stretched from the outskirts of Mampong in the north to Bekwai in the south. 

Despite some early successes, Agyei and his armies were eventually defeated by a force led by the Gyaasehene Adu Bofour. This allowed Mensa Bonsu to maintain the existing integrity of the Ashanti Empire, as well as showcasing that membership in the Ashanti state was not voluntary. Despite this, the important gold mining region of Adansi managed to slip away from Ashanti influence for more than a decade, becoming a British protectorate.

Map of Ghana after the crushing of the Juaben Revolt

Despite this victory, Mensa Bonsu's rule would not be one of prosperity and peace. Internal unrest would continue to haunt the Ashanti for the remainder of their days. The latter half of his reign will potentially cement his position as the worst man to ever rule the Ashanti Empire and a terrible person more generally. 

With the end of the Ashanti Empire rapidly approaching, now seems like a good time to announce that we are commencing a poll about the topic of our next season. Next season will take place somewhere in South or Central Africa, and will be determined by a vote by the show's Patreon supporters. So, if you'd like to take part in the vote, join us and support the show at Patreon.com/historyofafrica.

S3E24: The Third Anglo-Ashanti War part 2: The Burning of Kumasi

 

The Ashanti Aban Kesie palace, just before its destruction

With the Ashanti retreating from their failed offensive, January of 1874 was when the British general Garnet Wolesly started planning his invasion into Asanteman. The British would take two paths. One, larger army, led by Wolesly himself, headed north through Adansi, straight toward the Ashanti capital of Kumasi. Another would trek northwest from Akyem Swedru, take Juaben, and then converge at the capital.

Map of showing British invasion columns and major battles

An Ashanti slip of paper featuring a Quranic verse, intended for insertion into a locket.

With the Ashanti general Amankwatia having thoroughly lost any support he once enjoyed in Kumasi, he was demoted to an officer rank. In his place, another aging general, a man named Nkwanta, was elevated to the commander of the Ashanti army. This decision was not unanimous though, as Amankwatia's ally, the king of Juaben, decided to withhold the well-armed 20,000 soldiers at his disposal in protest of Nkwanta's promotion. Nkwanta, in an effort to boost the shattered morale of his men, handed out lockets containing verses from the Quran, which he claimed would protect them at bullets. Nkwanta's plan was to lure the British deep into Asanteman, then ambush and encircle them when they overextended.

Ashanti soldiers fight the encircled British at Amofo

Nkwanta's plan went well at first. Wolesly's army attacked the Ashanti outside of Bekwai, where they drove the Ashanti back at the battle of Egginasi. Nkwanta's army dragged the pursuing British further inland, into the generals trap. At the town of Amofo, the Ashanti suddenly surrounded the isolated Black Guard, the regiment serving as the British forward guard. Using a unique technique of volley fire, the Ashanti out the Black Guard under immense pressure, and nearly destroyed them altogether. According to the later writings of Wolesly, more than a fourth of the men in the regiment were either killed or grievously injured. However, a severe ammunition shortage stopped the Ashanti from finishing off the reeling British. The British ordered a counterattack, which destroyed the overextended and low on ammunition Ashanti wings. Amankwatia, as well as the king of Mampong, were both killed in battle. The battle of Amofo was a devastating defeat for the Ashanti. Despite early promise, the army had been largely destroyed, and the path to Kumasi was now open. 

British soldiers sacked and burned much of Kumasi

With the city now undefended, the British completely trashed the Ashanti capital of Kumasi. The royal palace was looted and then destroyed, as were many of the city's most famous monuments and streets.

One of the crowns looted from the Kumasi palace

Some of the objects looted from the palace included multiple Ashanti crowns, golden jewelry, daggers, ceremonial swords, soul washing plates, and sculptures. Other objects, which the British did not have room to carry, were destroyed alongside the building, including paintings of various Ashanti royals, the royal library and its many books, and many other precious relics, furniture, and pieces of jewelry.

Chair looted from the palace 

Dagger and Sheathe (possibly) looted from the palace

Map of Ghana after the Treaty of Fomena (1874)

As the British returned to Cape Coast with a caravan of looted goods, they met with an Ashanti messenger that negotiated a peace treaty on behalf of Asantehene Kofi Kakari. The treaty signed away Ashanti claims of sovereignty over Elmina, Denkyira, Akyeman, and other southern Ashanti territories. It also mandated an enormous gold indemnity to the British, and prohibited the Ashanti from performing ritualized criminal executions.

S3E23: The Third Anglo-Ashanti War Part 1 - The Offensive of 1873

 

British soldiers landed on Cape Coast in 1873

In 1873, the Ashanti and British once again went to war. Under cheering crowds, Ashanti soldiers marched from Kumasi, down to the Pra River, and eventually marched south into the British Gold Coast. Their main objective was to capture the disputed territory of Elmina while capturing major British ports like Accra and Cape Coast to prevent the British from receiving supplies and reinforcements. The Ashanti force of 80,000 was divided into two columns, one which attacked the east to capture Accra, and a larger force in the west to capture Elmina.

The uniform of an Ashanti officer (1873)

Initially, the offensive went according to plan. The Ashanti routed the British in early battles in the East, while the western force gradually pushed the British further and further south. Eventually, the commander of the Ashanti army, general Amankwatia, reached the walls of Cape Coast while capturing much of the city of Elmina. At this point, the British were in desperate straits, with only a few hundred men available to defend the city. However, for reasons that aren't especially clear, Amankwatia chose not to launch an attack against the cities. The British would use this time effectively, importing thousands of Hausa mercenaries to help them defend the cities, followed by thousands of more British soldiers.

An Ashanti soldier poses for a photograph taken by a group of missionaries. Here, he is demonstrating how Ashanti soldiers removed their shirts before going into battle.

By the end of 1873, Ashanti arms supplies were in a desperate state. Gunpowder supplies were short, forcing Amankwatia to ration power among his men. As a result, Ashanti gunners often used only a fraction of the needed gunpowder for their weapons, meaning that the slugs they fired came out at a slow trajectory and left only welts. Guns were also in short supply, meaning that many Ashanti were forced to use obsolete smoothbore muskets rather than the standard-issue 1843 carbines. The worst problem, however, was food. Amankwatia had expected a quick victory and planned accordingly, meaning that he was incredibly short of food supplies after several months of fighting.

The maximum extent of the Ashanti offensive in 1873

With British reinforcements arriving in droves and the Ashanti becoming increasing short on food, ammunition, and weapons, the Ashanti were forced to withdraw back across the Pra, ending their offensive of 1873. However, this did not mark the end of the war, as the British would continue to press on and invade Asanteman the following year.

Garnet Wolesly, who would be christened "Sir Garnet Wolesly" for his success in the Ashanti War