00:11If you, the men of Asante, will not go, then we will.
00:17I shall call upon my fellow women, and we will fight the white men.
00:22We will fight until the last of us falls on the battlefield.
00:27How can a proud and brave people like the Asante sit back and look, while the white man takes away
00:34their king and chiefs, and humiliates them with a demand for the Golden Stool?
00:40The War of the Golden Stool, also called the Yaasantua War, the Third Ashanti Expedition, or the Ashanti Uprising, was
00:49the last, and seemingly major war, between the British, and the Asante, in the then Gold Coast,
00:55which is now, the modern day Ghana.
00:59The war, was triggered, on March 25th, 1900, by the colonial governor, Frederick Mitchell Hudson, when he demanded to sit,
01:09on the Golden Stool.
01:10A sacred symbol of the Asante strength, and independence, past, present, and future.
01:18The Golden Stool, had been the symbol of power, in Ashanti Kingdom, since the 17th century.
01:25According to traditional accounts, Ocomfo Anokie, the high priest, and one of the two founders, of the Ashanti Confederacy, conjured
01:34the magnificent stool, and invoked it, to descend from the sky, where it floated, onto the feet, of the first
01:42Ashanti king, Osei 2-1.
01:44The high priest then declared, that the soul of the nation, resided in the stool.
01:50The Ashanti's maintained the Golden Stool, as their most prized possession.
01:56Its entire surface, is made with gold, and hung with golden bones, to warn the king, of impending danger.
02:03Prior to war, their war chiefs consulted it.
02:07As time progressed, and as the Ashanti scored more victories, over their rivals, turning their kingdom into an empire, the
02:15Golden Stool, became even more revered.
02:19Then, came the British.
02:21The Queen of England, had sent Sir William Edward Maxwell, to the Ashanti Kingdom, to subdue them, and bring them
02:29under the British crown, as a colony.
02:32Sir Maxwell, started with diplomatic talks, and subtle threats, which later revolved to force and brute, on the Ashanti people.
02:41But the then king, Prem P1, and his people, strongly refused to accept the proposition, for their land and gold,
02:49to be annexed, and ruled by the British.
02:53The continuous resistance, of the Ashanti people, led to a brief battle, which lasted for about three months, from December
03:01of 1895, to February of 1896.
03:04The British, with their sophisticated weapons, had the upper hand, and thus, won the battle.
03:12And as punishment, for resisting and defying the authority of the British, King Prem P1 was exiled, to Seychelles, alongside
03:21other notable chiefs, of the Ashanti kingdom.
03:25Just before leaving, King Prem P1, advised his people, not to put up more resistance, after his exile.
03:35This was to try to negotiate with the British, and save the lives of his people.
03:41Little did he know, that an even bigger war, was brewing.
03:45The British government was bent, on totally subduing the Ashanti kingdom.
03:51By this time, the region had been signed over, to the British protectorate, and Sir Frederick Hudson, had taken over,
04:00as the governor of the region, and was intensifying the British rule, and suppression of the Ashanti people.
04:07When news of the Ashanti golden stool, reached Hudson, the news of how symbolic it was, for the ruler of
04:15the Ashanti people and tradition, Hudson turned his attention to the chair.
04:20He believed, as the new ruler of the Ashanti region, he should sit on the golden stool, instead of the
04:27ordinary chair he was offered.
04:30Arriving on March 25, 1900, Hudson called a meeting of Ashanti chiefs, at which he said as thus.
04:39Your King Prem P1, is in exile, and will not return to Ashanti.
04:45His power and authority, will be taken over, by the representative of the Queen of Britain.
04:50The terms of the 1874 peace treaty of Formina, requires you to pay with interest, the sum of 160,000
04:59pounds a year.
05:01Then, there is the matter of the golden stool of Ashanti.
05:05The Queen is entitled to the stool, she must receive it.
05:10Where is the golden stool?
05:13I am the representative of the paramount power.
05:16Why have you relegated me to this ordinary chair?
05:20Why did you not take the opportunity of my coming to Kumasi, to bring the golden stool, for me to
05:26sit upon?
05:28Hudson clearly had not the slightest idea, the uproar, his words would bring.
05:34I demand to sit on this stool, so that I, will be the supreme leader of the Ashanti man.
05:41No!
05:42Perhaps, he did not understand the significance of the stool, to the Ashanti empire.
05:48But the mere suggestion, that he, a foreigner, should sit on the golden stool, the very soul of the Ashanti
05:56empire, and the very symbol and identity of the Ashanti people, living, dead, and yet to be born, was far
06:03too disrespectful for the people.
06:06Thus, the brave queen mother, Yersantawa, arose, and with the help of the remaining chiefs, hid the golden stool away.
06:16Hudson then deployed his soldiers, to search for the stool around the kingdom.
06:21While the search was ongoing, the queen mother, Yersantawa, gathered the remaining Ashanti leaders, in a secret meeting.
06:30She brought them together, so they could find a way, to protect their sacred golden stool, and ensure the return
06:38of their exiled king.
06:40She wanted to spark a revolt, against the British, but it seemed the spirits of the Ashantis, had been broken.
06:48Many of the leaders whom she had summoned, were fearful of the consequences, of revolting against the British.
06:56But Yersantawa, was a fearless woman.
06:59She was bold and brave.
07:02Observing the weakness in the men, Yersantawa said in anger.
07:07Is it true, that the bravery of Ashanti is no more?
07:13I cannot believe it.
07:15It cannot be.
07:18I must say this.
07:20If you, the men of Ashanti, will not go, then we will.
07:27I shall call upon my fellow women, and we will fight the white men.
07:31We will fight until the last of us falls on the battlefield.
07:36How can a proud and brave people like the Ashanti sit back, and look, while the white man takes away
07:43their kingdom chiefs, and humiliates them with a demand for the golden stool?
07:47The golden stool only means money for the white man.
07:50They have searched and dug everywhere for you.
07:53I shall not pay one free glance to the governor.
07:56If you, the chief of Ashanti, are going to behave like cowards and not fight, you should exchange your loincloth
08:02for my undergarments.
08:03With this, Yersantawa, assumed leadership, and by her fearlessness and words, she was able to motivate and assemble, an army
08:13of 5,000.
08:15She commanded the army, to engage the British in a battle, which is known till date, as the War of
08:21the Golden Stool.
08:23The Ashanti warriors, ambushed Hudson's deputy and his forces, and killed a lot of them.
08:30Those who survived, escaped, because of a rainstorm that had started.
08:36When the British survivors reached the other soldiers, and told them of the uprising,
08:42the British soldiers stationed in the Ashanti kingdom, retreated to Kumasi, which was the major base, for the British colonial
08:50offices.
08:51In response to the attack, the British officers immediately fortified their base, with high walls, firing turrets, and over 500
09:01armed men.
09:02However, the Ashanti warriors were not dumb.
09:05They knew storming the fort, would mean their deaths.
09:09So, they laid a long siege, and eventually launched an assault on the base, on the 29th of April, which
09:17was unsuccessful.
09:19Relentless, the Ashanti warriors, stealthily surrounded the British.
09:24They blocked all the roads leading to the town, intercepted the British food supply, and destroyed their telegraph wires.
09:32This was a very frustrating moment, for the British officers.
09:36They could not communicate with other regions, and they had no food.
09:41Worst of it all, a disease broke out in their base.
09:46Eventually, a British rescue party arrived, on the 23rd of June, and helped Hudson, his wife, and a few others,
09:54who were not affected by the disease, to escape.
09:58During their escape, the Ashanti warriors chased after them, and killed quite a number of them.
10:04It looked like the war, had been won, and the Ashantis, celebrated their successful revolt.
10:11However, their victory and freedom, were short lived.
10:15Taking time, to recover from the huge blow, the British waited one whole year, all the while gathering forces, and
10:23ammunition.
10:24Finally, they launched a heavy attack, on the Ashanti kingdom.
10:28After a fierce battle, they defeated the Ashanti people, and arrested their leaders, including Yahasantua.
10:37The arrested leaders, were exiled to Seychelles, for 25 years.
10:43Many of them, lived and died in Seychelles, without setting eyes and foot, on their motherland again.
10:50The great queen mother, Yahasantua, died in exile, in 1921.
10:56Three years later, King Prempe, was released from exile, in 1924, and free to return to his people.
11:05By then, the British had formed strong bases, in Ghana.
11:10It is not known, how many of the Ashanti warriors, died in the war of the golden stool.
11:16But the British, lost over 1000 men.
11:19For the Ashanti people, the purpose of the fight, was still achieved.
11:23They had secured the golden stool, from the foreigners.
11:28And the name of Yahasantua, was forever written, in the history of the Ashanti people.
11:34As one of the greatest, and fearless warrior queens, in Africa.
11:38She was the gatekeeper, of the golden stool, and she fulfilled her duty diligently.
11:44She protected, the golden stool.
11:47The stool, was their ancestral divine heritage.
11:51And she, and her people, defended it, with their lives, and blood.
11:57Till today, the golden stool, remains, in its royal home, in Kumasi, Ghana.
12:07The fifth one, the last one, was a
Comments