DEDICATED TO SISTER YAA ASANTEWA NZINGA--
EDUCATOR AND FREEDOM FIGHTER

 "In Africa the woman's `place' was not only with her family; she
 often ruled nations with unquestionable authority.  Many African women
 were great militarists and on occasion led their armies in battle.
 Long before they knew of the existence of Europe the Africans had
 produced a way of life where men were secure enough to let women advance as
far as their talent would take them."
 --John Henrik Clarke

 Near the end of the nineteenth century, the British exiled King
 Prempeh from the hinterlands of the Gold Coast (present day Ghana), in
an
 attempt to assume power.  By 1900, still not gaining dominance,
> the
British sent a governor to the city of Kumasi, the capital of
the
 Ashanti, to demand the Golden Stool, described as "the Ark of
the
 Covenant of the Ashanti people."  The Golden Stool was the
supreme
symbol of the sovereignty and independence of the Ashantis--an
aggressive and warlike people who inhabit the dense rain forests
of
 what
 is now the central portion of Ghana, West Africa.

Yaa Asantewa (1850-1921) was present at the meeting with the
 British
 governor, Lord Hodgson, and the Ashanti leaders.  When the
Ashanti
 kings
 made no reply to Hodgson's demands she chastised them and
vilified
 them
 for their cowardice.  Her speech found an African audience and
stirred
 up the men when she said, "If you men of Ashanti will not go
forward,
 then we will. We the women will.  I will call upon my fellow
women.
We
 will fight the white men until the last of us falls on the
 battlefields."

 The Ashantis, led by Yaa Asantewa, fought bravely and gallantly.
 The
 British sent 1400 soldiers with guns to Kumasi, eventually
capturing
 Yaa
 Asantewa and other leaders and sent them into exile.  The war
with
 the
 British started in 1805 and ended a century later.  Yaa
Asantewa's
War
 was the last major war led by an African woman.

Yaa Asantewa's name and bravery will always be remembered.
 According
to
 Dr. John Henrik Clarke, "Because her agitation for the return of
 Prempeh
 was converted into stirring demands for independence, it is safe
 to
 say
 that she helped to create part of the theoretical basis for the
 political emergence of modern Africa."

References:

 African Warrior Queens, by John Henrik Clarke
 Ghana: A History for Primary Schools, by E.A. Addy

 *Runoko Rashidi is an historian and research specialist
thoroughly
 in
 love with Africa.  Runoko is easily accessible via the Internet
at
 RRashidi@swbell.net.  You may call Runoko at (210) 648-5178.
His
 main
 web site is called the Global African Presence and may be found
at
 http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/runoko.html