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30min new documentary for sale http://www.aserendipitousproduction.com/apps/webstore/ The first section of the story of Yaa Asantewaa and the golden stool of Ashanti, as Ghana celebrates 50 years of independance, i wounder who we were before we lost our freedom in the first place
It cannot be! I must say this: if you, the men of Asante, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.[1] ”With this, she took on leadership of the Ashanti Uprising of 1900, gaining the support of some of the other Asante nobility. Yaa Asantewaa is still a very much-loved person in Ghana.
Prelude to rebellion
During her brother's reign, Yaa Asantewa saw the Asante Confederacy go through a series of events that threatened its future, including civil war from 1883 to 1888. When her brother died in 1894, Yaa Asantewa used her right as Queen Mother to nominate her own grandson as Ejisuhene.
When the British exiled him in the Seychelles in 1896, along with the King of Asante Prempeh I and other members of the Asante government, Yaa Asantewa became regent of the Ejisu-Juaben District. After the deportation of Prempeh I, the British governor-general of the Gold Coast, Frederick Hodgson, demanded the Golden Stool, the symbol of the Asante nation. This disrespectful request led to a secret meeting of the remaining members of the Asante government at Kumasi, to discuss how to secure the return of their king. There was a disagreement among those present on how to go about this. Yaa Asantewa, who was present at this meeting, stood and addressed the members of the council with these famous words:“ Now I see that some of you fear to go forward to fight for our king. If it [was] in the brave days of Osei Tutu, Okomfo Anokye, and Opoku Ware, chiefs would not sit down to see their king to be taken away without firing a shot. No European could have dared speak to chiefs of Asante in the way the governor spoke to you this morning. Is it true that the bravery of Asante is no more? I cannot believe it.
It cannot be! I must say this: if you, the men of Asante, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.[1] ”With this, she took on leadership of the Ashanti Uprising of 1900, gaining the support of some of the other Asante nobility. Yaa Asantewaa is still a very much-loved person in Ghana.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaa_Asantewaa
British ask for Ashanti Golden StoolMarch 28, 1900One inspiration of liberation can be seen in Queen Yaa Asantewa of the Ashanti. Ironically enough the Ashanti are included among those African societies who participated in the slave trade. Though they did not prosper as greatly as groups like the Dahomey, they did manage to keep their power due to the traffic in human bodies. With the close of the slave trade the Ashanti, like so many other African societies who had participated in the trade,found themselves at a disadvantage. Many had invested themselves so fully in the business of slaving that with its end they were left with no other form of export. What was worse, slave trading had caused such a drain on resources, basic demands such as agriculture and cloth manufacturing had been neglected or completely forgotten altogether. Severely weakened, one by one they found themselves the new targets of their old European allies. Close to the end of the 19th century, the British attempted to colonize the Gold Coast, now known as Ghana. This region was inhabited by the pround warrior people known as the Ashanti. The British began by exiling the Ashanti's King Premph in 1896. When this did not succeed in breaking the peoples' spirit they demanded the supreme symbol of the Ashanti people: the Golden Stool. On March 28, 1900, the British Governor called a meeting of all the kings in and around the Ashanti city of Kumasi and ordered them to surrender the Golden Stool. Deeply insulted the Ashanit showed no outward reaction. Silently, they left the meeting and went home to prepare for war. Nana (Queen-Mother) Yaa Asantewa became the motivating force behind the Ashanti. When she saw that some of the chiefs were afraid to make war against the British she stood and made a stirring and stinging speech. She is quoted as stating, 'Is it true that the bravery of the Ashanti is no more?...if you men of Ashanti will not go forward, then we will. We the women will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.' The speech so moved the chiefs that at once they swore the Great Oath of Ashanti to fight the British until the Asantehene King Premph was set free from his exile. Yaa Asantewa moved quickly, cutting telegraph wires and blocking routes to and from Kumasi where the British had a fort. For several months the Queen Mother led the Ashanti in battle, keeping the British pinned down. After sending 1400 soldiers to put down the rebellion, the British captured Yaa Asantew and other Ashanti leaders; all were exiled. Pictured is an artist's recreation of Yaa Asantewa, who died in 1923 far from her homeland, and an actual photograph of the legendary Golden Stool. Her bravery and name is still remembered by those who refer to one of the last great battles for Ashanti independence as, Nana Yaa Asantewa's War.
Yaa Asantewa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vxVR5wplBA&feature=related
pt.2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20VCD406XZc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzRooY04SHM&feature=related
Prelude to rebellion
During her brother's reign, Yaa Asantewa saw the Asante Confederacy go through a series of events that threatened its future, including civil war from 1883 to 1888. When her brother died in 1894, Yaa Asantewa used her right as Queen Mother to nominate her own grandson as Ejisuhene.
When the British exiled him in the Seychelles in 1896, along with the King of Asante Prempeh I and other members of the Asante government, Yaa Asantewa became regent of the Ejisu-Juaben District. After the deportation of Prempeh I, the British governor-general of the Gold Coast, Frederick Hodgson, demanded the Golden Stool, the symbol of the Asante nation. This disrespectful request led to a secret meeting of the remaining members of the Asante government at Kumasi, to discuss how to secure the return of their king. There was a disagreement among those present on how to go about this. Yaa Asantewa, who was present at this meeting, stood and addressed the members of the council with these famous words:“ Now I see that some of you fear to go forward to fight for our king. If it [was] in the brave days of Osei Tutu, Okomfo Anokye, and Opoku Ware, chiefs would not sit down to see their king to be taken away without firing a shot. No European could have dared speak to chiefs of Asante in the way the governor spoke to you this morning. Is it true that the bravery of Asante is no more? I cannot believe it.
It cannot be! I must say this: if you, the men of Asante, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.[1] ”With this, she took on leadership of the Ashanti Uprising of 1900, gaining the support of some of the other Asante nobility. Yaa Asantewaa is still a very much-loved person in Ghana.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
British ask for Ashanti Golden StoolMarch 28, 1900One inspiration of liberation can be seen in Queen Yaa Asantewa of the Ashanti. Ironically enough the Ashanti are included among those African societies who participated in the slave trade. Though they did not prosper as greatly as groups like the Dahomey, they did manage to keep their power due to the traffic in human bodies. With the close of the slave trade the Ashanti, like so many other African societies who had participated in the trade,found themselves at a disadvantage. Many had invested themselves so fully in the business of slaving that with its end they were left with no other form of export. What was worse, slave trading had caused such a drain on resources, basic demands such as agriculture and cloth manufacturing had been neglected or completely forgotten altogether. Severely weakened, one by one they found themselves the new targets of their old European allies. Close to the end of the 19th century, the British attempted to colonize the Gold Coast, now known as Ghana. This region was inhabited by the pround warrior people known as the Ashanti. The British began by exiling the Ashanti's King Premph in 1896. When this did not succeed in breaking the peoples' spirit they demanded the supreme symbol of the Ashanti people: the Golden Stool. On March 28, 1900, the British Governor called a meeting of all the kings in and around the Ashanti city of Kumasi and ordered them to surrender the Golden Stool. Deeply insulted the Ashanit showed no outward reaction. Silently, they left the meeting and went home to prepare for war. Nana (Queen-Mother) Yaa Asantewa became the motivating force behind the Ashanti. When she saw that some of the chiefs were afraid to make war against the British she stood and made a stirring and stinging speech. She is quoted as stating, 'Is it true that the bravery of the Ashanti is no more?...if you men of Ashanti will not go forward, then we will. We the women will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.' The speech so moved the chiefs that at once they swore the Great Oath of Ashanti to fight the British until the Asantehene King Premph was set free from his exile. Yaa Asantewa moved quickly, cutting telegraph wires and blocking routes to and from Kumasi where the British had a fort. For several months the Queen Mother led the Ashanti in battle, keeping the British pinned down. After sending 1400 soldiers to put down the rebellion, the British captured Yaa Asantew and other Ashanti leaders; all were exiled. Pictured is an artist's recreation of Yaa Asantewa, who died in 1923 far from her homeland, and an actual photograph of the legendary Golden Stool. Her bravery and name is still remembered by those who refer to one of the last great battles for Ashanti independence as, Nana Yaa Asantewa's War.
Yaa Asantewa
http://www.youtube.com/wat
pt.2
http://www.youtube.com/wat
http://www.youtube.com/wat
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