The Old Woman Who Brought a British Advance to a Crawl
A British relief column of about 700 men finally reached Kumasi’s fort, only to end up besieged themselves. When supplies ran low, Governor Hodgson organized the healthiest men into a breakout, which spirited him and his wife to safety. They left the sick and wounded behind. Eventually, a second and more powerful British expedition was organized to suppress the Ashanti. It marched into Kumasi, lifted the siege, broke the Ashanti resistance, and ended the War of the Golden Stool. It had cost the British over a thousand lives, while the Ashanti lost an estimated two thousand.
The Ashanti were annexed, and incorporated into the Gold Coast as a protectorate. However, they were allowed to run their own internal affairs, with considerable autonomy that amounted to de facto independence. The Golden Stool was not surrendered to the British, but hidden deep in the forest. It was accidentally discovered decades later by some laborers, who desecrated it by removing some of its ornaments. As to Asantewaa, the Ashanti warrior queen was exiled to the Seychelles, where she died of old age in 1921. Her body was eventually returned to her homeland, where it was buried with honors. Today, she is viewed in Ghana as a great national heroine.
