22. A National Heroine
In due course, a bigger British expedition was organized to suppress the Ashanti. It marched into Kumasi, lifted the siege, and broke the Ashanti resistance, thus ending 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 which 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, she was exiled to the Seychelles, where she died 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.
