30. Born and Raised Amidst Conflict
It was against that backdrop of conflict between the Ashanti and Britain that Yaa Asantewaa was born, raised, got married, and had a daughter. The elder of two children, Asantewaa became a major landowner and prosperous farmer in her region. Her younger brother eventually became chief of Edweso. When he died in 1894, his sister exhibited signs of the badass she would become, when she used her position as Queen Mother to nominate and secure the succession for her own grandson. The eruption of yet another conflict with the British disrupted her plans.
Britain demanded that the Ashanti sign a letter consenting to become a British protectorate. When the Ashanti refused, the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War broke out. It was a brief and lopsided conflict that lasted from December, 1895 to February, 1896. It was decided by overwhelming British firepower, in which Maxim machine guns and the latest in field artillery were pitted against Ashanti spears and obsolescent muzzle loading firearms.