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Difficulty: HardIndigenous Responses and Resistance

Source: Speech by Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of the Ejisu clan of the Asante Empire, addressing Asante chiefs, 1900.

"Now I see that some of you fear to go forward to fight for our king. If it were in the brave days of old, the days of Osei Tutu, chiefs would not sit down to see their king 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 until the last of us falls on the battlefield."

Which of the following developments in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries best explains the call to action described in the passage?

  1. The consolidation of direct imperial control over African states and the threat to symbols of indigenous political sovereignty.Answer
  2. B
    The emergence of global economic agreements that established spheres of influence rather than direct territorial administration.
  3. C
    The spread of Social Darwinist ideologies among African elites, leading them to adopt Western administrative structures.
  4. D
    The total cultural assimilation of indigenous societies, which eliminated traditional leadership roles.

Answer

The consolidation of direct imperial control over African states and the threat to symbols of indigenous political sovereignty.
The speech by Yaa Asantewaa was delivered in response to the British governor demanding the Golden Stool, the supreme symbol of Asante sovereignty, and the exile of the Asante king (Prempeh I). This reflected the broader trend of European empires shifting from economic relations to consolidating direct territorial and political control over African states, prompting armed resistance to protect traditional sovereignty.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source text to identify the author, context, and immediate motivation for the speech.
The source is a speech by Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of the Asante Empire, in 1900, expressing outrage at the chiefs' hesitation to fight after the British governor insulted them and exiled their king.
Understanding the specific historical event (the War of the Golden Stool) provides the baseline context for regional resistance.
2
Connect the local conflict to broader late-nineteenth-century global trends.
During the 'Scramble for Africa,' European powers transitioned from informal trade networks to direct military conquest and political annexation to secure colonies.
This contextualization links the Asante resistance to the broader Unit 6 concept of indigenous responses to state expansion.
3
Evaluate the choices to find which one accurately reflects both the specific context of the Asante war and the general historical trend.
The choice emphasizing direct imperial control and the threat to political sovereignty aligns with both the British annexation of Asante territory and the overall patterns of late-nineteenth-century imperialism.
This eliminates distractors that misrepresent the nature of imperialism or overstate Western cultural assimilation.

Key Concept

During the era of imperialism, indigenous peoples in Africa and Asia resisted European state expansion and consolidation through direct military challenges and anti-colonial movements.
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Topics

Indigenous Responses and Resistance

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