Adoma Akosua
African queen mother
About Adoma Akosua
Lived 1773 – 1838 (aged 64–65). Adoma Akosua was an asantehemaa.
Adoma Akosua (born c. 1773) was the fifth Asantehemaa of the Ashanti kingdom in West Africa. Born in about 1773 into the Oyoko clan, where the kingdom's rulers are traditionally chosen, she came from a branch that had been banished and excluded from the succession. In 1807, due to a lack of male heirs in the other lineages, the clan ended its exile; Adoma and her relatives were once again allowed to reside in the capital. In 1809, she ascended to the throne of Asantehemaa, Queen Mother. From 1817, she conspired to overthrow the king (the Asantehene), who had departed on a military campaign against the Gyaman.
Her conspiracy failed, and she was deposed in favor first of her sister-in-law Amma Sewaa, then of her cousin Yaa Dufi.
Death Adoma Akosua formed a relationship with the Chief of Bron with the intention of overthrowing King Osei Bonsu and helping the chief of Bron to assume the position. King Osei Bonsu had left for a military expedition against the people of Gyaaman and entrusted the civil government of the kingdom of Ashanti in the hands of Adoma Akosua. In his absence, Adoma Akosua performed King Osei Bonsu's funeral rites with the belief that the performance will afflict him so that he will die as a result. Other sources suggest she wanted to overthrow the Osei Bonsu for one of her two sons to assume the kingship.
Her rebellion was quelled when by a loyalist of King Bonsu when he returned to the capital. Adoma Akosua was banished from the royal ward and she died in 1838 after serving as queen mother for 10 years between 1809 and 1819.
Although official literature has said that she was strangled to avoid spilling royal blood, according to Akyeampong, "asantehemaa, Adoma Akosua, was not ordered to be strangled. She was replaced in office by Yaa Dufi. The former queen mother was required to live in the Nkwantanan ward of Kumase, and her descendants were barred forever from the offices of Asantehene and Asantehem."
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Important facts
People in Adoma Akosua's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Adoma Akosua's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Adoma Akosua?
African queen mother
When was Adoma Akosua born?
Adoma Akosua was born in 1773 in Kumasi.
When did Adoma Akosua die?
Adoma Akosua died in 1838.
What was Adoma Akosua's occupation?
Adoma Akosua was an asantehemaa.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Adoma Akosua. https://biography.guide/adoma-akosua/
MLA: "Adoma Akosua." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/adoma-akosua/.
Chicago: "Adoma Akosua." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/adoma-akosua/.
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