From Face2Face Africa
BY ELIZABETH OFOSUAH JOHNSON, at 06:00 pm, October 23, 2018, HISTORY
Akua, the influential slave healer who became queen in Jamaica but was executed by the British.
The Queen of Kingston in Jamaica or Cubah Cornwallis, as she is popularly known, is lost in history due to the improper documentation that makes it hard to follow or believe in her existence. In trying to read about the adventurous life of this woman who took the unwilling journey into slavery from Africa and was later executed for resisting oppression, it is easy to think that one is reading about two different women while trying to make sense of her story. That withstanding, it is equally important to attempt to make sense of her story and tell it as it is – an important part of history.
Cubah Cornwallis’s real name was Akua from the Ashanti Empire in Ghana which was then the Gold Coast. Nothing much is said about her life before being captured and sold off as an enslaved girl to the Carribean, but through historical readings, it can be speculated that she was captured during the early years of the many Ashanti Empire wars in an attempt to expand their Empire and have more power than the British. It is very possible that Akua was captured during the same time King Takyi was captured, or perhaps a little earlier than he was.
After making it alive to the Carribean on a slave ship, Akua was purchased by Captain William Cornwallis who later had an affair with her and made her his house help. It was during her time serving the captain that she was given the name Cubah, an incorrect way of mentioning her name. Akua served Captain William Cornwallis until he left Jamaica. In order to escape slavery, she moved to Port Royal permanently and purchased a house.
MORE ABOUT THIS
The story of Takyi, the Ghanaian king who led a slave rebellion in Jamaica in 1760
The story of Breffu, a female slave from Ghana who led a massive slave revolt to take over the West Indies in 1733
The untold story of Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh, warrior princess of the Dahomey Amazons in the 1800s
Mami Wata, the most celebrated mermaid-like deity from Africa who crossed over to the West
Obeah practice in Jamaica
While in Africa, she had studied the use of herbs and spices in curing diseases and healing wounds and had added to her knowledge the Obeah practices started by the Africans in Jamaica that was regarded as witchcraft and black magic by the British and foreign traders. Akua converted her house into a hostel and hospital to treat and heal her fellow black people who were denied medical attention due to the colour of their skin.
Soon, her hospital and short stay hotel became the most visited in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean. Akua treated people from all walks of life and race. She is remembered for having hosted and treated King Henry IV when he was still a prince. She also treated sailors who went to sea and returned with strange sicknesses and was famous for her remedies for yellow fever, malaria and scurvy.
After a while, she became one of the few black women who commanded respect and high social ranking. Akua was strongly against slavery and racism and spoke about it regularly. It is believed that she is closely linked to slave rebellions, especially the Tacky Rebellion that lasted from May 1760 to July 1760.
By 1759, Akua was recognised and crowned the Queen of Kingston, as elected by slaves in Kingston. During meetings to discuss ways of ending slavery and ill-treatment of the black society, Akua’s royalty was recognised as she was given a high seat, sitting in state with a robe and a crown that distinguished her amongst the others.
Port Royal, Jamaica in the 17th century
During the Tacky Rebellion, she was given the role of the Queen of the Ashanti. The British were highly suspicious of Queen Akua’s involvement in the rebellion and were worried about the power she possessed because of her supposed Obeah black magic practises. She was accused of taking the role of resistance force and was almost killed by the British.
Rather than be killed, the British ordered that she be transported from the island in order to bring her power to an end. The plan was to sell her off to slavery again, but Queen Akua was successful in bribing the captain of the ship and was left on the western shores of Jamaica where another group of Fantis were.
While in the western shores, she joined the Fanti community and later joined the leeward rebels. Unfortunately for Queen Akua, she was recognised, recaptured and was executed by the British to serve as a warning to slaves who were given a second chance.
Even though it is hard to give exact dates and years for specific events that took place in Queen Akua’s life, it is safe to say that she found herself in Jamaica in the 1750s and was crowned Queen of Kingston at around 1760 just before the Tacky wars.
The interesting life of Queen Akua is one worth tracing for proper documentation and celebration.
Read More
Sign up to receive updates from Face2face Africa,
including news alerts, upcoming events and giveaways
Enter Email Address
SUBSCRIBE
ELIZABETH OFOSUAH JOHNSON , Staff Writer
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
FULL BIO CLOSE
FULL BIO
MOST POPULAR
RECENT ARTICLES
FULL BIO
Elizabeth Johnson is a Ghanaian –Nigerian avid reader and lover of the Creative Arts. She is also a writer and has worked with various online platforms as an editor and content creator. She also produces a literary radio show and has worked as a festival administrator. Her story was featured in the 2017 Independence anthology by Afridiaspora. Her play has been staged by African Theater Workshop and she is the 2018 winner of the Random Thoughts writing Prize.
MOST POPULAR
6 iconic African Americans who left the U.S. for Europe to escape racism and segregation
The story of Takyi, the Ghanaian king who led a slave rebellion in Jamaica in 1760
Meet the gallant all-black American female battalion that served in Europe during World War II
The inspirational journey of 21-year-old wrestler Zion Clark who was born without legs
RECENT ARTICLES
Akua, the influential slave healer who became queen in Jamaica but was executed by the British
6 iconic African Americans who left the U.S. for Europe to escape racism and segregation
This Nigerian visual artist gets her works auctioned for 3.4 million dollars in the UK
African princesses and queens exiled for fearlessly resisting colonial oppression
The almost extinct dark-skinned Andamanese people of India who are also called the ‘Negritos’
The history of one of Africa’s longest insurgencies which just ended after a peace deal in Eritrea
6 iconic African Americans who left the U.S. for Europe to escape racism and segregation
Now a fragile state, Somalia once saved Uganda and Tanzania from a deadly war in 1972
MOST VIEWED
These are Africa’s biggest borrowers from China in the last 10 years
Top 10 richest African musicians
Meet the South Sudanese billionaire who is causing so much controversy over his source of wealth
Top 10 richest African musicians
Meet the Nigerian engineer who makes drones for one of the world’s most powerful armies
12
HRM Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun Larooye II, Ataoja of Osogboland, 2012.
George Osodi
Up until the 1960s, kings and queens controlled hundreds of ethnic
groups in Nigeria. Today, the descendents of those rulers still play
important roles as intermediaries between politicians and the people in
their communities and as custodians of the cultural heritage.
An upcoming exhibit at the Newark Museum,
“Royals and Regalia: Inside the Palaces of Nigeria’s Monarchs,”
collects photos from George Osodi’s ongoing project, which has taken him
into the palaces of more than 20 kings and queens all over the country.
The project is intended to show off Nigeria’s history and cultural
complexity, and to promote harmony in a country often torn apart by
ethnic and religious conflict. Osodi is excited to show this work for
the first time in the United States because he thinks the project has
special relevance for Nigerians who’ve emigrated abroad and their
children, who have never been to their homeland.
“I feel that it’s high time we as a country see this diversity as a
point of unity in Nigeria rather than something that divides us,” he
said.
HRM Lucky Ochuko Ararile, The Ovie of Umiaghwa Abraka Kingdom, 2012.
George Osodi
HRH Emir of Zauzau (Zaria) Alhaji, Dr. Shehu Idris, 2006.
George Osodi
The Emir of Kano's Rolls Royce, 2012.
George Osodi
In his photos, Osodi places special attention to the fashions of the
rulers—the red garments popular in the south, and the robes popular in
the north—as well as the various architectural styles of their palaces,
which have been influenced by Christianity and Islam, the country’s two
dominant religions.
“We are living in a much more modern society today, and a lot of
people have misplaced their cultural identity, especially because of
technology and globalization,” he said. “I think it’s good to remind
Nigerians who left the country and had the next generation born in
foreign lands that you have a home, a place where you come from, and
this is what it looks like.”
HRH Queen Hajiya Hadizatu Ahmedu, Magajiya of Kubwada, 2012.
George Osodi
HRM Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, Ooni of Ife, 2012.
George Osodi
In order to photograph the rulers, Osodi wrote official letters to
introduce himself and his project, but he didn’t always have the best
results. For those he was finally able to photograph—including his
mother’s king, His Royal Majesty Agbogidi Obi James Ikechukwu Anyasi II,
Obi of Idumuje Unor—his aim was to portray them in a stately and
dignified manner, the same way in which they were likely to see
themselves.
“These kings, some of them have had ancestors who were kings in the
early days of slavery. Some were kings in the early days of the
Europeans capturing various kingdoms. Some were heavily humiliated, and
they were photographed in ways that were dehumanizing by some of these
captors in the early days of colonialism,” Osodi said. “I wanted to now
show them in the modern day as true kings of the 21st century.”
The exhibition, “Royals and Regalia,” is on display at the Newark Museum from Feb. 25 through Aug. 9.
HRM Agbogidi Obi James Ikechukwu Anyasi II, Obi of Idumuje Unor, 2012.
George Osodi
HRM The Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero Reception, 2012.
George Osodi
Jordan G. Teicher writes about photography for Slate’s Behold blog. Follow him on Twitter.
Why
would Emperor Menelik of Ethiopia ride into battle against the Italians
with his Queen? A soldier of the Ethiopian army asked "Emperor, Your
Majesty why do you ride into battle with
your Queen?" Emperor Menelik explained, "I would rather die in battle
with my Queen, then leave her home to be raped by a bunch of devils and
beasts."
I AM A BLACK AMERIKKKAN WHO 32 YEARS AGO WENT BACK TO AFRICA/YORUBALAND/NIGERIA TO RAISE 4 OF MY 5 CHILDREN AS CULTURALLY BASED YORUBA CHILDREN WITH THE LANGUAGE AS THEIR MOTHER TONGUE.
Posts
