The Royal Family, based in the United Kingdom and Ghana, descends directly from Queen Yaa Ansaa—the Nubian Royal who founded the Akwamu Empire in 1480AD—and the late Queen Nana Akua Ansaa, who passed in 1964.
Their matrilineal lineage also traces back to Queen Amanirenas, the famed Nubian warrior queen who resisted and defeated Roman incursions into Egypt between 25 BC and 21 BC. This unbroken matrilineal line connects the family to the Kushite Pharaohs of Ancient Nubia and Egypt’s 25th Dynasty, affirming their royal legacy predates European intervention in Africa and establishing their ancestral custodianship of the Akwamu Empire.
During the Danish-Akwamu War of 1730, the Akwamu Empire suffered a major territorial loss when the Danes seized control of its western region, later incorporated into what became known as the Danish Gold Coast.
However, despite this defeat, the Akwamus successfully retained sovereignty over the eastern portion of their empire. This remaining territory, defended and governed by the descendants of Queen Yaa Ansaa, continued as an independent entity and became known as the Akwamu Kingdom. It is this eastern domain—distinct from the lands lost to European powers—that the Yaa Ansaa Royal Family continued to govern as custodians of Akwamu identity, sovereignty, and tradition, up until the contested British involvement formalised in the unratified 1886 Aquamoo Treaty.
According to recent academic research by Dr. Justin Pope of Missouri University of Science and Technology, millions of individuals across the Americas (Brazil, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, and the Virgin Islands) are direct descendants of the thousands of Akwamu royals and subjects who were taken as prisoner of war and sold into slavery following the fall of the Akwamu Empire in 1730 during the Danish-Akwamu war.
Among them are the 436 Akwamu Royals exiled during the war—many of whom were transported to St. John in the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) and other parts of the Americas. This diaspora has since grown to include over 440,000 African Americans, Brazilians, and Caribbeans with ancestral ties to the Akwamu Yaa Ansaa Royal Family—and millions more across the Western Hemisphere who are direct descendants of the Akwamu subjects.
Recent genealogical and oral history findings estimate that 10% of this group—approximately 44,000 individuals—can trace matrilineal ancestry to the Yaa Ansaa Royal Family and the Kushite Pharaohs.
“We are going to use our mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to identify lost Akwamu Royal descendants throughout the diaspora,” said HRH Princess of Akwamu (Barbara Vandross), a direct descendant and spokesperson of the Yaa Ansaa Royal Family. “This is not only about family reunion; it’s about restoration of dignity, truth, and justice for a stolen Kingdom and People.”
These descendants deserve recognition, justice, and rightful inheritance to their ancestral land, particularly in light of the unresolved legal status of the 1886 Aquamoo Treaty, signed between the Akwamu King and the British Governor of the Gold Coast. That treaty was never ratified, despite Article 3 implying that it required formal ratification within 12 months—a failure which, under customary international law, renders the treaty null and void. Recent correspondence and research with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office ( FCDO) confirm that no evidence has been found to prove that the 1886 Aquamoo Treaty was ever ratified, vetoed, or rejected by the British Government.
If the 1886 Aquamoo Treaty was never officially ratified, it means the Akwamu Kingdom was unlawfully incorporated into the Gold Coast Colony, and unlawfully ceded to the Germans and French in the 1890s. At that time, the British Crown held royal prerogative powers over treaty ratification—thus, any unratified agreement held no lawful authority.
As such, the Akwamu Kingdom must be considered an unincorporated entity within present-day Ghana, Togo, and Benin. In our role as hereditary custodians of the Kingdom, we, therefore, demand that the British Government either return the entirety of the Akwamu Kingdom to us in one piece or provide full compensation—based on the current market value—of the land and all natural resources, both onshore and offshore, which are estimated to be worth trillions in British Pounds.
In anticipation of this, we call upon all descendants of slavery to undergo ancestry DNA testing with 23andMe and AncestryDNA, along with tribe-specific testing through African Ancestry. These steps will help us identify the estimated 440,000 direct heirs to the Yaa Ansaa Bloodline, as well as the millions who descend from the Akan, Fante, Akyem, Akwapim, Ga, Ada, Krobo, and Ewe peoples—tribes that historically lived within Akwamu territory during the 1730s.
If the British Government confirms that the 1886 Aquamoo Treaty was never officially ratified within the timeframe implied in Article 3, we will move forward with tracing the wider Yaa Ansaa diaspora, including descendants of royals and subjects lost during the Danish–Akwamu War and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Once our own DNA results are finalised, we will work with our legal team to launch a coordinated class action on behalf of all verified descendants.
Monetary restitution will be determined based on the current market value of the Akwamu Kingdom’s land, the estimated value of its natural resources (both onshore and offshore), and confirmed genetic links to the Akwamu Kingdom. In addition, restitution will include compensation for the 138 years of unlawful displacement and political suppression caused by the British Crown’s failure to lawfully recognise the sovereignty of the Akwamu Kingdom after the stipulated 12-month timeframe for ratification of the 1886 Aquamoo Treaty expired.
This includes compensation for the illegal cession of Akwamu territories to Germany and France without sovereign authority and for the profound distress, dispossession, and historical erasure endured by the Yaa Ansaa Royal Family and its subjects over generations. These damages are compounded by the fact that the Akwamu Kingdom, once a sovereign empire, was never officially incorporated through legal process, and therefore remains unrecognised and unredeemed under international law.
“Among our descendants are members of the Winbush Generation—Royal Heirs and Subjects who now form a significant part of the Black British population, including Members of Parliament of Caribbean heritage. This campaign to find our family is about joining forces with them at this final stage to seek justice together—not just for our family, but for millions of descendants whose legacy lives on across the Atlantic. The Black Diaspora deserves to finally get a WIN,” added HRH Princess of Akwamu.
As the world approaches the 300th anniversary of the fall of the Akwamu Empire in 1730, the Yaa Ansaa Royal Family is determined to restore the truth of history, sovereignty, and dignity to a people unjustly scattered by slavery and colonialism—but never erased.
The Yaa Ansaa Royals are currently working with leading international law counsel on a legal case for sovereignty, restitution, and recognition.
This effort is also backed by:
- An affidavit from the Abusuapayin (Head of Family), son of Queen Nana Akua Ansaa, whose testimony was historically excluded from Ghanaian court proceedings.
- A legal review of the 1886 Treaty, 1887 Declaration of Fealty, and Ghanaian Supreme Court rulings—most recently, the May 2022 decision confirming that the 1940-imposed Regent (Kwafo Akoto II) was not of Yaa Ansaa Royal bloodline. That decision reaffirmed the Yaa Ansaa Royals as custodians of the Amanpon Gua, a Black Stool symbolizing sovereign authority.
- A forthcoming petition to reopen court proceedings in the UK and Ghana with the correct royal heads as plaintiffs.
Call to Action:
The Yaa Ansaa Royal Family is now seeking public support in signing our petition to the British Parliament at: https://chng.it/V4jhXkgMvs
Donations are also welcomed via GoFundMe to support legal and genealogical efforts. Grant support from organizations advocating for historical justice and decolonization is also encouraged.
🌐GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/Justice-For-Akwamus