Abena Bótwe Oyoko

Princess Julliètte-Marie
 Died

Her Royal Highness **Oheneba Abena Bótwe Oyoko** (January 5, 1808 - October 20, 1895) was the daughter of Asantehene Osei Bonsu, the 7th King of the Asante Empire. She was Duchess of Port-de-Paix during the reign of Emperor Faustin I of Haiti, and Queen Mother during the reign of Queen Olive of Gonâve.

Abena was the eight child of Osei Bonsu and grew up in Kumasi, the Asante capital, She was a skilled singer and would often perform at royal ceremonies held by her father.

In 1816, Abena was kidanapped from by men from the Fante region. She was then brought to Anomabu, a coastal trading post, and traded to British slavers. Once in America, Abena was purchased by William Vaden IV, a plantation owner from Smith County, Tennessee. She worked in the kitchen and was a nanny for Vaden's wife Hannah and her children. Abena lived in the big house but she was not far removed from cruelty, as Hannah frequently berated and physically abused her for the smallest of inconveniences. At the age of 14, Abena was raped by one of her owners sons, William V, which resulted in her pregnancy.

Abena gave birth to a son, Joseph, in June 1823. Once Hannah saw the babies complexion and learned of who the father was she convinced her husband to sell Abena for sleeping with her son, but she kept the baby for herself. When Abena heard that she was being sold she ran, unable to take her baby with her because Hannah kept him under watch in the main house. She made her way east settling in New York. She managed to find work as a cook and lived a relatively peaceful life masquerading as a free woman of color. When the American Colonization Society began seeking free people of color to emigrate to Haiti Abena signed up, still in fear that she may be found and returned to Tennessee is she stayed in the United States.

Once again Abena found herself in a new place with nothing, she found work as a traveling cook for influential families. She met Prince Jacques Aimé Dessalines, the son of the former Emperor in 1825, and the two were married on May 18, 1826. Their first child, Julliètte-Marie, was born on November 15, 1829, and their second child, Jean-César, was born on October 18, 1830. Prince Jacques died in 1832, and Abena never remarried.

When President Faustin Soulouqe declared himself Emperor, he saught to solidify his claims by uniting his family with those of Dessalines. Abena's children were the last living legitimate relates of former Emperor Jacques I, and so he souht her out. She agreed to marry her daughter to his son Prince Augustine in exchange for land and a title for both her and her son. This led to a raised status and more exuberant lifestyle for Abena and her family. After Prince Augustine's death a few months after the marriage, Abena and Emperor Faustin arranged for Jean-César to marry Princess Olive, who was 12 years younger then him, once she reached 19. Following Faustin's removal from power in 1859, Abena, her children, and their families followed him in exile to Jamaica. They all returned to Haiti on May 2, 1867 when Sylvain Salnave rose to power.

Abena and her family fled mainland Haiti a second time after Salnave's defeat in December 1869, rather than returning to Jamaica they settled on the island of La Gonâve. Princess Olive was declared Queen of the Island in 1870, with Jean-César as her king. Following Queen Olive's death Abena relocated to New Orleans, along with her children and grandchildren, seeking to leave behind the increasingly poor environment on La Gonâve. She was reunited with her son Joseph, through her grandson who attended Texas Heritage University.

Abena died peacefully in her sleep on October 20, 1895 in her home in New Orleans.