Anglo-Aro War

Anglo-Aro war
Date 1901-1902 Location Southeastern Nigeria Result Aro Confederacy destroyed
Belligerents
British Empire and allies	Aro confederacy
Commanders and leaders
L.T. Col. H.F. Montanaro	Aro rulers
Strength
87 officers, 1,550 soldiers and 2100 carriers	Thousands of Aro warriors and Allies
Casualties and losses
400 Obegu people, few soldier deaths, and injuries

Cause of the war

The Aro Confederacy, whose powers extended across Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon, was crumbling in the late 19th century due to the European colonists. The Aro people felt a need to take action against the colonists who threatened their culture and sovereignty.

For the United Kingdom, it was

"To abolish slave trade which is secretly carried on throughout the entire territories belonging to, and dominated by the Aros. To abolish the fetish of the Aros known as Longjuju, which they by superstition and fraud causes many evils among the tribes generally, and to all the outlying tribes of the entire protectorate, who continually appeal to it. Finally, to establish throughout the territories a labour market to take the place of slavery." (quote by Sir Ralph Moore, the high Commissioner of Nigerian Coast Protectorate.

Aro Invasions

The Aros knew that British penetration would destroy their dominance. They also opposed their religion, Christianity, which some of the Aros were converting to. Aro rulers saw the new religion as a British method of peacefully capturing Aro territories. Aro raids and invasions on many communities were conducted in order to bully those who favored the British. But the Aro invasion of Obegu around November 1901 signalled for the direct invasion of Arochukwu. 400 people died and the government of Obegu was destroyed. Obegu was a town belonging to the rival Ngwa clan which had been at war with the Aros for many years and was siding with the British. After this attack, the British would retaliate.

The Aro Expedition

Sir Ralph Moore and the Royal Niger Company, had planned the attack on the Aros and Ibini-Ukpabi since September 1899. The Aro invasion of Obegu marked their signal for the Expedition which began in 1901. The British had several allies during the war: the Aro Christians, the Ibibio and Igbo clans, and slaves who wanted their freedom. Two months of battles in Arochukwu would occur.

A formal military operation was launched against Aro and the shrine of the Long Juju in November 1901. On November 28, Lt. Col. H. F. Montanaro led 87 officers, 1,550 soldiers and 2100 carriers in four axes of advance from Oguta, Akwete, Unwuna and Itu on a counter-insurgency campaign. The Long Juju shrine was blown up. The Aro expedition was carried out by the British to stop or subdue the Aro slave trading oligarchy and its cult of human sacrifice ending months later in January 1902.

The result of the war

Some of the Aro leaders were arrested, tried by tribunals and hanged. The fame and importance of the Aros faded. Serious opposition to British rule in Nigeria, however, did not end with the Aro expedition, though there were still pockets of resistance in different parts of the country which called for a number of patrols. It did not succeed in securing control of Igbo territory entirely. In the years that followed, repeated wars had to be fought in various parts of Igboland.

Major Battles

• Aro raids on Anglo allies (1890s-1901)
• Aro invasion on Obegu (1901)
• Aro expedition (1901-1902)

External links

• http://www.aronetwork.org/
• http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/alpha/aro1901.htm
• http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/karticles/longjuju.htm