Ijebu

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Ijebu (also known as Jebu or Geebu ) was a Yoruba empire in what is now Nigeria . It was founded in the 15th century. According to legend, the founder of the ruling dynasty was Obanta from Ile-Ife . Modern research has demonstrated the influence of the Benin Empire on the court of Ijebu.

The empire was one of the most developed in the area with a complicated and highly organized form of government. The capital was Ijebu-Ode , seat of the Awujale . Its violence was limited by the Osugbo (called Ogboni in other parts of Nigeria), a council of all freeborn men that served as the royal court. The Osugbo was divided into six groups, which differed according to their rank. The highest rank was that of the Iwarefa , led by the Oliwa, the second most powerful man in the nation. The Olisa , a kind of mayor of Ijebu-Ode, was also powerful . Like many African societies, Ijebu was also divided into three age groups with their own leaders.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Ijebu was a power factor due to its location on the trade route between Lagos and Ibadan . Due to the extent and location of the national territory, the empire limited trade with foreigners there and thus gave its own traders a local trade monopoly, which brought prosperity to the empire, but also led to resentment among Europeans.

Internal conflicts broke out in the late 19th century. Without a strong military, it relied on mercenaries to further destabilize the empire.

In 1892 the British attacked Ijebu because of its trade restrictions and captured the capital, where they burned down the assembly hall of the Osugbo. According to Frederick Lugard , they used Maxim machine guns : "On the west coast, in the government's war against 'Jebu', I heard the Maxim mow down several thousand people."

The capital remained occupied by British troops for several years and the empire became part of the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria .

literature

  • Peter C. Lloyd: Ijebu. In: René Lemarchand (Ed.): African Kingships in Perspective. Political Change and Modernization in Monarchical Settings (= Cass Library of African Studies. General Studies. 155). Cass, London et al. 1977, ISBN 0-7146-3027-6 , pp. 260-283.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Robert Smith: Kingdoms of the Yoruba (= Studies in African History. 2, ISSN  0081-7481 ). Methuen, London 1969, p. 75.
  2. ^ Translated to Lugard, quoted in: Cedric Pulford: Eating Uganda. From Christianity to Conquest. Ituri, Banbury 1999, ISBN 0-9536430-0-X , p. 147.