Thus, until the collapse of the oyo empire in the early 19th century, its dominance. Afonja the rise oyo empire histories book 1 by tunde leye. Africa info on the oyo empire military, archaeology. Following an earlier article in this journal, by humphrey fisher, dealing with the role of the horse in the central sudan, this article considers the role of cavalry in the kingdom of oyo. Slaveraiding now became a trade to many who would get rich speedily. Oyo empire 16001836 was a yoruba empire, located in present day nigeria and benin. Oyo empire historical kingdom in western africa britannica. The oyo empire was a yoruba empire of what is today benin and western nigeria including southwest zone and the western half of northcentral zone. Oyo is an ancient city in oyo state, nigeria, founded as the capital of the oyo kingdom in the 1830s and known to its people as new oyo. In this case, oyo empire is normally being taken as case study. The nearby benin kingdom was also an important kingdom.
From about 1680 to 1830 the capital city of oyoile oldoyo, and its king the. The dahomey kingdom, which was then part of the oyo. By writing that piece chukwu eke, being an igbo man, did not achieve anything except to. Egba indigenes in the politics and political development of. The egbadahomey war was the third of the destructive wars that plagued the yoruba nation in the nineteenth century, proceeding the owuife war. However, its political administration consisted of a central level and subordinate units.
In the summer of 1964, the present writer collected a number of biographical recitations at oyo, okeiho, ileigbo and ibadan, on the great men of the past. The role and depth of oyos influence in nurturing a yoruba identity and consciousness. Despite its age, the oyo empire continues to be a keystone book for the study of oyo history. Iwereile became the headquarters of iwajowa lg in december 1996 upon the creation of the creation of the new local government under the gen sanni abachas regime. Oyo empire was established by yoruba people in the 15th century and was one of the largest empire in west african state. Precolonial political administration in yoruba land. A new beginning started just about a few day more than a couple of weeks a go where a true and lover of oyo empire son mr. From all these sources, scanty as they yet are, we can take a new look at the history of the oyo empire in the 18th century, and question the old view. Political institutions of yoruba kingdom oyo empire the oba is the highest authority in yoruba kingdom though not an absolute ruler. The oyo empire was a yoruba empire of what is today benin and western nigeria. The story of samuel ajayi crowther shows the picture of a slave boy who became the first african anglican bishop.
Sep 17, 2015 the writers room responsible for foxs hiphop soap opera empire is every bit as diverse as the juggernaut itself. The capital of the state was moved from old oyo katunga in 1930s and the alaafin lord of the palace of oyo kingdom still reside in the city. The oyo empire was established by the yoruba people in the 15th century and was one of the largest west african states. However, theprecolonial nigeria symbolises the methods or ways by which nigerians govern themselves before the advent of colonialism. Nov 20, 2017 the oyo empire was a yoruba empire of what is today western and north central nigeria. Ngamen kouassi department of sociologyanthropology igbinedion university, okada benincity. Suffice to state that oyo empire was founded by oranmiyan, the direct.
Less than a century later, in 1836, its capital, oyo ile, had been abandoned, and the new alafin literally owner of the palace, the king, or the emperor was struggling to get his empire back. Jan 08, 2015 the vibe in the writers room always reflects the dna of a given show, says wendy calhoun, coexecutive producer of empire, foxs new hiphop family drama. History of the rise and collapse of the ancient oyo empire in. The nearby kingdom of benin was also a powerful force between 0 and 1850 ce.
Course code gst 201 course title nigerian peoples and culture course developer writer dr. Enclosures of the old oyo empire, nigeria springerlink. It was founded as the capital of the remnant of the historic oyo empire in the 1830s, and is known to its people as new oyo. Pdf oyo empire was yoruba empire located in the western part of the present. The oyo empire of the yoruba historywiz africa civilization.
They introduced the acts of reading and writing to yorubas. Extending from the comoe river in the west to the togo mountains in the east, the asante empire was active in the slave trade in the 18th century and unsuccessfully resisted british. Its inhabitants are mostly of the yoruba people, and its. Situated in an ideal geographic location between the volta and niger river, the oyo empire became an important trade center. The numerous wars that plagued yorubaland for half a century following the fall of the oyo empire was largely driven by demand for slaves. He spends some time on the oyo dahomey conflict, examining the tactics of each side, as well as its implications for the atlantic slave trade. The city engaged extensively in trade and became wealthy. What can be inferred from this tradition is that there were invasions of the forest country from the north, one of these being associated with the name of oduduwa and occurring about l000 a. New world encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the wikipedia article in accordance with new world. Weve got african americans, latinos, white writers its this really cool.
Sodeke, a hunter and a leader of the egba refugees who fled from the disintegrated oyo empire founded abeokuta in about 1830. The structure of the oyo military prior to its imperial period was simple and closer aligned to the central government in metropolitan oyo. Abeokutas success as the capital of the egbas and as a link in the. Oyo never became selfsufficient in horses, but remained dependent for its horses upon importation from the.
Thus, until the collapse of the oyo empire in the early 19th century, its dominance and. Its foundation myth draws upon yoruba religious beliefs and holds sacred the original settlement of ileife, which continues to be upheld as the creation site for the yoruba. Asante empire historical empire, africa britannica. The handbook of yoruba religious concepts by baba ifa karade, olodumare. It means traditional systems preceded the era of colonialism. The empire succeeded llelfe as the dominant kingdom in the area after 1700. Other works that might also be helpful are warfare in atlantic africa. Early oyo history reconsidered history in africa cambridge core. The new oyo empire was located in southwestern nigeria about. As far as the forwarded article was concerned, here, in a nutshell are my views. Oyo empire, yoruba state north of lagos, in presentday southwestern nigeria, that dominated, during its apogee 16501750, most of the states between the volta river in the west and the niger river in the east. Samuel ajayi crowther the story in brief believers portal. Reverend samuel johnson wrote of the subjugation of neighbouring yoruba kingdoms by ibadan warchiefs in the 1850s. Much of the historiography assumes the coherence of lucumi culture was the result.
Asante empire, asante also spelled ashanti, west african state that occupied what is now southern ghana in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ile, which had been deserted as a result of rumors of war. The oyo empire grew to become the largest yoruba state. Financial support for this fieldwork was provided by the british academy, the sir ernest cassel educational trust, and the university of stirling. The town was also settled by missionaries in the 1840s by sierra leone creole who later became prominent as missionaries and as businessmen. Alafin were a powerful presence shaping the course of. The ancient oyo empire, established by the yoruba people, controlled a wide area between the volta and niger and rivers by the mid seventeen century. The people moved to koso for security reasons and settled on koso hill and below the bara mountain. Unlike other yoruba states, which were located in the forest area, oyo was situated in woodland savannah.
The old oyo empire was one of the strongest if not the strongest in the yoruba mythology. Mar 16, 2014 oyo kingdom, ijesha, ilesa, ijebu, abeokuta, etc. Mar 25, 2017 the nupe sacked the capital, destroying oyo as a regional power until the early 17th century. Oyo empire was one of the largest empire in west african state established by yoruba people in 16501750, most of the states between the volta river in the west and the niger river in the east. Established in the 15th century, the oyo empire grew to become one of the largest west african states. The oyo empire, like many empires before it, used both local and tributary forces to expand its domains. In fact, oyo yoruba were made up of all yoruba sub grouping in the ancient time because it was the seat of economic boom and military might, which fought against every foreigners that attempted to attack yoruba race from the northern part.
The oyo empire 14001830s was a powerful yoruba polity in what is today southwestern nigeria. The trade in humanity was so large that this part of africa became known simply as the slave coast. Akin alawode who hailed from akoda compound in oyo east local government of oyo launched a book first in the history of oyo kingdom the oranyan festival. Oyo rose to become the most important city state, surpassing ife during the 0s. Atiba to distinguish it from the former capital to the north, old oyo. Born 1809 in osogun in what is now iseyin local government, oyo state, nigeria, crowther was a yoruba who also identified with sierra leones ascendant creole ethnic group. Feb 19, 2012 oyo authority was expressed in a form of indirect rule by the stationing all over the empire of resident political representatives known as ajele asoju oba the eyes of the king who in turn were supervised by the ilari, the royal messengers from oyo smith, 1969. It succeeded ile ife as the dominant kingdom in the area after 1700. It expanded from the 16th to the 18th century to become the oyo empire, reaching its peak around 47570km2 in the middle of the 18th century.
The yoruba eventually established a federation of citystates under the political ascendancy of the city state of oyo, located on the northern fringes of yorubaland in the savanna plains between the forests of present southwest nigeria and the niger river. Iwereile was a former powerful war town in the old oyo empire, dreadful for many oyo indigenes, as well as the alaafin to attack. Modern history map of yoruba people, west africa nigeria, 1898. According to the oral tradition of oyo people, koso was a former capital city of the oyo empire. This article was most recently revised and updated by amy mckenna, senior editor. A kingdom or empire in precolonial yoruba land, for example the old oyo empire oyoile, was made up of a headquarter called oluilu and other local towns and villages. It was the most important and authoritative of all the early yoruba principalities. This study examines the correlation between the expansion and collapse of the oyo empire, the ethnolinguistic configuration of the migration from the bight of benin to cuba and transformations in the conceptual meaning of lucumi. There are three earlier capitals near the niger river. There is no where in yoruba land that will ignore the strength of oyo empire. Before the advent of the british in yoruba land, yoruba kingdoms maintained an orderly and unified political system which is still in effect till today.
The egba dahomey war 18511864 the egbadahomey war, as the name suggests, was a war fought between the two neighboring kingdoms of egba and dahomey now the republic of benin over territorial expansion caused by the quest of the latter to stabilize her economy. The oyo empire, with its capital at old oyo near the niger river, prospered on regional trade and became a central facilitator in moving slaves from africa s interior to the coast and waiting european sailing ships. Your network editor has reposted this from hannounce. The dahomey kingdom, which was then part of the oyo empire, seized the opportunity to declare herself independent from oyo in 1930 but soon discovered that the independence wasnt worth. Pdf oyo empire and its colony akin ogundiran academia. Asante empire, west african state that occupied what is now southern ghana in the 18th and 19th centuries. Old oyo influences on the transformation of lucumi identity. This paper is not concerned with the establishment of the empire, its growth, dwindling, and reconstruction. Information and translations of oyo empire in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Precolonial political administration in yoruba land oldnaija. The precolonial political administration in yoruba land is one of the most popular among the precolonial systems administrations in nigeria. Oyo empire was founded in the middle of the fifteen century. We are the sons and daughters of oduduwa and not yorubas there are two demeaning and insulting names that the fulani gave to southerners.
Ile, which had been deserted as a result of the yoruba revolutionary wars. They were also most politically important state in the region from the mid 17th to late 18th century, holding sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in yoruba land but also in some other. Samuel ajayi crowther is the first 1st black bishop in the entire anglican communion. It is suggested that the use of cavalry may have been adopted by oyo during the sixteenth century. Empire writers room boasts a diverse dynamic variety. Oyo empire, yoruba state north of lagos, in presentday southwestern. This state of affairs has led one writer to conclude that the history of this period. It came into prominence in the seventeenth century, but its imperial foundations were laid in the sixteenth century or. Oyo like all african states on the coast engage in the slave trade. Oyo empire was established by yoruba people in the 15 th century and was one of the largest empire in west african state.
The oyo empire was a yoruba empire of what is today benin and western nigeria the oyo. Archived pdf from the original on 20 february 2007. It rose through the outstanding organizational and administrative skills of the yoruba people, wealth gained from trade and its powerful cavalry. I essentially breezed through the book, the writing was easily on the mind and the story. Most of the city states were controlled by obas, elected priestly monarchs, and councils made up of. Ever before the commencement of colonialism, the people of what later became known as nigeria were living under different administration or political arrangements. Nigeria before colonialism precolonial administration in. The oyo empire by prof george ayittey a new nigeria. He is both political and spiritual head of the oyo kingdom popularly known as alaafin of oyo.
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