Benin City was described as ‘wealthy and industrious, well-governed and richly decorated’. Illustration: Decompiling Dapper: A Preliminary Search for Evidence
To fully understand and appreciate the current context we must take ourselves back through Niger Delta history to the region’s first formation city states, the Oyo and Benin Kingdoms, circa 11th Century. These kingdoms grew quickly in terms of political and economic prowess, becoming an independent trading power and controlling the coastal ports along what is now known as the Niger Delta. Political and religious authority resided in the “Oba” (King). The kingdom of Benin grew to an approximate size of 100,000 inhabitants, this urbanization being accompanied by artistic, cultural and commercial development including terracotta, ivory sculpture and metal casting (please note that Benin City is now the capital of Edo State, a south western region of the Niger Delta, not to be confused with the country bordering the west coast of Nigeria). Outside of Benin, the Niger Delta was a collection of regions controlled by different tribes and Kings, for example, Urhobo, Delta Igbos, Isoko, Itsekiri, Oron and Ijaw (note that the Ijaw have always been the ethnic majority group in the Delta). These communities traded with each other before the arrival of the Europeans in the late 15th Century.
In 1471, the quest for glory and profit brought Portuguese navigators to the Niger Delta and established contact with the local people. However, it was 10 years later that the first royal emissary visited the court of the Oba of Benin. The relationship between both sides was cordial with early reports of the Portuguese being allowed to speak in the Oba’s court. The relationship was formed over mutually beneficial trade, exchanges which saw the Oba offer peppers, ivory and slaves in exchange for coral beads, textiles and other products from a more developed European markets. As the relationship was sustained, secondary economies grew that provided services to slave traders, creating self-sustaining economic conditions.
The growing slave trade into Europe saw the breakdown of the inter-community trade relationships, not due to conflict, but due to the more lucrative opportunity from the European demand for slaves to the Americas.
The economic and social inflows into the region saw an emergence of new cities and states, built as internal and external markets developed. Interestingly, even before the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, the region’s reliance on the Slave Trade dwindled due to an even more lucrative opportunity in the palm oil trade. Demand for the native palm oil ran in parallel to the Industrial Revolution in Europe as the demand for factory machine lubricant increased exponentially. In addition, as the European population and wealth grew, secondary demands for palm oil based products e.g. soaps and margarine grew increasing the demand for the natural oil.
Towards the end of the 19th Century the British began to explore and charter the regions territory and river systems in preparation for potential trade. One man in particular, George Goldie (1846 – 1925) formed the United African Company, modeled on the former East India Company, a typical international British trade (and unincorporated) organization of the time. The motive behind these companies was control, ownership and profit with little regard for the native communities in the region, such was the arrogance of the British and Europeans alike. Goldie partnered with other organizations trading in the same area and effectively took control of the Lower Niger River, an obviously key trade route in and out of the region. Within two years Goldie and his agents had signed treaties with tribal leaders along the major Benue and Niger Rivers whilst also penetrating into the mainland, against verbal agreements that had been made to restrict the organisation’s activities to coastal regions. The company name changed to “The National Africa Company” which in 1886 was granted a royal charter (equivalent of incorporation at the time) authorizing the company to administer the Niger Delta and the country on the banks of the Benue and Niger Rivers. The now chartered company was once again renamed “The Royal Niger Company”.
As the trading relationships developed, a certain degree of agitation grew amongst the Niger Delta middle men, who had forged a successful and prosperous association with the European traders. As these middle men were from different regions and tribes, the commercial competition between them grew as the European traders were able to choose the intermediate that offered the best opportunity and therefore the greater profit for the European traders. Tensions rose to a point where the first major conflict occurred, the rebellion of King William Koko of Nembe, who from 1894-1895 resisted the Royal Niger Company’s attempts to shut out the Nembe people from the lucrative trade in palm oil.
This was a major event and is particularly note worthy as it marks the feeling of imposition that the residents of the Niger Delta have felt since the 19th Century.
The self imposed British control over the region was insufficient to stop the growing role in the area of the state sponsored protectorates of France and Germany who also craved hegemony, as well as growing tensions from native tribes that required the use of Gun Boats from the Royal Navy to protect British interests. Consequently in 1899, the Royal Niger Company sold its interest to the British Government for £865,000, the equivalent today of approximately £87,000,000. The interests were merged with the Niger Coast Protectorate of Brass, Bonny, Oporobo, Aobh and Old Calabar excluding Lagos. This formed the Southern Nigerian Protectorate under the control of the British Colonial Office.
To be continue..
