The Kingdom of Warri, Warri Kingdom or Iwere Kingdom, (

Itsekiri The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, ''iJekri'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) are one of the Yoruboid subgroup of Nigeria's Niger Delta area, Delta State. The Itsekiris presently number 2.7 million people and live mainly in the Wa ...

: ''Oye Iwere'') was established in 1480, was part of the

Nigerian traditional states There are many traditional states in Nigeria. A partial list follows. Although the traditional rulers no longer officially have political power, they still have considerable status in Nigeria and the power of patronage. Except where otherwise no ...

ancestrally based in Ode-Itsekiri, Warri South LGA, Delta State,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

with a palace erected in 1950s in the multi-ethnic city of

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri and her twin city, Uvwie are the commercial c ...

, Warri South LGA, Delta State,

The current Olu of Warri is

Ogiame Atuwatse III Ogiame Atuwatse III (born 2 April 1984) is a Nigerian traditional king, paramount ruler of the Kingdom of Warri, and the 21st Olu of Warri. He was born Utieyinoritsetsola Emiko, also known as Tsola Emiko on 2 April 1984 to Olu Atuwatse II, the 19 ...

, who was crowned on 21 August 2021.

History

According to Bini and

histories, Olu Ginuwa, a prince of

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

Kingdom founded the Warri kingdom about 1480. In the 15th century it was visited by

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

missionaries. At the beginning of the 17th century, a son of the reigning

Olu Olu is a popular name amongst people of the Yoruba ethnic group. It is usually the first three letters of the full name. "Olu" is a diminutive of " Oluwa" in the Yoruba language and it can mean God, deity or lord, so the name 'Oluwale' could mean "M ...

was sent to Portugal and returned with a Portuguese wife. Their son Antonio Domingo was Olu of Warri in the 1640s. Olu Erejuwa, who reigned from about 1720 to 1800, expanded the kingdom politically and commercially, using the Portuguese to further its independence of Bini and to establish control over a wider area. Later

served as the base for Portuguese and Dutch

slave traders The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions of en ...

. Warri became a more important port city during the late

19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

, when it became a centre for the

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

trade and other major items such as

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

, palm products,

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes: ** '' Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni ** '' Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species ** ''Vigna sub ...

s, hides, and skins.''http://www.greatestcities.com/Africa/Nigeria/Warri_city.html''Retrieved 13 January 2008 Warri was established as a

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

headquarters by the British in the early 20th century.

Military

In 1656, the equipment of the Warri military was dominated by arrows and

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

s with the use of few

muskets A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

. By the following century, Warri forces became accustomed to firearms. In the late 18th century, the naval vessels of Warri were equipped with simple

sails A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

and primary sources documented that such vessels could carry some personnel of about 100. According to historian Thornton, the Warri navy was unfamiliar with tacking. Shields were built onto the vessels to provide protection for the personnel.

Warri Crisis

Kings of Warri Kingdom, 1480 to present

The Kingdom of Warri has remained predominantly Christian since the coronation of its first Christian King/

Olu Atorongboye Olu Atorongboye (Olu Sebastian) was the sixth Olu of Warri who ruled over the Itsekiri and non Itsekiri people in the kingdom. He was the son to Olu Esigie and succeeded his father Olu Esigie as the 6th Olu of Warri. He was born Prince Eyomasan ...

also known as King Sebastian I in 1570, within a century of the foundation of the Iwere Kingdom. Below is a list of the rulers of the Warri Kingdom from inception. Note that written records began with the coronation of Olu Atorongboye Sebastian I in 1570.

References

* http://itsekiricanada.com/olu.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdom Of Warri History of Nigeria Nigerian traditional states