Twon-Brass, previously known simply as Brass or Brasstown, is a community on

Brass Island Brass Island is an island in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. It is the site of Twon-Brass, the head of the Brass, Nigeria local government area in southern Bayelsa State. It is known for the traditional costume of its inhabitants, heavily influenced ...

in the

Nun River A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

estuary of Southern

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yenag ...

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 ...

, in the

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

Local Government Area. The royal Chief is

Alfred Diete-Spiff Alfred Papapreye Diete-Spiff (born 30 July 1942) was the first Military Governor of Rivers State, Nigeria after it was created from part of the old Eastern Region, Nigeria. He held office from May 1967 until July 1975 during the military administr ...

. The town is on the east shore of the

Brass River The Brass River is one of the branches of the Nun River, which in turn is a branch of the Niger River, in the Niger Delta in Nigeria. In the 19th century the river was an important trading route, first for slaves and later for palm oil. Brass River ...

, one of the branches of the Nun River, which in turn is a branch of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

. Brass began as a mining village of the Nembe people. In the early 19th-century it was an important location in the slave trade. At one time the town was the main port of the

Nembe Kingdom The Nembe Kingdom is a traditional state in Niger Delta. It includes the Nembe and Brass Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The traditional rulers take the title "Amanyanabo". Today, leadership is split between the Amanyanabos of O ...

, called by one historian "the Venice of the Niger Delta", and was dominant in 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 of the region. When the

Royal Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger Co ...

became an increasingly strong rival in the trade, the town's economy was severely damaged. In January 1895 the Nembe king William Koko led a dawn attack of more than a thousand warriors on the company's headquarters at

Akassa Akassa is a settlement at the southernmost tip of Nigeria in Bayelsa State where the Nun River estuary meets the Atlantic Ocean. It has a lighthouse that has stood since 1910. The Distance, proximity of Akassa to the Atlantic has made it a tr ...

, which triggered a retaliatory raid that destroyed the kingdom's inland capital of

Nembe Nembe is a Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Nembe in the east of the area at The people of Brass, Nembe and Southern Ijaw Councils of Bayelsa State have bemoaned their neglect by oil companies ...

. The British already had a consulate in Twon-Brass, from which after the fall of Koko they administered the area. In the mid-20th century it was the base of several

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

and a center for the shipping of

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

products. It was also a location for the shipment of rubber. There are plans for a multibillion-dollar gas facility on Brass Island. Agip Oil Company and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas operate terminals in the town. In February 2009 gunmen in two speedboats attacked troops guarding the

Agip Agip (''Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli'', en, General Italian Oil Company) is an Italian automotive gasoline, diesel, LPG, lubricants, fuel oil, and bitumen retailer established in 1926. It has been a subsidiary of the multinational petroleu ...

oil terminal, but were repelled. The

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a decentralised militant group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. MEND's actionsincluding sabotage, theft, property destruction, guerrilla warfare, and kidnappingare part of the bro ...

(MEND) had threatened to target Italian companies since Italy had apparently offered to supply two attack boats to the Nigerian military. Tourist attractions include beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches, the graves of British soldiers who died in the Nembe-British fighting of 1895 and the old consulate buildings, which were in use till the end of the colonial period in 1960.

References

Populated places in Bayelsa State {{Bayelsa-geo-stub