HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ijebu (also known as Jebu, Geebu, or Xabu ) was a Yoruba kingdom in South West
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. It was formed around the fifteenth century. According to legend, its ruling dynasty was founded by Obanta whose personal name was Ogborogan of Ile-Ife. Its contemporary successor is one of the country's traditional states.


Early history

The Ijebu Kingdom is estimated to be one of the earliest kingdoms founded in
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
. Ijebu-Ode was originally a city founded by a leader from Ife, like most other early states in the Yoruba region. They began to build a series of walls and ditches around the city, construction of these walls began in 800–1000 AD. These walls would be known as Sungbo's Eredo. The walls extended to eventually cover the entirety of the Ijebu kingdom. The walls measured an estimated 3.5 million cubic meters of moved earth and sand and they are among the largest man-made earthen structures in Africa", for reference it used one million cubic metres more than the amount of rock and earth used in the Great Pyramid at Giza. The evidence found is not linked to an isolated town but to a kingdom's large dike, a kingdom which was once functional and had at its disposal a high level of agricultural practice, an established pottery-making tradition, and possibly an army that triggered the construction of the Eredo. Further archeological works show the advancement of the Ijebu kingdom. The palatial grounds of the capital, Ijebu-Ode were shown to have the floors paved with ceramic like material. People at the palace also seemed to practice astronomy, with triangular pavements facing a true eastern direction; the extreme alignments to the movement of the sun from one solar solstice to the other worked as a
sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...
. Europeans also had a first hand account of Ijebu and wrote about it. Portuguese sailors and traders on the West African coast encountered the Ijebu kingdom first in which they called Geebu in the 1508 writing: Ijebu was mentioned again, this time called Xabu by a Portuguese trader in 1620:


Later history

The kingdom was one of the most developed in the region with a complex and highly organized government. The capital is at
Ijebu Ode Ijebu-Ode is a town in Ogun State, South Western geopolitical zone in Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located 110 km by road Northeast of Lagos; it is within of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Ogun State and po ...
where the Awujale has his palace. Counterbalancing the Awujale is the Osugbo (known as the Ogboni in other parts of Nigeria), a council of all free born, titled men that acted as the kingdom's courts. The Osugbo is divided into six groups based on rank, the highest being the iwarefa, whose head the Oliwa was the second most powerful figure in the nation. Also powerful is the Olisa, who could be described as the mayor of
Ijebu Ode Ijebu-Ode is a town in Ogun State, South Western geopolitical zone in Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located 110 km by road Northeast of Lagos; it is within of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Ogun State and po ...
. The Kingdom was made up of several towns and stretches to parts of Lagos State and borders Ondo State. The state rose in power in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, mainly due to its important position on the trade routes between
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
and
Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...
. The kingdom imposed sharp limits on trade, insisting that all trade through the region be conducted by Ijebu merchants. The monopoly brought great wealth to the kingdom, but also annoyed the Europeans. In 1892, the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
declared war on the Ijebu kingdom in response to its barriers on trade. The British emerged victorious in the conflict and captured the Ijebu capital, burning the
meeting hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...
of the Osugbo. As noted by colonial governor
Frederick Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, Exploration, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hon ...
, the British made efficient use of the
Maxim gun The Maxim gun is a Recoil operation, recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Maxim, Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first automatic firearm, fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most ...
during the conflict; when Lugard defended himself in response to criticism of the high casualties rates caused by Maxim guns employed by troops under his command during military campaigns in the
Uganda Protectorate The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the Br ...
, he stated: "On the West Coast, in the 'Jebu' war, undertaken by Government, I have been told 'several thousands' were mowed down by the Maxim."Lugard, cited by Cedric Pulford: ''Eating Uganda: From Christianity to Conquest'', 1999, p. 147 After British colonization, the capital served as an administrative center for colonial officials as the kingdom was annexed to the colony of Southern Nigeria. Today, it constitutes one of the traditional states of Nigeria. The Ijebu kingdom is governed by a king and his group of titled elders, who usually are men of a higher status and of considerable influence. The council governed the region and had representatives of further devolved councils who no longer have any power. Since the invasion of
Lord Lugard Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong Kong (1907� ...
, these councils have continued to meet and advise the Obanta kings, their power, however, is largely ceremonial since the establishment of the colonial administration in their protectorate. The elders were known to represent their various villages and the will of the people, and are now not such a significant part in the ceremonial process. The elders were all given individual titles and the lead elder was given the title prince, although he was only ever to inherit the kingship in special circumstances. The traditional belief that governed the monarchy was similar to that of the Chinese
Mandate of Heaven The Mandate of Heaven ( zh, t=天命, p=Tiānmìng, w=, l=Heaven's command) is a Chinese ideology#Political ideologies, political ideology that was used in History of China#Ancient China, Ancient China and Chinese Empire, Imperial China to legit ...
.


References

* Peter C. Lloyd, "Ijebu" ''African Kingships in Perspective'' {{Authority control Nigerian traditional states History of the Yoruba people 15th-century establishments in Nigeria 16th century in Nigeria 17th century in Nigeria 18th century in Nigeria 19th century in Nigeria States and territories established in the 15th century