Secondly, the Oyo empire achieved a high standard of military efficiency. She owed her rise to a great empire, no doubt, to her well-organised army which was her effective instrument for expan- sion and suppression of internal revolts. Thirdly, the Oyo empire achieved a sound economy based on very productive agriculture, trade with the Sudan, lucrative industries and wealth from taxes and tribute. This sound economy enabled the Alafins to maintain the elaborate imperial administra- tion and also to maintain and equip its large army Fourthly, the Oyo empire achieved social and cultural unity for Yorubaland by promoting a feeling of kinship based on common language (Yoruba), common religion such as the worship of Sango, common culture and common ancestry. Thus, though the Oyo empire is no more, the idea of Yoruba unity which it engendered is as strong today as in the days of the empire. Fifthly, under the long period of peace imposed on Yorubaland by Oyo rule, the Y oruba people attained a high standard of artistic skill. This is evident in the famous Ife works of art that survived the collapse of the empire. Finally, it should not be forgotten that the Oyo empire achieved remarkable longevity, having lasted from the 15th century to the 19th century. It was, with the exception of the Bornu empire, the most long-lived of the kingdoms of West Africa 68 THE YORUBA CIVIL WARS As we noted above, the final break-down of the Oyo empire following the Fulani conquest of Ilorin in 1817 resulted in a long period of civil wars in Yorubaland. These wars which lasted from 1821 to about 1893 are too complex to be easily understood. We shall concern ourselves here with the general causes and results of the wars. Causes of the Wars One of the political causes of the wars was the collapse of the central authority and army of Oyo following the successful revolt of Afonja the Kakanfo in 1817. The consequent establishment of an independent state of Ilorin by him marke d the beginning of the civil wars in Yorubaland in the 19th century. As the strong controling i8and uniting hand of the central authority was no more, Yorubaland was thrown into confusion and strife as the Obas or provincial governors following the example of Afonja began to out kingdoms for themselves and the traditional hostilities between the various towns were let loose. 06 The Fulani menace on Yorubaland was another important cause of the civil wars. As we saw earlier in this Chapter, the Fulani pressure on the northern Yoruba states with the consequent con- quest of Old Oyo in 1837 generated a southward population movement which accentuated the civil wars as refugees fleeing South from the Fulani onslaught sought new settlements but were resisted by the resident inhabitants. The Fulani contributed to the civil wars not only by warring on the northern Yoruba states, but also by the skill with which they set one king against another in order to increase the area under their control. The state of civil strife in Yorubaland was aggrava ted by the struggle for supremacy among the provincial kings or Obas to the south. They seized the opportunity of the confused situation to expand their states at the expense of each other. The Owu war (1821-25) is a typical example. The Ijebu allied with Ife to destroy Owu town whose inhabitants fled into Egba territory. Then the Ijebu in alliance with Ife and Oyo destroyed several Egba towns. It was refugees from these wars that founded Ibadan in 1829 and Abeokuta in 1830. These two towns soon developed into powerful city-states and joined in the struggle for Some of the wars were caused by disputes over constitutional issues. The Ibadan-ljaye war (1860-1864) was a typical example. When the Alafin Atiba died in 1859, Adelu the Aremo or Crown Prince was elected to succeed him as Alafin. But according to Oyo custom, Adelu should have committed suicide on the death of his father. So Kurumi the Kakanfo of Ijaye refused to recognise Adelu as Alafin. This led to war between Ijaye and Ibada n which upremacy supported the new Alafin. The war spread as Ijebu Ode and the Egba which were Ijaye's allies attacked Ijebu Remo which was Ibadan's ally The Dahomey attacks on Yoruba towns in this century increased the tension and confusion in Yorubaland and so contributed to the ivil strife. Having achieved independence from Oyo domination n 1821, the Dahomeans began to expand their kingdom and to raid
Yoruba towns for slaves. In 1844, they captured Oke-Odan, an important Oyo commercial centre. In 1848, they took Otta and in 1851 and again in 1864, they marched through Egbado districts 16 and attacked Abeokuta. Unsuccessful increased the confused state in Yorubaland. Economic issues also were responsible for the civil wars One of these was the slave trade. The demand for slaves both for domestic use and for export was an important cause of the wars. Having been caught off by the Fulani from their northern markets from which they had hitherto obtained their supply of slaves, the Yoruba states began to raid one another for slaves. In fact, many of the wars of the century were fought mainly for the purpose of obtaining slaves. Ibadan which became the most powerful Yoruba state at this time raided and pillaged other Yoruba towns, for instance Ijesha and Ekiti in the 1840s. As a result of the slave-raiding wars, the ports of Lagos, Badagry and Porto Novo became the g reatest suppliers of slaves to European slave-dealers in this century. Another economic cause of the wars was interference with the trade routes to the coast by the coastal middlemen-mainly the Egba of Abeokuta and the Ijebu. Coastal trade at this time was very important for the export of slaves and for the import of firearms and salt. Inland states like Ibadan, Ogbomosho, New Oyo and Oshogbo wanted direct access to the coast. But the Egba and Ijebu insisted on controlling the trade routes and collecting tolls from inland traders and often closed the routes to effect payment of tolls. The result was the long struggle between Abeokuta and Ibadan for Abeokuta lay on Ibadan's trade route to Lagos. These attacks on Abeokuta me
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY FREEVIBES
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