So I have been on the internet watching various "Historians" on the Benin Kingdom. Unfortunately, there is something I felt has been quite dishonest about it's role in the trans Atlantic slave trade.
So I decided to ask an AI chatbot for honest answers. ChatGPT


What was benins role in the trans atlantic slave trade

Benin, a kingdom located in West Africa, was involved in the transatlantic slave trade primarily as a source of enslaved Africans. Beginning in the late 15th century, European traders established contacts with the coastal kingdoms of West Africa, including Benin, to exchange goods such as textiles, guns, and alcohol for enslaved people.

Benin's rulers and merchants played a significant role in this trade by capturing and selling people from neighboring regions and trading them to European slave traders. The slave trade had a devastating impact on the people of Benin, leading to widespread violence, displacement, and social disruption.

In addition to being a source of enslaved Africans, Benin was also a center for the production and trade of goods that were used to purchase enslaved people, such as palm oil, ivory, and gold. Benin's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade continued until the late 19th century, when European powers, including Britain, began to abolish the slave trade and colonialism gained hold in the region.


Isn't it true that benin kingdom prohibited the sale of slaves?

Yes, it is true that the Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom, had a legal system that prohibited the sale of slaves within its own territory. This system, known as the "Customary Code of the Benin Kingdom," was established during the reign of Oba Ewuare the Great in the 15th century.

Under this code, it was illegal to sell any Benin citizen into slavery, and anyone who violated this law could be punished with death. However, the prohibition against the sale of slaves within Benin's borders did not extend to the sale of slaves to European traders for export to the Americas.

While the Benin Kingdom prohibited the sale of its own citizens into slavery, it did participate in the transatlantic slave trade as a supplier of slaves obtained from neighboring regions. The slave trade was a major source of income for the kingdom, and its rulers and merchants actively participated in the trade for several centuries, until the practice was abolished by European powers in the late 19th century.


which regions did benin acquire slaves from?

The Kingdom of Benin acquired slaves from various regions in West and Central Africa. Some of the areas that were major sources of slaves for Benin included:

The coastal regions of the Bight of Benin: The peoples living in the coastal areas of present-day Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria were often raided by Benin's armies, and many were captured and sold into slavery.

The interior regions of West Africa: Benin's armies would often raid the interior regions of West Africa, such as the Yoruba states, and capture people to be sold into slavery.

The Kingdom of Dahomey: Dahomey was a neighboring kingdom to Benin, and its rulers were also heavily involved in the slave trade. Many of the slaves that were sold by Dahomey were acquired through raiding neighboring regions.

Central Africa: Benin also acquired slaves from Central Africa through trade networks that extended across the continent. Slaves from the Congo Basin were brought to the coast and sold to European traders, often passing through Benin's ports.

It's important to note that the exact origins of enslaved people in the transatlantic slave trade are difficult to trace, and many people were captured and sold multiple times before they were finally sold to European traders.


what is the Customary Code of the Benin Kingdom

The Customary Code of the Benin Kingdom was a set of laws and regulations established by Oba Ewuare the Great of the Kingdom of Benin in the 15th century. The code was designed to regulate various aspects of life in the kingdom, including the sale and ownership of slaves.

Under the code, it was illegal to sell any Benin citizen into slavery, and anyone who violated this law could be punished with death. The code also regulated the ownership of slaves within the kingdom, setting rules for the treatment of slaves and the circumstances under which they could be sold or freed.

The code reflected the importance of social status in the Kingdom of Benin, with different rules and punishments applying to people of different classes. For example, slaves who committed crimes against free people were subject to harsher punishments than free people who committed the same crimes.

The Customary Code of the Benin Kingdom was an important legal and social institution in the kingdom, and it remained in force until the kingdom was annexed by the British in 1897. While the code prohibited the sale of Benin citizens into slavery, it did not extend to the sale of slaves to European traders for export to the Americas, and the kingdom was a major supplier of slaves to the transatlantic slave trade.



what happened the kingdom of benins decrease in population?

The Kingdom of Benin experienced a significant decrease in population in the 19th century, largely as a result of the transatlantic slave trade and the wars and raids that accompanied it.

The slave trade was a major source of income for the kingdom, and its rulers and merchants actively participated in the trade for several centuries, capturing and selling people from neighboring regions to European traders for export to the Americas. The export of so many people led to a significant decrease in the population of the region, as well as the disruption of social and economic systems.

In addition to the slave trade, the Kingdom of Benin also faced military conflicts with neighboring kingdoms, including Dahomey and the British Empire. These conflicts resulted in the loss of lives and the displacement of people from their homes, further contributing to the decrease in population.

The British Empire annexed the Kingdom of Benin in 1897, and this marked the beginning of a new era in the region. The British introduced new systems of governance and economic development, which eventually led to the population of the region recovering and growing again. However, the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and the wars and conflicts of the past continued to shape the region and its people for many years to come.


Oxford University ‘rewarding slavery twice’ by repatriating Benin Bronzes

Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, the founder of the Restitution Study Group (RSG) campaigning for reparative justice for slave descendants in the US, has engaged British legal experts to help pressure UK institutions into reversing their repatriation plans.

She has urged Oxford’s leadership to “immediately suspend your plans to repatriate these objects to Nigeria”, adding: “It is morally indefensible to make such a determination against the express wishes of those of us in the UK, the US and the Commonwealth, whose ancestors literally gave their lives so that the Bronzes could be created in the first place.

“Your proposed actions to repatriate the Bronzes would have the effect of rewarding slavery twice.”

The artefacts were made over several centuries for royalty in the Kingdom of Benin – now absorbed into Nigeria – before they were taken in a punitive raid by the British in 1897. European metal tokens known as “manillas” were often melted down to create them.

https:///ekq3d


Benin Bronzes made of German brass

Researchers have long suspected that the brass used to create the impressive sculptures was transported to Benin via Portuguese trade routes in the 15th century, but they haven't been able to pinpoint where the metals originated in Europe.

A study published Wednesday by researchers at the Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola in the German city of Bochum offers evidence that much of the material used to create Benin's 16th and 17th century bronzes came from Germany's Rhineland region.

"The Benin Bronzes are the most famous ancient works of art in all West Africa," study author Tobias Skowronek said in a statement. "Finally, we can prove the totally unexpected: the brass used for the Benin masterpieces, long thought to come from Britain or Flanders, was mined in western Germany. This is the first time a scientific link has been made."

https://p.dw.com/p/4PhuL

amdatdude:
The Kingdom of Benin acquired slaves from various regions in West and Central Africa. Some of the areas that were major sources of slaves for Benin included: The coastal regions of the Bight of Benin: The peoples living in the coastal areas of present-day Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria were often raided by Benin's armies, and many were captured and sold into slavery.

The interior regions of West Africa: [/b]Benin's armies would often raid the interior regions of West Africa, such as the Yoruba states, and capture people to be sold into slavery.
[b]The Kingdom of Dahomey: Dahomey was a neighboring kingdom to Benin, and its rulers were also heavily involved in the slave trade. Many of the slaves that were sold by Dahomey were acquired through raiding neighboring regions.
Central Africa: Benin also acquired slaves from Central Africa through trade networks that extended across the continent. Slaves from the Congo Basin were brought to the coast and sold to European traders, often passing through Benin's ports.

It's important to note that the exact origins of enslaved people in the transatlantic slave trade are difficult to trace, and many people were captured and sold multiple times before they were finally sold to European traders.

OP, weren't those other people engaged in similar trades?

Was Lagos originally under Benin empire or Oyo empire

Kobojunkie:
OP, weren't those other people engaged in similar trades?

Yes of course, but it seems like benin spearheaded this evil

which kingdom first sold slaves to the Portuguese on the coast of west africa

The first West African kingdom to engage in the slave trade with the Portuguese was the Kingdom of Benin, which was located in what is now modern-day Nigeria. The Portuguese arrived on the coast of West Africa in the late 15th century and established trading posts and forts along the coast, including one at the city of Lagos in the Kingdom of Benin.

Initially, the Portuguese traded primarily in gold, ivory, and pepper with the Kingdom of Benin. However, they soon began to demand slaves as well. The Kingdom of Benin was one of the earliest African states to supply slaves to the Portuguese, who obtained them through raids, warfare, and tribute payments.

Emperormartin:
Was Lagos originally under Benin empire or Oyo empire

Was Lagos originally under Benin empire or Oyo empire

The city of Lagos, which is now located in modern-day Nigeria, was originally founded as a small fishing village in the 15th century. It was later conquered and colonized by the Kingdom of Benin, which was one of the most powerful and influential West African kingdoms at the time.

However, in the 17th century, the city of Lagos was conquered by the neighboring Oyo Empire, which was another powerful West African kingdom. The Oyo Empire established control over the region and made Lagos one of its provincial capitals. Under Oyo rule, Lagos continued to grow and prosper, becoming an important center of trade and commerce in West Africa.

In the 19th century, Lagos was colonized by the British, who established a protectorate over the city and the surrounding region. Lagos became the capital of Nigeria when the country gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

amdatdude:

The interior regions of West Africa: Benin's armies would often raid the interior regions of West Africa, such as the Yoruba states, and capture people to be sold into slavery.

This is the summary

HeartlessMan:


This is the summary

Perhaps. I think they were selling their own people too which probably destroyed the kingdom from the inside, many people ran away. What was the the real reason? trading none royal edo people for drinks and guns?

According to Ferraz (1978)The language that feature most prominently in the Sao Tomense Portuguese based creole are Bini, better known as Edo ....and Kongo.

Ferraz evidence shows that people from the Niger Delta and we can interprete his Edo in a broader sense to include other Edoid and related languages and dialects such as Edo(Bini), Isoko, Urhobo (all Edoid) Isekiri ended up speaking a kind of pidgin portuguese. Proof of this is supplied by the impressive list of words of Edoid (especially Edo orBini origin in Sao Tomense as reported by Ferraz (1978). Sao Tome and principe is an island on the Gulf of Benin and situated near modern day Gabon.

https://edofolks.com/html/pub80.htm

In the 16th century São Tomé and Príncipe became the first plantation economy in the tropics based on sugar monoculture and slave labor, while the slave trade was equally important for the local economy.

https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199846733/obo-9780199846733-0151.xml

I am suggesting they sold their own first, then when the population got too small they went for other tribes

amdatdude:


Perhaps. I think they were selling their own people too which probably destroyed the kingdom from the inside, many people ran away. What was the the real reason? trading none royal edo people for drinks and guns?

According to Ferraz (1978)The language that feature most prominently in the Sao Tomense Portuguese based creole are Bini, better known as Edo ....and Kongo.

Ferraz evidence shows that people from the Niger Delta and we can interprete his Edo in a broader sense to include other Edoid and related languages and dialects such as Edo(Bini), Isoko, Urhobo (all Edoid) Isekiri ended up speaking a kind of pidgin portuguese. Proof of this is supplied by the impressive list of words of Edoid (especially Edo orBini origin in Sao Tomense as reported by Ferraz (1978). Sao Tome and principe is an island on the Gulf of Benin and situated near modern day Gabon.

https://edofolks.com/html/pub80.htm

In the 16th century São Tomé and Príncipe became the first plantation economy in the tropics based on sugar monoculture and slave labor, while the slave trade was equally important for the local economy.

https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199846733/obo-9780199846733-0151.xml

I am suggesting they sold their own first, then when the population got too small they went for other tribes

We never sold our people , the niger delta people were the people that wete sold first as slaves to sao tome
The niger delta people back in the days understood edo lamguage , we edo people ruled over them...

The niger delta peoples still uses edo words till date , the benins never sold themselves

At a time thr benin stoped selling of niger deltans and ventured into the west and east for slaves

amdatdude:


Was Lagos originally under Benin empire or Oyo empire

The city of Lagos, which is now located in modern-day Nigeria, was originally founded as a small fishing village in the 15th century. It was later conquered and colonized by the Kingdom of Benin, which was one of the most powerful and influential West African kingdoms at the time.

However, in the 17th century, the city of Lagos was conquered by the neighboring Oyo Empire, which was another powerful West African kingdom. The Oyo Empire established control over the region and made Lagos one of its provincial capitals. Under Oyo rule, Lagos continued to grow and prosper, becoming an important center of trade and commerce in West Africa.

In the 19th century, Lagos was colonized by the British, who established a protectorate over the city and the surrounding region. Lagos became the capital of Nigeria when the country gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

Do you have any written proof that the city of Lagos was ever under Oyo,I am willing to learn (any material that also tell of the conquest of Lagos from Benin in the 17th century ?

Of all the Kingdoms and societies within the Nigerian space which traded with the Europeans in the slave trade era, Benin was actually the least involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Ologbo147:
Do you have any written proof that the city of Lagos was ever under Oyo,I am willing to learn (any material that also tell of the conquest of Lagos from Benin in the 17th century ?

Yes! Well before 1452 Pope Edict authorizing the capture and enslavement of Africans along West African Coast. Unless you think Spirits were living in Eko then.

Bini Oba, a Yoruba descendant was the last invaders before the British. They all failed.

Tijani Oluwa finally kicked the British out with Privy Council, highest Court in London, Order that returned Eko land to rightful owner.

https://www.modernghana.com/news/1221711/yoruba-united-nation-the-most-civilized-ethnic.html

googi:


Yes! Well before 1452 Pope Edict authorizing the capture and enslavement of Africans along West African Coast. Unless you think Spirits were living in Eko then.

Bini Oba, a Yoruba descendant was the last invaders before the British. They all failed.

Tijani Oluwa finally kicked the British out with Privy Council, highest Court in London, Order that returned Eko land to rightful owner.

https://www.modernghana.com/news/1221711/yoruba-united-nation-the-most-civilized-ethnic.html

The oba of benin is indigenous and the full title is Omo n oba nedo ukwakpolopolo ( the child that shines for the edo people)

The word oba is a benin word borrowed by yoruba kings to elevate their title from Sir the British called them

.

googi:


Yes! Well before 1452 Pope Edict authorizing the capture and enslavement of Africans along West African Coast. Unless you think Spirits were living in Eko then.

Bini Oba, a Yoruba descendant was the last invaders before the British. They all failed.

Tijani Oluwa finally kicked the British out with Privy Council, highest Court in London, Order that returned Eko land to rightful owner.

https://www.modernghana.com/news/1221711/yoruba-united-nation-the-most-civilized-ethnic.html

Rubbish

googi:


Yes! Well before 1452 Pope Edict authorizing the capture and enslavement of Africans along West African Coast. Unless you think Spirits were living in Eko then.

Bini Oba, a Yoruba descendant was the last invaders before the British. They all failed.

Tijani Oluwa finally kicked the British out with Privy Council, highest Court in London, Order that returned Eko land to rightful owner.

https://www.modernghana.com/news/1221711/yoruba-united-nation-the-most-civilized-ethnic.html

This is vague and ambiguous, do you have any other source(eye witness accounts preferably to corroborate this) The Europeans only first got to Nigeria in 1472, Oyo only became an empire in 1680

The Oba of Benin(Oba orhogbua introduced anything serious as it pertains to political authority or government in the 16th century and it was under Benin up till the 19th century

Slave trade lasted for over 300 years so the only way for any kingdom to survive is to join the trade or watch your community destroy by other slavers.

During the transatlantic slave trade, many African societies and kingdoms participated in the capture, transportation, and sale of enslaved people. Some individuals and groups participated in the trade, either by capturing and selling enslaved people or by acting as middlemen in the exchange of enslaved people for goods and weapons.

Most of you have been daydreaming the same way your ancestors did and died. Eko remains firmly in the hands of the Owners yesterday, today and until this generation die.

But then, so did the Europeans dreamed about Eko.

Fruitless efforts by wishful thinkers. Turn your villages into Lagos in Portugal.

googi:
Most of you have been daydreaming the same way your ancestors did and died. Eko remains firmly in the hands of the Owners yesterday, today and until this generation die.

But then, so did the Europeans dreamed about Eko.

Fruitless efforts by wishful thinkers. Turn your villages into Lagos in Portugal.

corroborate your initial write up with any scholarly work . Lagos was in the firm hold of the Oba of Benin from the sixteenth century until the 19th century. And this fact is corroborated by scholarly work from A list scholars like Ryder, Bradbury etc

Look this is the Culture section where numerous scholastic papers have been presented. Yet this old topic has not satisfied you guys. Every week, you guys come up with different forms of queries. You were ignored for a long time and you grew wings like a butterfly.

Even your own son, an Authority on Benin history was disowned. You prefer foreigners' accounts. Those did not help you either.

Let me rest here by telling you EKO rest firmly in the hand of Yoruba including your ruling House in Bini. Your names and lingual franca cannot be disputed.

Read this for your pleasure and go to other discussions on this topic.

https://nigerialii.org/ng/judgment/supreme-court/1921/1

Bye!

Ologbo147:
corroborate your initial write up with any scholarly work . Lagos was in the firm hold of the Oba of Benin from the sixteenth century until the 19th century. And this fact is corroborated by scholarly work from A list scholars like Ryder, Bradbury etc

who cares about all that rubbish.
This post is to highlight that the sins of our fathers are upon us.. human trafficking, lack of empathy for human life has plagued Nigeria.
The Benin monarch and it's supporters still think the European favours them even they that were smacked over like a little girl. Still living in lala land
And the Yoruba still have reverence for tinubu the infamous slave trader, the statue should be pulled torn down to express a new ideologue.

googi:
Look this is the Culture section where numerous scholastic papers have been presented. Yet this old topic has not satisfied you guys. Every week, you guys come up with different forms of queries. You were ignored for a long time and you grew wings like a butterfly.

Even your own son, an Authority on Benin history was disowned. You prefer foreigners' accounts. Those did not help you either.

Let me rest here by telling you EKO rest firmly in the hand of Yoruba including your ruling House in Bini. Your names and lingual franca cannot be disputed.

Read this for your pleasure and go to other discussions on this topic.

https://nigerialii.org/ng/judgment/supreme-court/1921/1

Bye!

You seem to be an Illiterate, that paper just corroborated the European standpoint that Lagos was under Benin up till it was handed over to the British

The only reason we seem to ask for European or eye witness accounts is that they have nothing to gain and seem to be neutral, lastly in their analysis, they use a lot of eye witness accounts, as scholars of history, eye witness accounts is by far the most authentic. There is nothing you can do about it, it is not up to you, if you can’t provide an eyewitness account, my brother your argument is watery or seen as one in scholarly community

Judgment
Supreme court
1921
Amodu Tijani v the Secretary, Southern Provinces () [1921] NGSC 1 (11 July 1921);
Court name
Supreme Court
Amodu Tijani v the Secretary, Southern Provinces () [1921] NGSC 1 (11 July 1921);
Law report citations
Media neutral citation
[1921] NGSC 1
The Judicial Committee

His Majesty's Privy Council

Monday, the 11th day of July 1921

Between

Amodu Tijani ....... Appellant

And

The Secretary, Southern Provinces ....... Respondent

Judgment of the Court
Delivered by

Viscount Haldane

In this case the question raised is as to the basis for calculation of the compensation payable to the appellant, who claims for the taking by the Government of the Colony of Southern Nigeria of certain land for public purpose. There was a preliminary point as to whether the terms of the Public Lands Ordinance of the Colony do not make the decision of its Supreme Court on such a question final. As to this it is sufficient to say that the terms of the Ordinance did not preclude the exercise which has been made of the Prerogative of the Crown to give special leave to bring this appeal.

The Public Lands Ordinance of 1903 of the Colony provides that the Governor may take any lands required for public purposes for an estate in fee simple or for a less estate, on paying compensation to be agreed on or determined by the Supreme Court of the Colony. The Governor is to give notice to all the persons interested in the land, or to the persons authorised by the Ordinance to sell. and convey it. Where the land required is the property of a native community, the Head Chief of the community may sell and convey it in fee simple, any native law or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. There is to be no compensation for land unoccupied unless it is proved that, for at least six months during the ten years preceding any notice, certain kinds of beneficial use have been made of it. In other cases the Court is to assess the compensation according to the value at the time when the notice was served, inclusive of damage done by severance. Prima facie, the persons in possession, as if owners, are to be deemed entitled. Generally speaking, the Governor may pay the compensation in accordance with the direction of the Court, but where any consideration or compensation is paid to a Head Chief in respect of any land, the property of a native community, such consideration or compensation is to be distributed by him among the members of the community or applied or used for their benefit in such proportions and manner as the Native Council of the District in which the land is situated, determines with the sanction of the Governor.

The land in question is at Apapa, on the mainland and within the Colony. The appellant is the Head Chief of the Oluwa family or community, and is one of the Idejos or landowning white cap chiefs of Lagos and the land is occupied by persons some of whom pay rent or tribute to him. Apart from any family or private land which the Chief may possess or may have allotted to members of his own family, he has in a representative or official capacity control by custom over the tracts within his Chieftaincy, including, as Chief Justice Speed points out in his judgment in this case, power of allotment and of exacting a small tribute or rent in acknowledgment of his position as Head. But when in the present proceedings he claimed for the whole value of the land in question, as being land which he was empowered by the Ordinance to sell, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court held that, although he had a right which must be recognised and paid for, this right was:

" merely a seigneurial right giving the holder ordinary rights of control and management of the land in accordance with the well-known principles of native law and custom, including the right to receive payment of the nominal rent or tribute payable by the occupiers, and that compensation should be calculated on that basis, and not on the basis of absolute ownership of the land."

It does not appear clearly from the judgment of the Chief Justice whether he thought that the members of the community had any independent right to compensation, or whether the Crown was entitled to appropriate the land without more.

The appellant, on the other hand, contended that, although his claim was, as appears from the statement of his advocate, restricted to one in a representative capacity, it extended to the full value of the family properly and community land vested in him as Chief, for the latter of which he claimed to be entitled to be dealt with under the terms of the Ordinance in the capacity of representing his community and its full title of occupation.

The question which their Lordships have to decide is which of these views is the true one. In order to answer the question, it is necessary to consider, in the first place the real character of the native title to the land.

Their Lordships make the preliminary observation that in interpreting the native title to land, not only in Southern Nigeria, but other parts of the British Empire, much caution is essential. There is a tendency, operating at times unconsciously, to render that title conceptually in terms which are appropriate only to systems which have grown up under English law. But this tendency has to be held in check closely. As a rule, in the various systems of native jurisprudence throughout the Empire, there is no such full division between property and possession as English lawyers are familiar with. A very usual form of native title is that of a usufructuary right, which is a mere qualification of or burden on the radical or final title of the Sovereign where that exists. In such cases the title of the Sovereign is a pure legal estate, to which beneficial rights mayor may not be attached. But this estate is qualified by a right of beneficial user which may not assume definite forms analogous to estates, or may, where it has assumed these, have derived them from the intrusion of the mere analogy of English jurisprudence. Their Lordships have elsewhere explained principles of this kind in connection with the Indian title to reserve lands in Canada. But the Indian title in Canada affords by no means the only illustration of the necessity for getting rid of the assumption that the ownership of land naturally breaks itself up into estates, conceived as creatures of inherent legal principle. Even where an estate in fee is definitely recognised as the most comprehensive estate in land which the law recognises, it does not follow that outside England it admits of being broken up. In Scotland a life estate imports no freehold title, but is simply, in contemplation of Scottish law, a burden on a right of full property that cannot be split up. In India much the same principle applies. The division of the fee into successive and independent incorporeal rights of property conceived as existing separately from the possession, is unknown. In India, as in Southern Nigeria, there is yet another feature of the fundamental nature of the title to land which must be borne in mind. The title, such as it is may not be that of the individual, as in this country it nearly always is in some form, but may be that of a community. Such a community may have the possessory title to the common enjoyment of a usufruct, with customs under which its individual members are admitted to enjoyment, and even to a right of transmitting the individual enjoyment as members by assignment inter vivos or by succession. To ascertain how far this latter development of right has progressed involves the study of the history of the particular community and its usages in each case. Abstract principles fashioned a priori are of but little assistance, and are as often as not misleading.

In the case of Lagos and the territory round it, the necessity of adopting this method of inquiry is evident. As the result of cession to the British Crown by former potentates, the radical title is now in the British Sovereign. But that title is throughout qualified by the usufructuary rights of communities, rights which, as the outcome of deliberate policy, have been respected and recognised. Even when machinery has been established for defining as far as is possible the rights of individuals by introducing Crown grants as evidence of title, such machinery has apparently not been directed to the modification of substantive rights, but rather to the definition of those already in existence and to the preservation of records of that existence.

In the instance of Lagos the character of the tenure of the land among the native communities is described by Chief Justice Rayner in the Report on Land Tenure in West Africa, which that learned Judge made in 1898, in language which their Lordships think is substantially borne out by the preponderance of authority.

" The next fact which it is important to bear in mind in order to understand the native land law is that the notion of individual ownership is quite foreign to native ideas. Land belongs to the community, the village or the family, never to the individual. All the members of the community, village or, family have an equal right to the land, but in every case the Chief or Headman of the community or village, or head of the family, has charge of the land, anti in loose mode of speech is sometimes called the owner. He is to some extent in the position of a trustee, and as such holds the land for the use of the community or family. He has control of it, and any member who wants a piece of it to cultivate or build a house upon, goes to him for it. But the land so given still remains the property of the community or family. He cannot make any important disposition of the land without consulting the elders of the community or family, and their consent must in all cases be given before a grant can be made to a stranger. This is a pure native custom along the whole length of this coast, and wherever we find, as in Lagos, individual owners, this is again due to the introduction of English ideas. But the native idea still has a firm hold on the people, and in most cases, even in Lagos, land is held by the family. This is so even in cases of land purporting to be held under Crown grants and English conveyances. The original grantee may have held as an individual owner, but on his death all his family claim an interest, which is always recognised, and thus the land becomes again family land. My experience in Lagos leads me to the conclusion that except where land has been bought by the present owner there are very few natives who are individual owners of land."

Consideration of the various documents, records and decisions, which have been brought before them in the course of the argument at the Bar, has led their Lordships to the conclusion that the view expressed by Chief Justice Rayner in the language just cited is substantially the true one. They therefore interpret paragraph 6 of the Public Lands Ordinance of 1903, which says that where lands required for public purposes are the property of a native community, " the Head Chief of such community may sell and convey the same for an estate in fee simple," as meaning that the Chief may transfer the title of the community. It follows that it is for the whole of what he so transfers that compensation has to be made. This is borne out by paragraphs 25 and 26, which provide for distribution of such compensation under the direction of the Native Council of the District, with the sanction of the Governor.

googi:

Judgment
Supreme court
1921
Amodu Tijani v the Secretary, Southern Provinces () [1921] NGSC 1 (11 July 1921);
Court name
Supreme Court
Amodu Tijani v the Secretary, Southern Provinces () [1921] NGSC 1 (11 July 1921);
Law report citations
Media neutral citation
[1921] NGSC 1
The Judicial Committee

His Majesty's Privy Council

Monday, the 11th day of July 1921

Between

Amodu Tijani ....... Appellant

And

The Secretary, Southern Provinces ....... Respondent

Judgment of the Court
Delivered by

Viscount Haldane

In this case the question raised is as to the basis for calculation of the compensation payable to the appellant, who claims for the taking by the Government of the Colony of Southern Nigeria of certain land for public purpose. There was a preliminary point as to whether the terms of the Public Lands Ordinance of the Colony do not make the decision of its Supreme Court on such a question final. As to this it is sufficient to say that the terms of the Ordinance did not preclude the exercise which has been made of the Prerogative of the Crown to give special leave to bring this appeal.

The Public Lands Ordinance of 1903 of the Colony provides that the Governor may take any lands required for public purposes for an estate in fee simple or for a less estate, on paying compensation to be agreed on or determined by the Supreme Court of the Colony. The Governor is to give notice to all the persons interested in the land, or to the persons authorised by the Ordinance to sell. and convey it. Where the land required is the property of a native community, the Head Chief of the community may sell and convey it in fee simple, any native law or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. There is to be no compensation for land unoccupied unless it is proved that, for at least six months during the ten years preceding any notice, certain kinds of beneficial use have been made of it. In other cases the Court is to assess the compensation according to the value at the time when the notice was served, inclusive of damage done by severance. Prima facie, the persons in possession, as if owners, are to be deemed entitled. Generally speaking, the Governor may pay the compensation in accordance with the direction of the Court, but where any consideration or compensation is paid to a Head Chief in respect of any land, the property of a native community, such consideration or compensation is to be distributed by him among the members of the community or applied or used for their benefit in such proportions and manner as the Native Council of the District in which the land is situated, determines with the sanction of the Governor.

The land in question is at Apapa, on the mainland and within the Colony. The appellant is the Head Chief of the Oluwa family or community, and is one of the Idejos or landowning white cap chiefs of Lagos and the land is occupied by persons some of whom pay rent or tribute to him. Apart from any family or private land which the Chief may possess or may have allotted to members of his own family, he has in a representative or official capacity control by custom over the tracts within his Chieftaincy, including, as Chief Justice Speed points out in his judgment in this case, power of allotment and of exacting a small tribute or rent in acknowledgment of his position as Head. But when in the present proceedings he claimed for the whole value of the land in question, as being land which he was empowered by the Ordinance to sell, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court held that, although he had a right which must be recognised and paid for, this right was:

" merely a seigneurial right giving the holder ordinary rights of control and management of the land in accordance with the well-known principles of native law and custom, including the right to receive payment of the nominal rent or tribute payable by the occupiers, and that compensation should be calculated on that basis, and not on the basis of absolute ownership of the land."

It does not appear clearly from the judgment of the Chief Justice whether he thought that the members of the community had any independent right to compensation, or whether the Crown was entitled to appropriate the land without more.

The appellant, on the other hand, contended that, although his claim was, as appears from the statement of his advocate, restricted to one in a representative capacity, it extended to the full value of the family properly and community land vested in him as Chief, for the latter of which he claimed to be entitled to be dealt with under the terms of the Ordinance in the capacity of representing his community and its full title of occupation.

The question which their Lordships have to decide is which of these views is the true one. In order to answer the question, it is necessary to consider, in the first place the real character of the native title to the land.

Their Lordships make the preliminary observation that in interpreting the native title to land, not only in Southern Nigeria, but other parts of the British Empire, much caution is essential. There is a tendency, operating at times unconsciously, to render that title conceptually in terms which are appropriate only to systems which have grown up under English law. But this tendency has to be held in check closely. As a rule, in the various systems of native jurisprudence throughout the Empire, there is no such full division between property and possession as English lawyers are familiar with. A very usual form of native title is that of a usufructuary right, which is a mere qualification of or burden on the radical or final title of the Sovereign where that exists. In such cases the title of the Sovereign is a pure legal estate, to which beneficial rights mayor may not be attached. But this estate is qualified by a right of beneficial user which may not assume definite forms analogous to estates, or may, where it has assumed these, have derived them from the intrusion of the mere analogy of English jurisprudence. Their Lordships have elsewhere explained principles of this kind in connection with the Indian title to reserve lands in Canada. But the Indian title in Canada affords by no means the only illustration of the necessity for getting rid of the assumption that the ownership of land naturally breaks itself up into estates, conceived as creatures of inherent legal principle. Even where an estate in fee is definitely recognised as the most comprehensive estate in land which the law recognises, it does not follow that outside England it admits of being broken up. In Scotland a life estate imports no freehold title, but is simply, in contemplation of Scottish law, a burden on a right of full property that cannot be split up. In India much the same principle applies. The division of the fee into successive and independent incorporeal rights of property conceived as existing separately from the possession, is unknown. In India, as in Southern Nigeria, there is yet another feature of the fundamental nature of the title to land which must be borne in mind. The title, such as it is may not be that of the individual, as in this country it nearly always is in some form, but may be that of a community. Such a community may have the possessory title to the common enjoyment of a usufruct, with customs under which its individual members are admitted to enjoyment, and even to a right of transmitting the individual enjoyment as members by assignment inter vivos or by succession. To ascertain how far this latter development of right has progressed involves the study of the history of the particular community and its usages in each case. Abstract principles fashioned a priori are of but little assistance, and are as often as not misleading.

In the case of Lagos and the territory round it, the necessity of adopting this method of inquiry is evident. As the result of cession to the British Crown by former potentates, the radical title is now in the British Sovereign. But that title is throughout qualified by the usufructuary rights of communities, rights which, as the outcome of deliberate policy, have been respected and recognised. Even when machinery has been established for defining as far as is possible the rights of individuals by introducing Crown grants as evidence of title, such machinery has apparently not been directed to the modification of substantive rights, but rather to the definition of those already in existence and to the preservation of records of that existence.

In the instance of Lagos the character of the tenure of the land among the native communities is described by Chief Justice Rayner in the Report on Land Tenure in West Africa, which that learned Judge made in 1898, in language which their Lordships think is substantially borne out by the preponderance of authority.

" The next fact which it is important to bear in mind in order to understand the native land law is that the notion of individual ownership is quite foreign to native ideas. Land belongs to the community, the village or the family, never to the individual. All the members of the community, village or, family have an equal right to the land, but in every case the Chief or Headman of the community or village, or head of the family, has charge of the land, anti in loose mode of speech is sometimes called the owner. He is to some extent in the position of a trustee, and as such holds the land for the use of the community or family. He has control of it, and any member who wants a piece of it to cultivate or build a house upon, goes to him for it. But the land so given still remains the property of the community or family. He cannot make any important disposition of the land without consulting the elders of the community or family, and their consent must in all cases be given before a grant can be made to a stranger. This is a pure native custom along the whole length of this coast, and wherever we find, as in Lagos, individual owners, this is again due to the introduction of English ideas. But the native idea still has a firm hold on the people, and in most cases, even in Lagos, land is held by the family. This is so even in cases of land purporting to be held under Crown grants and English conveyances. The original grantee may have held as an individual owner, but on his death all his family claim an interest, which is always recognised, and thus the land becomes again family land. My experience in Lagos leads me to the conclusion that except where land has been bought by the present owner there are very few natives who are individual owners of land."

Consideration of the various documents, records and decisions, which have been brought before them in the course of the argument at the Bar, has led their Lordships to the conclusion that the view expressed by Chief Justice Rayner in the language just cited is substantially the true one. They therefore interpret paragraph 6 of the Public Lands Ordinance of 1903, which says that where lands required for public purposes are the property of a native community, " the Head Chief of such community may sell and convey the same for an estate in fee simple," as meaning that the Chief may transfer the title of the community. It follows that it is for the whole of what he so transfers that compensation has to be made. This is borne out by paragraphs 25 and 26, which provide for distribution of such compensation under the direction of the Native Council of the District, with the sanction of the Governor.

you cleverly omitted these out,

This still has not answered my question, which you quoted thinking I will find answers


Do you have any written proof that the city of Lagos was ever under Oyo,I am willing to learn (any material that also tell of the conquest of Lagos from Benin in the 17th century ?

FOOL!!!

Emperormartin:
Was Lagos originally under Benin empire or Oyo empire

Isale Eko Lagos Island was Under Benin but not the Awori People of Lagos Island they were under Olofin

and treated Isale Eko as a Benin Trading Post on their Land

Iddo and Oto Islands were under Oloto an Awori King

Mainland and Metropolitan Lagos was under Abeokuta

Everything East and North of Lekki including Lekki itself was under Ijebu

Badagry was under Oyo

The real owners of Lagos Island and Metropolis of Lagos were the Awori people

Christistruth03:


Isale Eko Lagos Island was Under Benin but not the Awori People of Lagos Island they were under Olofin

and treated Isale Eko as a Benin Trading Post on their Land

Iddo and Oto Islands were under Oloto an Awori King

Mainland and Metropolitan Lagos was under Abeokuta

Everything East and North of Lekki including Lekki itself was under Ijebu

Badagry was under Oyo

The real owners of Lagos Island and Metropolis of Lagos were the Awori people

Do you have any material, eye witness accounts preferably that corroborate your partitioning

Meanwhile if you understand the trajectory of this write up, this is not my material it was brought upon here by your brother

What this material is talking about is that at the beginning of 18th century, the eighteenth century is [/b]anywhere around 1701-1799. The beginning will be anywhere around 1701 to maybe 1740 and maybe a little beyond, at this period, at this period up till 1790 the olofin held sway and partitioned [b]Lagos island and some parts of mainland to his 16 subordinate white cap chiefs which appear to be the idejos. but at the tail end of the eighteenth century, which is 1790 to be precise, there was a new sheriff in town, the existing administration was invaded, conquered and a new administration came in place that was now in charge of Lagos reporting to a bigger entity.

- [ ] About the beginning of the eighteenth century,the island of Lagos was held by a chief called Olofin. He had parceled out the island and parts of the adjoining mainland among some sixteen subordinate chiefs, called whitecaps in recognition of their domination over the portions parceled out to them.About 1790 Lagos was successfully invaded by the neighboring Benins. They did not remain in occupation but left a representative as ruler whose title was the Eleko.

We can state clearly now that even by that write up brought here by a yoruba, it was conquest and not trade

Ologbo147:
Do you have any material, eye witness accounts preferably that corroborate your partitioning

Meanwhile if you understand the trajectory of this write up, this is not my material it was brought upon here by your brother

What this material is talking about is that at the beginning of 18th century, the eighteenth century is [/b]anywhere around 1701-1799. The beginning will be anywhere around 1701 to maybe 1740 and maybe a little beyond, at this period, at this period up till 1790 the olofin held sway and partitioned [b]Lagos island and some parts of mainland to his 16 subordinate white cap chiefs which appear to be the idejos. but at the tail end of the eighteenth century, which is 1790 to be precise, there was a new sheriff in town, the existing administration was invaded, conquered and a new administration came in place that was now in charge of Lagos reporting to a bigger entity.

- [ ] About the beginning of the eighteenth century,the island of Lagos was held by a chief called Olofin. He had parceled out the island and parts of the adjoining mainland among some sixteen subordinate chiefs, called whitecaps in recognition of their domination over the portions parceled out to them.About 1790 Lagos was successfully invaded by the neighboring Benins. They did not remain in occupation but left a representative as ruler whose title was the Eleko.

We can state clearly now that even by that write up brought here by a yoruba, it was conquest and not trade

Ask yourself why then are the Awori still the Land owners of Lagos Island and the Oba of Lagos on the same Island doesn’t own the land and the Land on which his Palace was built was a gift From Aromire the Son of Olofin whose descendants still own a huge part of Lagos Island Land



https://punchng.com/bini-people-are-strangers-in-lagos-says-awori-group/

Christistruth03:




Ask yourself why then are the Awori still the Land owners of Lagos Island and the Oba of Lagos on the same Island doesn’t own the land

what then do you know, is the Oba not an assimilated awori?

Ologbo147:
what then do you know, is the Oba not an assimilated awori?

If Truth be told he is not an Assimilated Awori

He is of Awori Ancestry right from the Start but his Ancestor

that was the first Oba of Lagos was from Isheri Olofin and was the Asipa of the Town

Who had the support of Oba of Benin to Become the Oba of Isale Eko which was a Benin Trading Post

In Aworiland

Olofin is the King of the Awori sub Tribe

It may interest you to know that as big as Ibadan is they are still considered Subjects of the Alaafin of Oyo

In Yoruba Tradition because Alaafin is the Leader of the Oyo Sub Ethnic Group to which

Most of the Traditional Leaders of Ibadan belonged