The British steamers come up the Niger

Overview

In 1841 three iron steamers built by Macgregor Laird, the Albert, the Wilberforce and the Soudan, under Captain Henry Dundas Trotter, steamed up the Niger. They signed treaties against the slave trade with Obi Ossai at Aboh and at Idah, and at the confluence of the Niger and the Benue the Attah granted land at Lokoja for a model farm and a mission. At Idah the Attah told the commissioners that the Filatahs troubled his country and had driven his people from Adda Kuddu; the land he gave lay around that ruined town, and a British settlement there promised an ally on his northern frontier. Fever then struck: of about 150 Europeans, 42 died quickly, though none of the Africans on board died of illness. The ships fell back to Fernando Po, and the expedition returned to England in 1842.^[1],[4],[2]High confidence

Who took part

• British Niger Expedition· Came by sea
• Obi Ossai of Aboh· Dealt with them
• The Attah Igala· Dealt with them

What happened

1. 1841 · Aboh

   Treaty at Aboh

   Obi Ossai of Aboh signs a treaty against the slave trade.^[1]High confidence

2. 1841 · Idah

   Treaty at Idah

   At Idah, the seat of the Attah Igala, the expedition signs a second treaty against the slave trade. In the conference before it, the commissioners ask: “Do the Filatah people trouble the Attàh’s country at Adda Kuddu, and other places?” The Attah answers yes, and yes again when asked whether they have driven his people from Adda Kuddu. Asked for Adda Kuddu and a large tract of land for a farm, he agrees to give it, and to let the British build a fort.^[1],[2]High confidence

3. 10–11 September 1841 · Adda Kuddu (approximate)

   The ruins of Adda Kuddu

   The ships gather off the ruins of Adda Kuddu, “this once-thriving place”, already overgrown, its large dye pits still in good order. Its people, driven out by the Filatahs in 1838, live across the river on the left bank. The Attah’s governor of the district, the Annajah Amèh Abokko, says they will come back and rebuild if the British settle there.^[2],[3]High confidence

4. 14–16 September 1841 · Lokoja

   Land at Lokoja

   The Attah grants land “on the right bank of the river near Adda-Kuddu”, with Beaufort Island, for 700,000 cowries. Adda Kuddu’s ground proves too rocky for cotton, so the model farm is set up a few miles upriver at Stirling Hill, at Lokoja. Igala fishermen already live there.^{[4],[1],[3],[2],[5]}Medium confidence

5. Late 1841 – 1842

   Fever

   Of about 150 Europeans, 42 die quickly and there are 130 cases of fever; none of the Africans on board die of illness. The ships withdraw to Fernando Po, and the expedition is home in England in 1842.^[1]High confidence

Kingdoms involved

• Igala Kingdom

Sources

Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).

1. Wikipedia contributors. Niger expedition of 1841
2. Allen, William; Thomson, T. R. H. (1848). A Narrative of the Expedition sent by Her Majesty’s Government to the River Niger in 1841, vol. I, chapters XII (the conference with the Attàh), XIV (Adda Kuddu) and XV (conquests of the Filatahs). Richard Bentley, London (transcribed by P. Davis)
3. Trotter, H. D. (1843). Report of Proceedings from Captain Trotter, First Commissioner, to Lord Stanley (Parliamentary Papers No. 52, 1843): the land bought “on the right bank of the river near Adda-Kuddu, and embracing Baraga or Beaufort Island”. House of Commons (transcribed by P. Davis)
4. (2020). Deed of Cession: Attah Igala Sold Lands in Lokoja, Others to Queen of England for 700,000 Cowries. Kogi Reports (the deed of 14 September 1841 is held at the Museum of Colonial History, National Commission for Museums and Monuments)
5. HistoNaija owner. (2026). Local knowledge from the HistoNaija owner: indigenous Igala fishermen lived at Lokoja when the Attah leased the land to the British; no one in Lokoja should be described as settled