Ijebu Kingdom

Overview

Ijebu, the Yoruba kingdom of the Awujale at Ijebu-Ode, was ringed by Sungbo's Eredo, a ditch and bank some 160 km long and among the largest earthworks in Africa. Portuguese sailors knew it in 1508 as Geebu, “a great city surrounded by a great ditch”, and in 1620 as “a kingdom small but very warlike”. Its Osugbo council balanced the king. Sitting on the road between Lagos and the interior, Ijebu grew rich by letting only its own merchants carry the trade, joined Ife in destroying Owu in the 1820s, and kept the road closed until a British force with Maxim guns broke it at Imagbon in 1892.^[1],[8]Medium confidence

Through the centuries

1. c. 1400

   The Awujale at Ijebu-Ode

   Tradition gives Ijebu's founding to Obanta of Ile-Ife. The Ijebu dig and pile Sungbo's Eredo, earthworks that enclose the whole kingdom and moved more earth than the Great Pyramid; the palace floors at Ijebu-Ode are paved and aligned to the sun. In 1508 the Portuguese describe Geebu as a great city surrounded by a great ditch, ruled by the “Agusale”.^[2],[3],[1]Medium confidence

   Capital: Ijebu-Ode

2. 1620–1800

   Small but very warlike

   A Portuguese trader in 1620 calls Ijebu “a kingdom small but very warlike”. The Awujale rules with the Osugbo, the council of titled freeborn men that serves as the kingdom's court, whose head the Oliwa is the second power in the land. The Ijebu trade across the lagoon to Lagos, where they arrive in the 15th century.^[1],[4]Medium confidence

   Capital: Ijebu-Ode

3. c. 1817–1825

   The Owu war

   Ijebu and Ife armies, joined by Oyo refugees, destroy the town of Owu. The war opens decades of fighting in Yorubaland. Ijebu controls the routes between the lagoon and the interior, including Remo.^[2],[5],[6]Medium confidence

   Capital: Ijebu-Ode

4. 1840–1891

   Masters of the road

   As the wars push trade south, Ijebu insists that every load between Lagos and Ibadan pass through Ijebu hands, and grows rich on the monopoly. It harbours Kosoko after the British drive him from Lagos in 1851 and lets him settle at Epe, and sides against Ibadan in the long wars.^[1],[7]High confidence

   Capital: Ijebu-Ode

5. 1892

   Defeat at Imagbon

   In May 1892 a Lagos Colony force with Maxim guns defeats the Ijebu army at Imagbon, occupies Ijebu-Ode and burns the Osugbo meeting hall; Lugard later boasted that thousands were mown down. Ijebu becomes part of the British colony.^[5],[1]High confidence

   Capital: Ijebu-Ode

   Told in full as an event on the timeline.

Wars, treaties and turning points

• The Owu warWar · 1821–1826
• The British invade IjebuBritish conquest · May 1892

Today

Awujale of Ijebuland, Ijebu-Ode

The Awujale of Ijebuland reigns at Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.^[5]High confidence

Its people

Yoruba

Living in its lands today

Peoples whose homelands lie inside its lands at its height, by number of LGAs.

Yoruba

Sources

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

1. Wikipedia contributors. Ijebu Kingdom
2. Smith, Robert S. (1988). Kingdoms of the Yoruba (3rd edition). University of Wisconsin Press / James Currey (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
3. Ogundiran, Akinwumi. (2020). The Yoruba: A New History. Indiana University Press (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
4. Wikipedia contributors. History of Lagos (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
5. Ayandele, E. A. (1992). The Ijebu of Yorubaland, 1850–1950: Politics, Economy and Society. Heinemann Educational Books, Ibadan (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
6. Johnson, Samuel. (1921). The History of the Yorubas. Routledge, London (CMS Lagos)
7. Wikipedia contributors. Kosoko
8. Wikipedia contributors. Owu Kingdom