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City-state · 1869–1891

Opobo

Opobo was founded in 1869 by Jaja (Jubo Jubogha), an Igbo-born former slave who had risen to head Bonny's Anna Pepple house, after his house lost a war with Oko Jumbo's Manilla Pepple house.

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At a glance

When did the Opobo exist?
From 1869 to 1891. It was at its height around 1880.
What was the capital of the Opobo?
Opobo.
What was the ruler of the Opobo called?
Amanyanabo (King Jaja and successors).
What happened to the Opobo?
The Amanyanabo of Opobo, of the Jaja line, reigns in Opobo, Rivers State.
Who lives in the lands of the Opobo today?
Annang, Ibibio, Igbo, Ijaw

Overview

Opobo was founded in 1869 by Jaja (Jubo Jubogha), an Igbo-born former slave who had risen to head Bonny's Anna Pepple house, after his house lost a war with Oko Jumbo's Manilla Pepple house. Settling 26 miles east of Bonny, astride the Imo river trade, he shut out European and African middlemen and by 1870 sold 8,000 tons of palm oil a year directly to the British, shipping some straight to Liverpool. He schooled his children in Glasgow and kept missionaries out. When he refused to stop taxing British traders, Vice-Consul Harry Johnston lured him aboard a ship in 1887, and he died in 1891 on his way home from exile.[1]High confidence

Through the centuries

  1. 1869

    Jaja founds Opobo

    Kidnapped as a boy in Igboland, perhaps by Aro traders, and sold in Bonny, Jaja buys his way to freedom, takes over his late master's trade and makes the Anna Pepple house the strongest in Bonny. After the 1869 battle with Oko Jumbo's house he leads his followers 26 miles east and founds Opobo, ritually adopted as an Ijaw king.[2],[3],[1]High confidence

    Capital: Opobo

  2. 1873–1887

    Master of the Imo river

    Jaja bars European and African middlemen from the Imo markets and by 1870 sells 8,000 tons of palm oil a year directly to the British; some goes straight to Liverpool. He sends his children to school in Glasgow, staffs a secular school with whites, and keeps missionaries out. His son Prince Waribo dies at school in Frodsham, Cheshire, in 1882.[2],[3],[1]Medium confidence

    Capital: Opobo

  3. 1887

    Jaja deported

    The 1884 Berlin conference counts Opobo as British. When Jaja will not stop taxing British traders, Vice-Consul Harry Johnston invites him to talks in 1887 and seizes him on board ship. He is tried in Accra and exiled to London, Saint Vincent and Barbados, where his treatment stirs unrest. Allowed home in 1891, he dies on the way, and Opobo's power fades.[2],[1]High confidence

    Capital: Opobo

Wars, treaties and turning points

Today

Amanyanabo of Opobo, Opobo

The Amanyanabo of Opobo, of the Jaja line, reigns in Opobo, Rivers State.[2]High confidence

Its people

Ijaw

Living in its lands today

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

Annang, Ibibio, Igbo, Ijaw

Sources

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

  1. Wikipedia contributors. Jaja of Opobo
  2. Wikipedia contributors. Opobo
  3. Dike, K. Onwuka. (1956). Trade and Politics in the Niger Delta, 1830–1885. Clarendon Press, Oxford (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)