History of West Africa






Oyo



The Kingdom of Oyo was established in the 14th century. It's people belong to the YORUBA, the religion was animistic; the kingdom was located in western Nigeria. Oyo traded forest products for products of the north, among them horses, with which Oyo built up a cavalry, utilized where the environment permitted. Oyo dominated the region between the Volta and Niger rivers between the middle of the 17th and the middle of the 18th century. The title of the Oyo ruler as Alaafin. Late in the 18th century it declined, due to internal strife. In 1796 Ilorin seceded from Oyo; in 1831 following a Fulani coup, Ilorin recognized Sokoto sovereignty. In 1835 Oyo was conquered by the Sultanate of Sokoto (Sultan Muhammad Bello), and Oyo was placed under an Emir.
The capital was at Old Oyo (Katunga) until ca. 1830; the traditional Alaafin still resides there.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		History of Nigeria, from Infoplease and from Library of Congress, Country Studies : Nigeria
Oyo, from fwkc.com
Nigeria : Indiginous Beliefs, from Religion around the World
The Yoruba and the States of Ife and Oyo, from Diffusion and other Problems in the History of African States , by Prof. Giblin, UIowa
Armed Conflict Events Data : Oyo 1800-1999, from OnWar.com
Samuel Johnston and the History of the Yoruba, from Doortmont Web
History of Oyo State, from Oyo State
DOCUMENTS Treaty between Adeyemi, Alafin of Oyo and Head of Yoruba-land and Her Majesty, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, July 1888, posted by Timothy Burke
List of governors of Oyo State (since 1954), from Oyo State
Rulers of Oyo, from World Statesmen
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on November 6th 2004

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