Kingdom of Bonny
Encyclopedia
The Kingdom of Bonny is a traditional state based on the town of Bonny
in Rivers State
, Nigeria. Founded in the 14th century AD, it became an important slave trading port, later trading palm oil products. During the 19th century the British became increasingly involved in the internal affairs of the kingdom, in 1886 assuming control under a protectorate treaty. Today the King of Bonny has a largely ceremonial role.
The modern name "Bonny" is a distortion of the original name.
According to tradition the island on which the town of Bonny is sited was full of curlew
s, and the first settlers therefore called it Okoloma, meaning curlew town. This name is still used locally.
The hereditary king, who had the title "Amanyanabo", was of the Pepple dynasty.
The state became important in the 15th century with the arrival of the Portuguese
and the growth of the Atlantic slave trade
. At its height of power, Bonny was one of the main entrepôt
s on the Slave Coast
. Later the Dutch and then the British took control of the slave trade in the region, with the British renaming the port "Bonny".
When the British passed an act to abolish the slave trade in 1807, the port turned to export of palm oil
products, ivory and Guinea pepper
.
He became increasingly incompetent, particularly following a stroke in 1852, and stirred up opposition to his rule.
In 1854 the British deported the king.
King Dapu Fubara II Pepple ("Dappo") was appointed in his place, but died on 13 Aug 1855.
The acting British Consul in the Bight of Biafra, J.W.B. Lynslager, signed a document on 11 September 1855 appointing the chiefs Anne Pepple, Ada Allison, Captain Hart and Manilla Pepple as a regency, required to consult with Bannego and Oko Jumbo
, "two gentlemen of the river".
Oko Jumbo, who became leader of the Manilla Pepple house and effective ruler of the kingdom, became engaged in a struggle with the Annie Pepple house, which was led by a chief named Jubo Jubogha, known as Ja-Ja to the British.
In an attempt to stabilize the situation, the British restored King William Dappa Pepple I in 1861, and for the next five years until his death on 30 September 1866 the kingdom was relatively peaceful.
King William Dappa was succeeded by his son George Oruigbiji Pepple
(born 1849), who had been educated in England.
George Pepple was a Christian, and on 21 April 1867, supported by Oko Jumbo and other chiefs, he declared the iguana was no longer the sacred deity of the kingdom.
The tension between the Manilla Pepple and Annie Pepple houses revived. In 1869 a major battle between the two factions led to Ja-Ja founding a new state at Opobo
, further inland, taking some of the palm oil trade away from Bonny.
Bonny had previously been on reasonably good terms with the Kalabari Kingdom
, a trading state on the New Calabar and Imo rivers. With the loss of trade to Opobo, Bonny began pushing up rivers traditionally controlled by Kalabari, causing a series of armed clashes. Bonny was at times assisted by the Nembe Kingdom
to the west and Okrika
further inland, while Opobo allied with Kalabari.
In 1873, and again in 1882 the British consul had to intervene and force the feuding parties to agree to treaties.
On 14 December 1883 King George was deposed.
The next year Oko Jumbo fell out with the other chiefs in Bonny. There were rumors that he wanted to place one of his sons on the throne, although a planned coup attempt in January 1885 came to nothing. Another son, Herbert Jumbo, who had been educated in England, quarreled with his father and placed himself under the protection of the British consul.
In February 1886 a protectorate treaty was concluded between Bonny and Britain. A ruling council was established, and King George Pepple was restored to his throne. Oko Jumbo was publicly degraded, his bans on Christianity were repealed and afterwards he was a spent force in Bonny politics.
King George died in October 1888, and was succeeded by a series of regents, kings and at one time a Chiefs Council before Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III (Perekule XI) took the throne in 1996.
Bonny
Bonny is a town and a Local Government Area in Rivers State in southeast Nigeria, on the Bight of Biafra. It was also the capital of the Kingdom of Bonny. Traditionally it was a major trading post of the eastern delta....
in Rivers State
Rivers State
Rivers State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. Its capital is Port Harcourt. It is bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, to the North by Imo, Abia and Anambra States, to the East by Akwa Ibom State and to the West by Bayelsa and Delta states...
, Nigeria. Founded in the 14th century AD, it became an important slave trading port, later trading palm oil products. During the 19th century the British became increasingly involved in the internal affairs of the kingdom, in 1886 assuming control under a protectorate treaty. Today the King of Bonny has a largely ceremonial role.
Early history
The Ubani kingdom was a state in the South Atlantic Coast, founded before 1600 AD.The modern name "Bonny" is a distortion of the original name.
According to tradition the island on which the town of Bonny is sited was full of curlew
Curlew
The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...
s, and the first settlers therefore called it Okoloma, meaning curlew town. This name is still used locally.
The hereditary king, who had the title "Amanyanabo", was of the Pepple dynasty.
The state became important in the 15th century with the arrival of the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and the growth of the Atlantic slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
. At its height of power, Bonny was one of the main entrepôt
Entrepôt
An entrepôt is a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit. This profit is possible because of trade conditions, for example, the reluctance of ships to travel the entire length of a long trading route, and selling to the entrepôt...
s on the Slave Coast
Slave Coast
The Slave Coast is the name of the coastal areas of present Togo, Benin and western Nigeria, a fertile region of coastal Western Africa along the Bight of Benin. In pre-colonial time it was one of the most densely populated parts of the African continent...
. Later the Dutch and then the British took control of the slave trade in the region, with the British renaming the port "Bonny".
When the British passed an act to abolish the slave trade in 1807, the port turned to export of palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
products, ivory and Guinea pepper
Guinea pepper
Guinea pepper is the name for several unrelated pepper-like spices traded from the general region of West Africa:* Aframomum melegueta from the ginger family...
.
Growing British influence
William Dappa Pepple I ascended the throne in 1830.He became increasingly incompetent, particularly following a stroke in 1852, and stirred up opposition to his rule.
In 1854 the British deported the king.
King Dapu Fubara II Pepple ("Dappo") was appointed in his place, but died on 13 Aug 1855.
The acting British Consul in the Bight of Biafra, J.W.B. Lynslager, signed a document on 11 September 1855 appointing the chiefs Anne Pepple, Ada Allison, Captain Hart and Manilla Pepple as a regency, required to consult with Bannego and Oko Jumbo
Oko Jumbo
Oko Jumbo was an important chief in the Kingdom of Bonny, a state in the Niger Delta, now part of Rivers State, Nigeria. For many years in the 19th century he was the effective ruler of Bonny.-Background:...
, "two gentlemen of the river".
Oko Jumbo, who became leader of the Manilla Pepple house and effective ruler of the kingdom, became engaged in a struggle with the Annie Pepple house, which was led by a chief named Jubo Jubogha, known as Ja-Ja to the British.
In an attempt to stabilize the situation, the British restored King William Dappa Pepple I in 1861, and for the next five years until his death on 30 September 1866 the kingdom was relatively peaceful.
King William Dappa was succeeded by his son George Oruigbiji Pepple
George Oruigbiji Pepple
George Oruigbiji Pepple ruled the Kingdom of Bonny, an independent trading state in the Niger Delta between 30 September 1866 and 14 December 1883, when he was deposed...
(born 1849), who had been educated in England.
George Pepple was a Christian, and on 21 April 1867, supported by Oko Jumbo and other chiefs, he declared the iguana was no longer the sacred deity of the kingdom.
The tension between the Manilla Pepple and Annie Pepple houses revived. In 1869 a major battle between the two factions led to Ja-Ja founding a new state at Opobo
Opobo
Opobo is a traditional state in southern Nigeria. The state was founded in 1870.A part of the traditional state is now Ikot-Abasi in Akwa Ibom State.-History:...
, further inland, taking some of the palm oil trade away from Bonny.
Bonny had previously been on reasonably good terms with the Kalabari Kingdom
Kalabari Kingdom
The Kalabari Kingdom, also called Elem Kalabari , or New Calabar by the Europeans, was an independent trading state of the Kalabari people , an Ijaw ethnic group, in the Niger River Delta....
, a trading state on the New Calabar and Imo rivers. With the loss of trade to Opobo, Bonny began pushing up rivers traditionally controlled by Kalabari, causing a series of armed clashes. Bonny was at times assisted by the Nembe Kingdom
Nembe Kingdom
The Nembe Kingdom is a traditional state in Niger Delta. It includes the Nembe and Brass Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The traditional rulers take the title "Amanyanabo"...
to the west and Okrika
Okrika
Okrika is a port town in Rivers State, Nigeria, capital of the Local Government Area of the same name. The town is situated on a small island just south of Port Harcourt, making it a suburb of the much larger city....
further inland, while Opobo allied with Kalabari.
In 1873, and again in 1882 the British consul had to intervene and force the feuding parties to agree to treaties.
Protectorate and later history
The unstable balance of power within Bonny deteriorated.On 14 December 1883 King George was deposed.
The next year Oko Jumbo fell out with the other chiefs in Bonny. There were rumors that he wanted to place one of his sons on the throne, although a planned coup attempt in January 1885 came to nothing. Another son, Herbert Jumbo, who had been educated in England, quarreled with his father and placed himself under the protection of the British consul.
In February 1886 a protectorate treaty was concluded between Bonny and Britain. A ruling council was established, and King George Pepple was restored to his throne. Oko Jumbo was publicly degraded, his bans on Christianity were repealed and afterwards he was a spent force in Bonny politics.
King George died in October 1888, and was succeeded by a series of regents, kings and at one time a Chiefs Council before Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III (Perekule XI) took the throne in 1996.
Independent state
Following were the later independent rulers of Okoloma.| Start | End | Ruler |
|---|---|---|
| 1759 | 1760 | Awusa "King Halliday" |
| 1760 | Perekule I "Captain Pepple" | |
| 1792 | Fubara I Agbaa Pepple | |
| 1792 | 1828 | Opubo Fubara Pepple |
| 1828 | 1830 | Bere-ibibo Pepple |
| 1830 | 23 January 1854 | Dappa Perekule (1st time) (installed Jan 1837) |
| 23 January 1854 | 13 August 1855 | Dapu Fubara II Pepple "King Dappo" (d. 1855) |
| 11 September 1855 | 18 August 1861 | Regency |
| 18 August 1861 | 30 September 1866 | William Dappa Pepple I (Dappa Perekule) (2nd time) |
| 30 September 1866 | 14 December 1883 | George Oruigbiji Pepple I George Oruigbiji Pepple George Oruigbiji Pepple ruled the Kingdom of Bonny, an independent trading state in the Niger Delta between 30 September 1866 and 14 December 1883, when he was deposed... |
Protectorate and Nigerian Federation
Rulers after the kingdom became part of the British protectorate, then the independent Federation of Nigeria:| Start | End | Ruler |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Jan 1887 | 31 Oct 1888 | George Oruigbiji Pepple I George Oruigbiji Pepple George Oruigbiji Pepple ruled the Kingdom of Bonny, an independent trading state in the Niger Delta between 30 September 1866 and 14 December 1883, when he was deposed... (2nd time) |
| 31 Oct 1888 | 28 Feb 1892 | Waribo (Regent) |
| 1892 | 1923 | Ate (Regent) |
| 1932 | 14 Feb 1932 | Claude Sodienye (Regent, d. 1952) |
| 14 Feb 1932 | 1937 | Secondus George Pepple II (d. 1939) |
| 1937 | 1952 | Claude Sodienye -Regent (2nd time) |
| 1952 | 27 Dec 1957 | Francis D. Banigo (Regent) |
| 27 Dec 1957 | 1970 | Eugene William Dappa Pepple II |
| 1970 | 1978 | Regency |
| 1978 | 1993 | Opuada Pepple |
| 1993 | 1996 | Chiefs Council |
| 1996 | Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III (Perekule XI) |