Chapter 1 Flashcards
Hamitic theory was formulated by _____ in the year _____ in his book______
C.G. Seligman
1930
Races of Africa
The underdevelopment which Africa witnessed from the sixteenth century onward was the handiwork of
the Europeans.
Who wrote the book “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” and what year?
Walter Rodney (1972)
What was the reason the Europeans saw Africans as sub-humans whose ancestors could not have built any meaningful civilization.
Trans-Atlantic slave trade
Literary sources of Nigerian history can be divided into three categories namely;
works by Arab scholars, geographers and historians;
early Arab writers who wrote about the people include;
Leo Africanus, Al-Bakri, Magrizi, In Khaldun and Al-Umari.
indigenous writers who also wrote about the people include
Ahmad Ibn Fartuwa and Al-Barnawi.
European literary, sources of Nigerian history may be divided into two categories -
primary sources and general literature.
The works of European writers have to be handled with great skepticism and criticism because _____ and
- we find clear falsifiers like Stanley, Carl Peters, etc
- scanty knowledge of geography, ethnography and other social sciences at that time often led them into grave errors and distortions.
Who mistook the Saan and the Khoi-Khoi for one and the same people.
John Van Riebeecks,
Who in the late eighteenth century wrote that he had ascertained that the Niger flows into the Nile.
Frederick Hornemann
In order to substantiate their claims of the early accomplishments of the Africans before and after the coming of Europeans, Africanist historians have had to depend on a number of sources such as
written records, archaeology, cultural history or ethnology, historical linguistics, physical anthropology and oral tradition
What are Archaeology sources?
This is a historical science and method whereby the past is reconstructed through analysis and interpretation of excavated natural objects.
What are Cultural history sources?
ithe method used by ethnologists in establishing the relationship between two cultures and the evolution they have experienced.
What are Historical linguistics sources?
the establishment of genetic links between languages and groups of people.
What are Physical Anthropology sources?
Physical anthropology contributed immensely to the study of the origin of man, and man’s gradual spread to different parts of the world.
Main features of ife culture include
iron-working and craft specialization.
The people of Ife developed a civilization which dates back to
about the 6th century B.C. and 100 A.
Ife art as it is known include
terracotta, brass, bronze, wood carving, and even potsherd pavement.
Benin main artwork include
bronze and brass heads and figures, stools and vessels.
Benin may have achieved greater international recognition for its art due to
earlier contact with European explorers
The main feature of Igbo ukwu culture include
Bronze, pottery decorated in highly ornamental style, vessels, beads and objects made of copper such as wristlets, bells, bracelets and earrings.
the Igbo ukwu culture flourished from about
1100 B.C. to about 850 A.D.
The believe that the Yoruba probably migrated from Egypt to their present location at about 2000-1000 B. C. was popularised by ____ in his book, History of the ____ in the year
- Rev. Samuel Johnson
- Yoruba
- 1950
The Almighty God send some of his messengers to the world and they included
Obatala or Orisa Nla or Orisa Alase (as the leader), and sixteen Oye (immortals).
The messenger of ife were given
five pieces of iron, a lump of earth tied to a white piece of cloth and a cockerel.
The site in which the oyos landed is traditionally known as
Oke Oramfe in Ife.
The Oyo empire emerge in
the middle of the fifteenth century
Who said we should not look beyond Africa when tracing the origin of people of Africa ? And what year?
Oliver and Fage (1975)
Oyo was founded by
Oranmiyan
The allafin was regarded as “Lord of many lands” at the time ?
The 16th century
______ reputed to be the fourth king was of a very wild disposition, fiery temper and skilled in sleight of hand tricks.
Sango
______ was a skilled commander in war who not only regained the lost military fame of the empire but was also a successful statesman.
Orompoto
____ is said to have been a powerful king in whose reign Dahomey was brought under the authority of Oyo empire
Ojigi
The Oyo empire derived its revenue from
agriculture and trade in agricultural and craft products.
The empire had a powerful army which was headed by a general with the title of
Are-Ona-Kankanfo.
The Oyo army consisted of the
infantry and calvary,
What is the distinctive feature of the oyo empire?
system of government
______ was the fountain of authority and “companion of the gods”.
Alaafin
Oyomesi consists of
a council of seven members headed by Bashorun who acted as the Prime Minister)l
The oyomesi is headed by the
Bashorun
The members of the oyomesi were also
leaders of the seven wards into which the metropolitan city was divided.
The Oyomesi depose the Alaafin by
asking him to commit suicide by giving him an empty calabash and parrot eggs and declaring that “the gods reject you, the people reject you, the earth reject you”.
______ played mediatory role in any conflict between the Oyomesi and the Alaafin.
The Ogboni cult
Major decisions taken by the Oyomesi were subject to the ratification and approval of ____
the ogboni cult.
The Alaafin had personal agents called ____ in the provinces.
Ilari”
____ festival which took place annually,
The “Bere”
____was used as a period of renewal of allegiance of the provincial governors to the central government.
The “Bere” festival
factors that led to its decline of the Oyo empire could be traced to;
- the vastness of the empire
- the autonomy granted to the provinces which they easily exploited to achieve their independence at the slightest sign of weakness at the centre.
______ usurped the throne by causing the death of about four Alaafin in quick succession and what year
Gaha (1754)
______ eliminated Gaha and members of his family and also tried to revive the empire,
Alaafin Abiodun
Benin was the first to be visited by the Europeans as early as
1472 A.D.
the first Europeans in Benin, the ______ in the year ____ in Eware’s reign and _____ in the year ____ in Ozolua’s reign”.
- Portuguese Ruy de Sequeire
- 1472
- Affonso de Aviero
- 1484
According to Ryder (1977), it was during the reign of ______ that Benin sent an ambassador to Portugal
Oba Ozolua (1481)
According to Egharevba (1960), it was during the reign of _____ that Benin sent an ambassador to Portugal.
Oba Esigie (1504)
The town seems to be very great. When you enter into it, you go into a great broad street, not paved, which seems to be seven to eight times broader than the Warmoes Street in Amsterdam …. was said by who ? And what year?
(Hodgkin, 1975)
The first period of pre-colonial Benin history is known as the
“Ogiso era”.
The first Ogiso was known a ____. He was succeeded by __
- Igbodo
- Ere
_______ is credited to have created the guild system and laid a solid foundation for the kingdom.
Ere
Guild created in ogiso time
wood-workers (Owina)
the carvers (Igbesamwan),
leather workers (Esohian),
the hunters (Ohue),
the weavers (Owinaido),
the pot makers (Emahe)
______ is said to have introduced the royal throne (Ekete) and the sword of authority (Ada and Eben) into the Benin kingdom
Ere
Ere was succeeded by
Orire
The last Ogiso was ____
Owodo.
the Benin elders established a form of republican government headed by ___
Evian
At his old age,Evian decided to appoint his son____ to succeed him.
Ogiamen
Oranmiyan’s arrival and rule in Benin was seriously opposed by
Ogiamen and his supporters.
Who said that “the country was a land of vexation, Ile-Ibinu (by which name the country was afterward known) and that only a child born, trained and educated in the arts and mysteries of the land could reign over the people”?
Oranmiyan
Oranmiyan stayed briefly with the______, whom he married his daughter _____
- Onogie of Ego, Osanego
- Erinmwinda,
The Benin society was classified into two distinct classes -
the nobility (Adesotu) and the commoner (Ighiotu).
Within the palace, there existed three societies, ________ into which each of these Eghaevbo chiefs belonged.
(Iwebo, Iweguae and Ibiwe)
The Adesotu is divided into
Uzama
Eghaevbo n’Ogbe(palace chiefs)
Eghaevbo n’Ore(town chiefs)
_____ were the highest ranking state officials in the kingdom and formed a distinct branch of government.
The Uzama
The uzama were initially six in number namely -
the Oliha, Edohen, Ezomo, Era, Eholor and Olaton.
_______ was the commander of the army,
the Ezomo
______ took care of the aba’s mother,
Era
_____ was in charge of the fetish Ire,
the Eholor
______ were responsible for sharing Oba’s gifts among the Uzama.
the Olaton and Edaiken
____ that crowned the Oba on his ascension of the throne.
the Oliha
Who is the leader of the uzama ?
Oliha
The societies of the oba were
Iwebo, Iweguae and Ibiwe.
Who is the most senior of palace societies?
Iwebo
____ took charge of the Oba’s wardrobe including his regalia.
Iwebo
Who was the leader of the iwebo
Iwangue
_____, was made up of the Oba’s personal attendant and domestic servants and their leader was _____
- Iweguae
- Esere.
_____, took charge of the Oba’s wives and children and was headed by _____
- Ibiwe
- Oshodin.
________ met with the Oba to deliberate on executive, judicial and legislative issues affecting the state.
Eghaevbo n’Ogbe
_____ acted as the Prime minister.
the lyase
_____ is the leader of The Eghaeho n’Ore
the lyase
_____ supplied the needs of the Oba and his household.
The Guild System:
the installation of Eweka Il in ____ ended the interregnum which began in ____.
- 1914
- 1897
According to oral traditions such as that of the Nri, the ancestor of the Igbo, ____ descended from the sky and sailed down the ____ and arriving _____, met some autochthonous group which had no living memory of their own and settled with them.
- Eri
- River Anambra
- Ageleu
_____ are described as acephalous, segmentary and fragmentary people.
The Igbo people
____ was a form of general assembly in the state Igbo which all adult male members met to perform legislative functions.
Amala Oha
The elders were highly respected because
they formed the core of village administration.
____ in Igboland today are the progeny of warrant chiefs appointed by the British in their years of exploitation of Nigeria.
Obi, Eze and “red cap” chiefs
the itsekiri founder is
Iginuwa , son of the Oba (king) of Benin.
The itsekiri kingdom was ruled by _____ who presided over a council known as _____
- the Olu
- Ojoye
Ojoye of the itsekiri people was made up of
seven nobles/title holders.
The main occupations of the itsekiri people in pre-colonial times were
fishing, trading and farming.
The itsekiri kingdom is made up of
the Itsekiri, [jaw and a number of other elements.
Itsekiri has ____ as its capital with other settlements scattered along the Forcados, Escravos and Benin Rivers.
Ode Itsekiri
What is the reasons why the Urhobo group, unlike the Benin and Itsekiri could not establish a single kingdom?
They are fragmented and based in different locations in the Niger Delta.
Each urhobo village had its own traditional institution headed by
a ruler (Ovie).
THE IZON did not develop any centralised system of government, mainly because
they were scattered in small fishing settlement in the creeks of the River Niger.
