Summary

One cannot discuss the 19th-century Yoruba warfare without emphasizing some of the pre-19th-century events that led to the wars. Military aggression among Yoruba in the 19th century was an escalation of the political and economic turmoil in Yorubaland during the previous century. Critical questions are: What caused warfare in Yorubaland in the 19th century or earlier? Did the wars lead to socio-political changes in Yorubaland? Yoruba wars can be identified with three, though not widely distinct, periods: 1750 to 1837, 1837 to 1878, and 1878 to 1893. In the first period, Nupe intensified their raids in northern Yoruba as the constitutional crisis in Old Oyo began to distract the administration and reduced Old Oyo’s control in the north. In the south, Yoruba were gripped by the Owu-Ife war and, later, the Ijebu-Ife-Old Oyo military coalition against Owu. The second period began with the collapse of Old Oyo and the struggle for leadership among the successor states of Ibadan, Ijaye, and Ilorin. The third and last period of warfare saw a military alliance against Ibadan. The oppressive regime of Ibadan led to a revolt among the subjugated towns that formed the Ekitiparapo confederacy.

Warfare and military threat in Yorubaland have led to aggregated communities, the manufacturing of weapons of war, the construction of fortifications, and the abandonment and settlement relocation. Warfare in Yorubaland gave rise to both conqueror states and small, fragmented, conquered polities. Constant military pressure from north and south transformed Old Oyo into a militant state. The collapse of Old Oyo in the 19th century ushered in a long period of Yoruba internecine warfare. The unrest destroyed many royal households, which gave able warriors opportunities to gain wealth and power.