King Adeyemi Letter To The British Empire

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King Adeyemi Letter To The British Empire
King Adeyemi Letter To The British October 10 1885 1080p Quality.webp
AuthorAlaafin Adeyemi I Alowolodu
PublisherAdeyemi I Alowolodu
Publication date
October 15, 1881

Adeyemi I Alowolodu was the last [1] independent King of the Oyo Kingdom. Adeyemi wrote a letter to the British as he was motivated by ongoing conflict with the Kingdom of Dahomey, whose military raids posed a sustained threat to his territory and population. Dahomey incursions resulted in casualties, destruction of settlements, and disruption of trade, undermining regional stability. [2] Lacking the resources to effectively counter these attacks, Adeyemi sought British assistance as a means of securing protection and deterring further aggression [3] . His appeal contributed to closer relations with Britain and led to the signing of a treaty on 15 October 1881 [4] , which formalized British involvement in the area and offered political and military support against Dahomey. This, including later treaties like the 1888 [5] British and Yoruba Treaty [6] , signed by Alaafin Adeyemi of Oyo and Queen Victoria, establishing peace, friendship, and exclusive trade, officially bringing all Yoruba kingdoms under British protection. [6] [7]

Context Of the letter

The Palace, Oyo.

October 15th, 1881.

To His Excellency, Lieut.-Governor W. B. Griffiths,

Sir— I hereby approach your Excellency and through you to the Imperial Government of England with this humble request:— (1) My country has long been disturbed by a desultory war, which your Excellency well knows and which has put a stop to all trade and impoverished the country, and thousands of lives have perished by death or hopeless slavery.

I have several times undertaken to bring about the long-desired peace, but my efforts have from time to time been frustrated. Instead of terminating the war is extending, to threaten the utter extinction of the Yoruba race.

The Dahomians have taken advantage of this to ruin my kingdom. A few months ago seven towns have fallen a victim to their rapacities and Iseyin is now threatened. The next turn might be to my own royal city.

With all possible speed I beg that the Imperial Government—for which I have always a great respect—to come to my help. I crave your assistance both to come to settle this unfortunate war between the belligerent powers, and to stop the Dahomians who have made an inroad into my kingdom.

To assure your Excellency of my great anxiety I pledge myself to undergo any expenses if only peace be effected as the issue. All my frontier towns are in great panic now, and if I make no stir to protect them they will all scatter and so I will undertake this in the coming dry season.

I mention this lest you may say after asking your help I make a movement.

I beg to remain,

ADEYEMI, King of the Yorubas.

[8] [9]

— Adeyemi I Alowolodu

References

  1. ↑ "Alaafin Adeyemi Alowolodu – OYO EMPIRE ONLINE" . Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  2. ↑ Lovejoy, Henry B. (2012). Old Oyo Influences on the Transformation of Lucumí Identity in Colonial Cuba (Thesis). UCLA.
  3. ↑ Solly, Meilan. "The Real Warriors Behind 'The Woman King'". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Samuel; Johnson, O. (Obadiah) (1921). The history of the Yorubas : from the earliest times to the beginning of the British Protectorate. Boston Public Library. Lagos, Nigeria : C.M.S. (Nigeria) Bookshops.
  5. ↑ "Oxford Historical Treaties [OHT]".
  6. 1 2 "Oxford Reference".
  7. ↑ Johnson, Samuel; Johnson, O. (Obadiah) (1921). The history of the Yorubas : from the earliest times to the beginning of the British Protectorate. Boston Public Library. Lagos, Nigeria : C.M.S. (Nigeria) Bookshops.
  8. ↑ The New York Times, "Pioneer Epic of an Illiterate African Tribe: The Yorubas of Nigeria", July 8, 1923, https://www.nytimes.com/1923/07/08/archives/pioneer-epic-of-an-illiterate-african-tribe-the-yorubas-of-nigeria.html
  9. ↑ Samuel Johnson and O. Johnson, The History of the Yorubas: From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate, C.M.S. (Nigeria) Bookshops (first published 1921), https://archive.org/details/historyofyorubas00john/page/462/mode/2up
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