3 - The Hinterland Phase I: Blood and Iron, 1900–1914

Summary

In some important respects, aspects of the abolition of the slave trade in the hinterland of the Bight of Biafra can be said to have dovetailed into the abolition of the Atlantic segment and also into the reduction in the incidence of the traffic along the coast of the Bight itself. Indeed, the elimination of the export of slaves across the Atlantic, which, by and large, had been achieved by about 1860, was the first major blow to the internal traffic. Because the hinterland suppliers remained for decades after 1807 unaware of what was happening with the international market for their wares, or did not understand it, their machinery and mechanisms of supply remained fully operational, doing business as before, with the result that it did not take very long before the situation reached a point where such unrelenting activity began to damage the interest of the business. The damage took the form of a buildup in the number of slaves available for sale that was far in excess of what the internal market could profitably absorb. In other words, there was a glut, leading no doubt to a fall in the prices offered for slaves. In this regard, it should be remembered that it was as the abolitionist movement was getting into high gear that the jihad movement in Northern Nigeria, which started in 1804 and yielded a large harvest of slaves, many of whom were sent down the Niger for sale, began making its impact fully felt in the middle belt region which lies just north of and next to our region of interest.

The present writer drew attention in the early 1970s to this glut in the market for slaves in the hinterland of the Bight of Biafra following the abolition of the external slave trade, pointing out that

The decline of the Aro oligarchy goes back to Britain's decision in 1807 to abolish the slave trade. . . . British success in this matter between 1840 and 1860 dealt the first severe blow to Aro interests. . . . The cutting off of the foreign demand for slaves created a crisis for all groups involved in the trade. For the Aro the system they built up over the centuries for prosecuting this business—the Ibini Ukpabi oracle, the strategic settlements throughout southeastern Nigeria, the alliance with the Abam, Ohafia and Edda—remained in full working condition.