Berlin Conference: The Bight of Biafra and the Oil Rivers

After the Berlin Conference carved lines across Africa, a complex network of African middlemen, palm oil traders, and British consuls shaped the fate of the Niger Delta. This episode of Fexingo History follows the struggle between the Royal Niger Company and the city-states of the Bight of Biafra — Opobo, Bonny, Calabar, and Brass. Meet King Jaja of Opobo, an Igbo trader who built a palm oil monopoly and defied British annexation until his exile to Saint Vincent. Hear about the Brass Oil War of 1895, when British shelling destroyed the port of Akassa. And learn how the Conference's 'effective occupation' doctrine rewrote the rules of trade and sovereignty on one of Africa's most lucrative coastlines. #BerlinConference #ScrambleForAfrica #BightOfBiafra #OilRivers #KingJajaOfOpobo #RoyalNigerCompany #PalmOil #BrassOilWar #GeorgeTaubmanGoldie #NigerDelta #Opobo #Bonny #Calabar #Akassa #EffectiveOccupation #Colonialism #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo