The Aro expedition of 1901-1902: An episode in the British occupation of Iboland

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Periodical article

Title:	The Aro expedition of 1901-1902: An episode in the British occupation of Iboland
Author:	Afigbo, A.E.
Year:	1972
Periodical:	Odù: Journal of Yoruba and Related Studies
Issue:	7
Pages:	3-27
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Nigeria Great Britain
Subject:	colonial conquest
Abstract:	The period 1896-1903, covered by Sir Ralph Moor's tenure of office as head of Her Britannic Majesty's Government in the Bights of Benin and Biafra, was crucial in the history of the establishment of effective British administrative control in Southern Nigeria. In the field of military action the two most important events were the expeditions against Benin in 1897 and against the Aro in 1901-2. Only one serious but hardly successful attempt has been made to present the full story of the Aro or Long Juju Expedition. The official explanation of the expedition has been followed by many a writer of Nigerian history but the purpose of this essay is to go beyond the official pronouncements and show that the real issues involved were different from those hitherto presented. The Aro expedition is to be seen in the context of changes which were taking place in the Bights of Benin and Biafra at that time. Ref., map.