The complexity of the politics of succession and dynastic struggles in Lagos will not be complete without the understanding of the roles played by royal slaves belonging to the different sides of the spectrum. They were veterans of dynastic politics and the rites of succession in traditional Lagos. The repeated disputes of succession and economic rivalry of the period led to dethronements, usurpation of power, and ego issues. The civil crises engendered by these problems provided opportunities for the purchase of slaves and their use as warriors. This work focuses particularly on the ways in which slave experiences became central to instability and power play in precolonial Lagos. Major developments in Lagos depended on the prerogatives of the king, but not totally. This paper sheds light on the nature and strategic importance of palace slaves to the survival of the ruling aristocracy in all its ramifications.
Olutayo Charles Adesina is professor in the Department of History at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is the current Director of the University of Ibadan Research and Development Fair (UIRESDEV) and a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (FNAL). Professor Adesina has won several prestigious fellowships and awards including from the Harvard University’s Charles Warren Centre, the Salzburg Seminar, St. Antony’s College at Oxford University, Jawaralhal Nehru University in New Delhi, and the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) in Berlin. His publications include Oyo: History, Tradition and Royalty (2021) with Ibadan University Press, edited with Siyan Oyeweso, and Larger Than Life: Icons and Villains in Yoruba Thought and Society with R.T. Akinyele.
The workshop is open to all members of the BCDSS, including Ph.D. candidates and M.A. students.
This workshop series is organised by the Research Group "The Concept of Slavery in African History".
Mary Afolabi
Boluwatife Akinro
Ricardo Márquez García
Jutta Wimmler
Lukas Wissel