Old Calabar polity
E944258
Old Calabar polity was a precolonial Efik city-state and major West African trading center, particularly prominent in the Atlantic slave trade along the Cross River in what is now southeastern Nigeria.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Efik city-state
ⓘ
West African trading center ⓘ precolonial African city-state ⓘ |
| associatedInstitution | Ekpe (Egbo) secret society NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWith | Efik merchant families such as the Duke, Henshaw, and Eyamba houses ⓘ |
| capital | Duke Town NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| colonizedBy | United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| containsSettlement |
Creek Town
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Duke Town NERFINISHED ⓘ Henshaw Town NERFINISHED ⓘ Obutong NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryNow | Nigeria NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| declineCause |
British suppression of the Atlantic slave trade
ⓘ
shift to legitimate commerce such as palm oil ⓘ |
| economyBasedOn |
Atlantic slave trade
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
ivory trade ⓘ palm oil trade ⓘ trade in European manufactured goods ⓘ |
| ethnicGroup | Efik people NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| governedBy |
Efik chiefs
ⓘ
Obong of Calabar NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| incorporatedInto |
Niger Coast Protectorate
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Oil Rivers Protectorate NERFINISHED ⓘ Protectorate of Southern Nigeria NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| knownFor |
complex system of trade duties and customs
ⓘ
powerful merchant lineages ⓘ use of canoe-borne riverine trade networks ⓘ |
| language | Efik language NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalSystem | customary law enforced by chiefs and secret societies ⓘ |
| locatedIn |
Cross River region
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
West Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ southeastern Nigeria ⓘ |
| majorRiver | Cross River NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOf | Bight of Biafra slave-trading zone ⓘ |
| peakPeriod |
18th century
ⓘ
early 19th century ⓘ |
| politicalStructure |
city-state
ⓘ
monarchical system ⓘ |
| regionType | coastal trading polity ⓘ |
| religion |
Efik traditional religion
ⓘ
early Christianity (19th century) ⓘ |
| roleInHistory |
intermediary between European traders and inland African societies
ⓘ
major West African slave-exporting port ⓘ |
| strategicLocation | mouth of the Cross River near the Bight of Biafra ⓘ |
| successor | Calabar (colonial and modern city) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| tradePartners |
British merchants
ⓘ
Dutch merchants ⓘ Portuguese merchants ⓘ other European traders ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.