![\"A](\"https:\/\/nicholasidoko.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/A-Young-Jaja.jpg\")
During this chaos, Jaja of Opobo was kidnapped and taken to Bonny Island in Rivers State. There, he was renamed Jubo Jubogha by his first master. Later on, he was sold to Chief Alali, who was the head of the Opobu Manila Group of Houses. It was in this master\u2019s house he was given the name \u201cJaja\u201d (this was due to the fact that the British could not pronounce his name, \u201cJubo Jubogha\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After several years, Jaja finally graduated from servanthood or apprenticeship. Then, after his master’s death, he took charge of the trades his master left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jaja became the head of the Anna Pepple House Merchant Faction of Bonny Island. After being passed around for so long as a slave, Jaja had learned a thing or two about business and politics. His time managing the faction saw Anna Pepple absorb other trade houses until there was a huge dispute in the houses at Bonny with the Manilla Pepple House which was led by Chief Oko Jumbo. The pressure continued for a while before Jaja decided to break away and form the Opobo city-state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opobo Before the Opobo city-state Formation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Opobo gained its wealth from the profits that came from slave trades from the 15th to the 18th century. This was a thriving business that earned many people wealth and affluence. However, the abolition of the Slave Trade in 1807 meant the new money-making business was the palm oil trade. This trade thrived so well that the region was named the Oil Rivers area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Opobo City-State<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Jaja established a new settlement (Opobo) in 1869, where he became the King Jaja of Opobo. There, he became a man of status, free and independent of Bonny. His efforts and skillfulness in ruling saw Opobo dominating the region\u2019s lucrative palm oil trade. Opobo also housed fourteen trade houses, formerly part of Bonny\u2019s eighteen trade houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
King Jaja of Opobo, during his reign, also blocked the access of British merchants to the interior. This was a smart decision that gave him a monopoly in the market. He became so successful that he never needed the services of British middlemen to ship palm oil to Liverpool = he directly shipped there without obstructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No doubt, King Jaja of Opobo was not only a wealthy merchant, but he was also a man of honor and power. Once, he lent his help to the Queen of England in a battle in the Gold Coast (the Ashanti war). As a reward, Queen Victoria awarded him a sword of honor in 1871.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read: Fidel Castro: Is He Truly an African Hero?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Oil Trade Business in Opobo continued to thrive, and the lands were also expanding. So, the Europeans wanted to take control of the market. Of course, this brought conflicts between Jaja and the British top sales and business tycoons. One of them was John Holt of Liverpool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jaja avoided attempts by Holt to penetrate his market in Qua Ibo River, but the Liverpool supporters of the African Association pressed for strong action against him over \u201cfalling rates of profit.\u201d This was probably made-up story to put pressure on Jaja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering \u201cnational interest\u201d, King Jaja showed his ruthlessness to the Qua Ibo people in 1881. This resulted in him raiding seven of their villages, capturing many, and prosecuting around 100 people for taking part in direct trade with the Europeans. As a device to gain control of the Oil region, the British came up with tricks and laws to outrun Jaja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he constantly overcame and outplayed their tactics, which angered the British.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the 1884 Berlin conference, the other European powers designated Opobo as British territory, and they soon moved to claim it. When King Jaja didn\u2019t stop taxing British traders, Henry Hamilton Johnson, who was a British vice-consul, invited him for negotiations in 1887.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By September of 1887, Johnson brought a \u201cWarship\u201d (HMS Goshawk) to Opobo and invited King Jaja on board, assuring him of safety. King Jaja agreed and went on board. On his arrival, Johnson gave him two bad choices. He stated that if King Jaja would not grant the Europeans access, he would have to return home and face war with the British Navy. But if he wouldn\u2019t settle for that, he would have to go into exile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, King Jaja was a man of value, principle, and honor, he would never bow to such. He chose not to back down, which led to his arrest by the British. He was then tried in Accra, in the Gold Coast (now Ghana). Afterward, he was taken to London, where he met with Queen Victoria and remained her guest at Buckingham Palace. Shortly after his arrival, he was deported to the West Indies, but no one really knew what transpired between him and the Queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While King Jaja of Opobo was in exile in the Caribbean, he was said to have caused immense civil unrest among the people of Barbados.<\/p>\n\n\n\n King Jaja continued to fight and campaign for his freedom even after he was moved to the island of S\u00e3o Vicente, Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, to avoid an uprising. Eventually, he regained freedom after years of fighting against his wrongful abduction. The Parliament permitted him to be repatriated to his Kingdom State of Opobo. Already close to aging, Jaja yearned to see Opobo again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the people of Barbados (mostly of people of African, specifically Nigerian descent) got the news that a captured African king was coming to the island, they all gathered to give him a befitting reception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The British wanted to try him on the Island for his \u201ccrimes.\u201d This didn\u2019t sit well with the people as they felt insulted because an African King had been subjected to such ridicule and shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right about when the ship got to its docking site at the side of the water, the people of the island rushed and camped at the waterside. The plan was to block the British from taking King Jaja to the Colonial courthouse in the middle of the Village\u2019s square. And they camped there until the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following day being a Sunday, the Islanders had their church service at the waterside, just right by the ship, with King Jaja lurking around as the service went on. Before the end of the service, he made his way out, and the women cried out, welcoming him, \u201ca King from their ancestral mother land\u201d.\u00a0 The crowd beamed with joy and zeal. On seeing this, the British feared that they may plan an escape for him. Fearing an uprising, they grabbed their bags and sailed back to St. Vincent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n King Jaja was moved around in the West Indies, so his family lineage can be traced to St. Vincent. Some reports even stated he got married and had children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result of the way King Jaja carried himself with pride and held his head up high on the highland, people in the West Indies (Barbados and St. Vincent) adopted \u201cJaja\u201d as a common slang used to describe someone who is arrogant and carries him\/herself with an air of pride and dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1891, King Jaja was granted approval to return to Opobo but sadly died on his way. He was said to have been poisoned with a cup of tea in June. After he died, his body was shipped to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where he was buried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following King Jaja\u2019s exile and death, the power of the Opobo state declined drastically. The land became easily accessible to slave raiders, was a bed for riots, and the British exploited the land for its natural resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After several protests and pleas, King Jaja\u2019s body was exhumed and sent back to the Opobo kingdom, where he was properly laid to rest. Today, his remains are in a sacred (grave) shrine behind the Palace of the Amanyanabo of Opobo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hey there! Now, you know a little bit more about an African hero, King Jaja of Opobo. I hope this was insightful. But one last thing before you go. Our team at\u00a0Nicholas Idoko Technologies<\/a>\u00a0can help you build custom software development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can develop web, mobile, desktop, and blockchain applications tailored to your budget and vision. We are also interested in your growth and will continue to track your progress as you scale your product. Our work cuts across several industries, including eCommerce, online games, voting and payments, blockchain, and many more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nicholasidoko.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Jaja-of-Opobo-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDouble-Dealings Against Opobo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Two Difficult Choices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
King Jaja of Opobo\u2019s Fight For Freedom<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Statue](\"https:\/\/nicholasidoko.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Statue-of-King-Jaja-of-Opobo-in-Rivers.jpg\")
The King Returns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Murder\/Death of King Jaja of Opobo And the Ill-fate that Befell Opobo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Before You Go\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n