Lagos bombing - British fleet shelling the island of Lagos in 1851 under the pretext of canceling the transatlantic slave trade .
| Lagos Bombing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| date of | November 25, December 26, 1851 | ||
| A place | Lagos | ||
| Total | The victory of the British Empire | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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| Forces of the parties | |||
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| Losses | |||
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Content
- 1 Background
- 1.1 First measures to combat slavery
- 1.2 Akitoe rivalry against Kosoko
- 1.3 Missionary
- 1.4 Diplomacy
- 2 Actions
- 2.1 November 25, 1851
- 2.2 December 26, 1851
- 3 Treaty between Great Britain and Lagos
- 4 notes
Background
First anti-slavery measures
At the beginning of the XIX century, Britain fought against the slave trade in the Atlantic, its fleet in West Africa continued to pursue the Portuguese, American, French and Cuban slave ships and impose anti-slavery agreements with the leaders of the West African shores [1] .
In 1849, John Beecroft was appointed consul of Benin and Biafra , and John Duncan was appointed vice consul and was in the form of [2] . At the time of Beecroft's appointment, the Kingdom of Lagos (with both Kosoko) was in the western part of the consulates of Benin and Biafra and was a key port in the slave trade [3] .
Akite rivalry against Kosoko
Both Kosoko overthrew his predecessor Akitoe in Lagos in 1845. Akitoya, while in exile, recognized the need for a military alliance with Britain. He understood that the requirement to abandon the slave trade as a necessary condition for returning to the throne would have to be fulfilled. In December 1850, Akitoe appealed to the queen, reminding the British of a similar request that he had made in 1846, promising to ban the slave trade if assistance was provided to return him to the throne [4] .
Missionary
British missionaries sought to completely abolish the slave trade, as this would facilitate their gospel “work” and lead to the start of legal trade. Thus, Henry Wynn presented arguments in favor of British intervention to Lord Palmerston , who, in turn, instructed Beecroft to assess the need for such measures [5] .
By August 1851, Henry Wynn, with the help of Samuel Crowther, was persuading Queen Victoria , Lord Parlmerston, and the Lords of the Admiralty . Bishop Crowther argued that if Lagos was subordinated to Akita and linked to England, British commercial interests would be protected. Crowther's arguments were positively received by the Admiralty and Palmerston [6] .
Diplomacy
On November 20, 1851, the British embassy, consisting of Consul Beecroft, Commander Wilmot, Commander Gardner and Lieutenant Patey, arrived at Oba Kosoko's palace in an attempt to negotiate a ban on the slave trade. Kosoko, through Oshodi Tapa, rejected the offer of friendship, and the British delegation left Oba's palace. Then Beecroft wrote to Commander Forbes that it was time for the British Royal Navy to expel Kosoko and establish Akitoe, the “rightful heir” [7] .
Actions
November 25, 1851
The first attack on November 25, 1851 was hastily organized and carried out by Commander Forbes, who underestimated the defense of Oba Kosoko - about 5,000 people armed with muskets . Forbes forces consisted of 306 officers, soldiers, marines, and sailors aboard the HMS Bloodhound . Although the Bloodhound withstood strong cannon fire from the coast, the landing went ashore, but met very stiff resistance. By evening, the British had lost two killed and ten wounded, and the commander ordered to retreat [8] .
December 26, 1851
The battle of December 26, 1851 was called by the locals Ogun Aghoybi (Ogun Agidingbi) - "Fighting battle." Captain Jones led the attackers. This time the fleet consisted of the battleships HMS Bloodhound , HMS Teaser and a fleet of boats; the British were at an advantage. Kosoko had a very stiff three-day resistance, but the superior firepower of the Royal Navy won. Kosoko and his entourage fled from Lagos to Epe on December 28, 1851. According to Samuel Davis, Kosoko would inflict heavy losses on the Royal Navy if he did not rely solely on static defense, but deployed combat canoes with their rotary guns. The British lost 15 people killed and 75 wounded. Davis was among the wounded. [9]
On December 29, Akitoe was brought ashore to assess the condition of the bombed city and took the oath of local leaders. On December 30, the Royal Navy dismantled all Kosoko's batteries and dropped 46 of its guns into the sea [8] .
Treaty between Great Britain and Lagos
With Akitaem, as Oba, on January 1, 1852, a new treaty was signed between Lagos and the United Kingdom, prohibiting the slave trade and revealing what some historians call the consular period in the history of Lagos. This consular period paved the way for Britain to annex Lagos a decade later, in August 1861 [8] .
Notes
- ↑ Smith, Robert. The Lagos Consulate 1851-1861. - University of California Press. - P. 2. - ISBN 9780520037465 .
- ↑ Duncan, John (1805-1849) . Wikisource . Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 16. Date of access December 23, 2016.
- ↑ Howard Temperley, 'Beecroft, John (1790-1854)', rev. Elizabeth Baigent, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
- ↑ Kopytoff, Jean Herskovits. A preface to modern Nigeria: the "Sierra Leonians" in Yoruba, 1830-1890. - University of Wisconsin Press, 1965. - P. 73–74.
- ↑ The Centenaru Volume of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East 1799-1899 . - London: Church Missionary Society, digital publication: Cornell University, 1902.
- ↑ Kopytoff, Jean Herskovits. A preface to modern Nigeria: the "Sierra Leonians" in Yoruba, 1830-1890. - University of Wisconsin Press, 1965. - P. 77–78.
- ↑ Smith, Robert. The Lagos Consulate 1851-1861. - University of California Press. - P. 24–25. - ISBN 9780520037465 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Smith, Robert. The Lagos Consulate 1851-1861. - University of California Press. - P. 26–31. - ISBN 9780520037465 .
- ↑ Elebute, Adeyemo. The Life of James Pinson Labulo Davies: A Colossus of Victorian Lagos. - Kachifo Limited / Prestige. - P. 9. - ISBN 9789785205763 .