Sylvanus Cookey

King Jaja of the Niger Delta Sylvanus Cookey

King Jaja was one of the most remarkable African leaders of the nineteenth century. Sold at an early age into domestic slavery, he rose to become a chief and eventually to found his own state, Opobo. As an African statesman, he sought to preserve the independence of his people in the face of European encroachments while modernizing his state. Viewed as an obstacle to British imperial ambitions in the Niger Delta, he was kidnapped and deported. His treatment became a cause celebre in West Africa, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom. Jaja's career typified many aspects of African political, social and economic life in the nineteenth century. This study is a major contribution to current African historiography in its use of oral history, anthropological data and written evidence. Professor S. J. S. Cookey was born in Opobo. He did graduate work at the London School of Economics obtaining his Ph.. D. in History in 1964.