The Yoruba people contributed significant cultural and economic influence upon the Atlantic slave trade during its run from approximately 1400 until 1900 CE.

Oyo Empire

From 1400 onward, the

Oyo Empire The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking s ...

's imperial success made the

Yoruba language Yoruba (, ; Yor. '; Ajami: ) is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Southwestern and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speakers is roughly 50 million, plus about 2 million second-languag ...

a ''lingua franca'' almost to the shores of the Volta.Stride & Ifeka 1971, p. 302. Toward the end of the 18th century, the Oyo army was neglected as there was less need to conquer.Oliver & Atmore 2001, p. 95. Instead, Oyo directed more effort towards trading and acted as middlemen for both the trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic slave trades. Europeans bringing salt arrived in Oyo during the reign of King Obalokun.Stride & Ifeka p. 292 Thanks to its domination of the coast, Oyo merchants were able to trade with Europeans at

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

and Whydah.Stride & Ifeka 1971, p. 293. Here the Oyo Empire's captives and criminals were sold to Dutch and Portuguese buyers.Smith 1989, p. 31.

Cultural influence

In addition to the influence on slavery, and later Afro-American cuisine and language, the importation of

Yoruba culture Distinctive cultural norms prevail in Yorubaland and among the Yoruba people.Kola Abimbola, Yoruba Culture: ''A Philosophical Account'', Iroko Academic Publishers, 2005. Art Sculpture The Yoruba are said to be prolific sculptors, famous for ...

was most heavily evidenced in such manifestations of

Yoruba religion The Yoruba religion (Yoruba: Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), or Isese, comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in present-day Southwestern Nigeria, which comprises the majority of Oyo, Og ...

as Santería, Candomblé Ketu, and other traditional spiritualities.

References

{{Yoruba topics African diaspora African slave trade Yoruba-American history Yoruba diaspora