Borgu is a region in north-west

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

and in the northern Republic of

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

. It was partitioned between

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

by the Anglo-French Convention of 1898. People of Borgu are known as Bariba or Borgawa.

History

According to the Kisra legend known all over Borgu, the petty kingdoms of the country were founded by Kisra, a hero who according to an oral tradition immigrated from Birnin Kisra ("the town of Kisra") in Arabia. His brothers are said to have been the founders of the kingdoms of

Illo Illo is a town in Kebbi State, Nigeria. Pre-colonial history Illo was one of the Northern Borgu Kingdoms, small but wealthy, and it fought a number of wars with its neighbors in the nineteenth century including the Samba War and conflicts with Gwa ...

, Bussa and Nikki. Other descendants are believed to have constituted the ruling aristocracy of the Wasangari.

Colonial era

1905 Borgu 1d local stamp with stamps of Northern Nigeria used on piece via Zungeru

During the British colonial era, the area was within the territory claimed by the

Royal Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger C ...

, but rivalry between Britain and France for control of the trade on the River Niger led to occupation of areas by the French, for instance at Illo, and the stationing of the British

West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recogniti ...

at Yashikera and elsewhere in the region.Adekunle, Julius. (2004)
Politics and Society in Nigeria's Middlebelt: Borgu and the Emergence of a Political Identity
'' Africa World Press, pp. 131-134. The matter was settled by the Anglo-French Delineation Agreement and later the British Government divided Nigeria into Northern and Southern Protectorates. Borgu became part of the

Northern Nigeria Protectorate Northern Nigeria ( Hausa: ''Arewacin Najeriya'') was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria. The protectorate spanned and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate ...

. British posts were established along the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali ...

and at Jebba, Zungeru, Lokoja and Illo, and a mail route was established between them for communication with Britain.

Present situation

In spite of their separation by the colonial border there are still many exchanges between the petty kingdoms of Borgu situated in

and

. The three major kingdoms are Bussa, Illo and Nikki. Bussa is traditionally considered to be the spiritual centre of Borgu, Nikki the centre of political power and Illo the commercial emporium.

References and sources

;References ;Sources *Kuba, Richard: ''Wasangari und Wangara: Borgu und seine Nachbarn in historischer Perspektive'', Hamburg 1996. *Lombard, Jacques: ''Structures de type féodal en Afrique noire: Étude des relations sociales chez les Bariba'', Paris 1965. *Stewart, Marjorie: ''Borgu and its Kingdoms'', Lewiston 1993. {{Coord, 11.0, N, 3.5, E, source:wikidata, display=title History of Benin History of Nigeria French West Africa

History

Colonial era

Present situation

See also

References and sources