Ọbalókun (Yoruba translation "King of the Ocean") was an Aláàfin and celebrated warrior-king of the kingdom of Ọ̀yọ́. He is also remembered as the Aláàfin under which Oyo first entered the

Atlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

and contact with European powers. One of his nicknames was "Aágànná Erin" which translates to the plundering elephant, alluding to his

expansionist Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who ...

policy. He was first in an era of successive despotic and short-lived kings of Oyo.

Reign

Ọbalókun was an ambitious and expansionist king. Under him the defensive cavalary force Oyo had gained through trade with the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

had fully transformed into an offensive one, for which Oyo was later known for. His conquests, while not all concluding during his lifetime, include lands in Ìgbómìnà, East Central Èkìtì, the Upper Ọ̀ṣun area, Ègbá and most notibly advances into the strip between the Yéwá and

Ogun Ogun or Ogoun ( Yoruba: Ògún, Edo: Ògún, Portuguese: Ogum, Gu; also spelled Oggun or Ogou; known as Ogún or Ogum in Latin America) is a Yoruba Orisha that is adopted in several African religions. Ògún is a warrior and a powerful spi ...

rivers (also referred to as Ẹgbado Corridor) which first gave Oyo access to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and the

global market Global marketing is defined as “marketing on a worldwide scale reconciling or taking global operational differences, similarities and opportunities to reach global objectives". Global marketing is also a field of study in general business mana ...

. According to some there might have also been a short lived Iléṣà tributary around the year 1600 during Ọbalókuns rule.

Life

Ọbalókun Agana Erin was born to the daughter of the Alake of Egbaland. According to Oyo tales, he was in communication with a European King (most likely

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

but maybe

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) He was succeeded by Oluodo.

References

*Samuel Johnson, Obadiah Johnson. ''The History of the Yorubas, From the Earliest of Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate.'' p. 168. Alaafins of Oyo {{Africa-royal-stub