Obolo (Andoni) Women in Overseas Trade and Traditional Politics, 1400-1800

Abstract

This write-up focuses on the activities of Obolo (Andoni) women that
contributed to the political and economic growth of Nigeria in the precolonial
times. They were found in the traditional politics and external
economy of slave and palm oil trades with the Portuguese, the Dutch and the
English. They were also the bulwark of territorial defence and the
organization of War Canoe Houses. The paper also attempts to analyze the
implications of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and pre-colonial politics in Obolo
(Andoni) and the international communities that traded with them.
Keywords: Defence, economy, Obolo (Andoni), overseas, palm-oil, politics,
slave, trade, women