2 Abidjan nected LAGOS with Ibadan. By the end of the 19th cen- tury PALM OIL was Abeokuta’s most valuable trade com- modity. See also: CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY (Vol. IV); CROWTHER, SAMUEL AJAYI (Vol. IV); OGUN (Vol. I). Abidjan Former capital city of present-day IVORY COAST. Located on the Ebrie Lagoon of the Gulf of Guinea, Abidjan was first inhabited during the 16th century. By the end of the 1500s, three Ebrie fishing villages had been established in the area. The villages of Locodjo, Anoumabo, and Cocody would later merge and become Abidjan. Although Portuguese explorers arrived in Abidjan in the 17th century, Europeans showed little interest in the area until 200 years later, at which time the town began to grow into an important trade city. See also: ABIDJAN (Vols. IV, V). Abo (Toposa) Nomadic, Nilotic-speaking people of West Africa. Much of what is known about the early history of the Abo has been handed down orally. The Abo believe their founder was a ruler named Es- umaiukwu. Esumaiukwu’s father, the ruler of the king- dom of BENIN, Oba OZOLUA (r. 1481–1504), was a cruel leader who oppressed his people in order to build a powerful empire. He levied heavy taxes and executed those who rebelled against him. The resulting turmoil sparked the migration of a large group of Abo people. Esumaiukwu led a group to find a new, more peace- ful homeland. His brothers Oputa, Exoma, Akilini, Os- imili, Etim, and Chima Ukwu accompanied him. They split into two groups at Agbor, in the southeastern part of what is now NIGERIA. The first group, led by Chima Ukwu, settled in the Agbor-Assaba region. Esumaiukwu led the second group toward Ukwuani to Ologwu. After many months, Esumaiukwu and his siblings moved on, his brothers eventually settling and forming the king- doms of Usoro, Ashaka, Afor, and Osissa. Esumaiukwu and his remaining followers finally set- tled at Ugboko Ukwa, an area inhabited by the Akiri peo- ple. The Akiri were unwilling to integrate peacefully with the Abo, so Esumaiukwu and his people subdued them. A kingdom was established, and Esumaiukwu became the ruler, or oba, of the Abo people. His children inher- ited the throne upon his death, and throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Abo gradually gained control over much of the lower NIGER region. Abomey Principal city in the 17th-century kingdom of the same name and later the capital of the kingdom of DAHOMEY. Located in present-day Republic of BENIN, in West Africa, Abomey was established around 1625 by a prince named Do-Aklin, who fled there from ALLADA after losing a power struggle with his two brothers. Abomey flourished under Do-Aklin and his grandson WEGBAJA (c. 1645–1680). At some time during the reign of Wegbaja some of the FON people of Abomey began re- ferring to their kingdom as “Dahomey.” Thereafter, the two kingdoms became synonymous, though the city of Abomey retained its name. A long line of shrewd rulers, including AGAJA (c.1673–1740) and TEGBESU (r. 1740– 1774), led Abomey-Dahomey in dominating trade along the West African coast. JJJJJJJJJJJJJ Abomey was long dominated by remarkable royal palaces. Created by a succession of rulers starting in the late 17th century, the palaces contained lux- urious residences that had walls adorned with nu- merous works of ART. The palace complex was es- pecially noteworthy for a series of sculpted earthen murals that depicted important events, customs, and myths associated with the history of the city and its people. Unfortunately, the palace was de- stroyed by fire in the late 19th century during a pe- riod of French occupation, and many of its trea- sures were destroyed. JJJJJJJJJJJJJ Until the reign of GEZU (1818–1858), the main source of Abomey’s wealth was the sale of captive Afri- cans, although prior to his reign Britain had abolished the TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE. Eventually, however, the commercial demand for humans abated, and the empha- sis in Abomey shifted to the exportation of PALM OIL. See also: PORTO NOVO (Vol. III); WHYDAH (Vol. III). Further reading: Francesca Piqué and Leslie H. Rainer, Palace Sculptures of Abomey: History Told on Walls (Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1999). Accra Capital of present-day GHANA. The city of Accra emerged as trade increased at three neighboring Euro- pean trading posts along what was known as the GOLD COAST. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the inhabitants of the region were the GA-DANGME people, who began set- tling there in the 15th century. Portuguese explorers dis- covered the Ga-Dangme villages as early as 1482 but expressed little interest in the area. In 1650 Dutch explor- ers, too, arrived on the Gold Coast, and they built a trad- ing post called Fort Crèvecoeur. In 1661 the Dutch were joined by Danish traders, who built their own fort, Chris- tiansborg Castle, in the nearby Ga-Dangme town of OSU.
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