A HISTORY OF KARU, KURAPB ANIJ KURUDU KINGDOMS A STUDY OF ECONOMIC SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHANGE AMONG GBAGYI OF CENTRAL NIGERIA IN "THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES.
A HISTORY OF KARU, KURAPB ANIJ KURUDU KINGDOMS A STUDY OF ECONOMIC SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHANGE AMONG GBAGYI OF CENTRAL NIGERIA IN "THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES.
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Date
1994
Authors
MAILAFIYA, ARUWA PILABA
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Abstract
This thesis is an attempt at the reconstruction
of the history of Karu, Kurape and Kurudu kingdoms
c. '1700-1900 A.D. These were Gbagyl kingdoms located
in the heart of Nigeria. By the beginning of the 17th
century the area had been occupied by the g'bagyi and
under the politica l control of Kurape for at least a
century. However, by the end of the 18th centuiy the
interna l contradictions and the pressures of external
forces disabled Kurape effective control of Karu and
Kurudu area. By the beginning of the 19th century
Karu and Kurudu had become splinte r state s with defined
boundaries. Although they had become indapendent of
Kurape, they stil l maintained some economic, cultura l
and military ties, and sometimes organised consorti im
military efforts in order to ward off and curb
extern al attacks.
In the course of this study it was consistently
argued that the interna l factors were of paramount
importance in the emergence of the kingdoms. And tJ
split of Kurape kingdom was to a large r extent caused
by the rulers of Kurape who raided their subjects.
The major challenge these kingdoms faced in the
19th century was the jihadist a activitie s in the region.
First , there sharp demographic changes. The
jihadists activitie s forced down the Hausa, Gwandara,
Pulani, Gade, Yeskwa and Koro groups who were given
respit e by the kingdoms. There was also drasti c loss
of Gbagyi population because of head-hunting. Second,
there was the evolution of new settlements which had
strong tie s with the Caliphate, and the subsequent
change of balance of power in the region in favour of
the new centres tha t became Emirates.
It was again posited that the relationship between
the emerging Emirates and the autochthonous Kurape,
Karu :nd Kurudu was very complex type and not as
simple as portrayed in the dominant literatur e - the
Emirates versus the 'pagan* states. Rather, there
were sporadic allianc e systems whereby the emirates
sometimes took side with the 'pagan* politie s against
a riva l emirate and vice versa . We are of the view
tha t there seemed to have been co-existence than a
situation of perpetual war in the 19th century.
However, the coming of the new groups strengthened
the centralisatio n of the kingdoms, increased economic
activities, increased trade and external relation s with
the neighbouring state s and so on.
In the heat of various struggles against the
nvading surrounding emeirates of Nassarawa, Keffi,
Abuja, Bida and the kingdoms of Igu and Opanda, the
European traders and crusaders came in . The Royal
Nigeria Company (NRC) Biffied tratie s with many chiefs
for trade purposes, and in pre ex to protect the
nailer kingdoms against the jihadists. But the RNC
eoon revealed tha t it was for trade , and prefered the
emirs in the allianc e since the emirs promised the
PNC trade rights and were forcibly trying to break the
trade barriers put by the autochthonous kingdoms. The
emire of Nassarawa and Keffi signed some treatie s which
implied ceding out the whole area under study to the
RNC without the knowledge of the rulers of the autochthonous
polities. In particular, the emir of
Nassarawa requested for rifle s and soldiers from the
company in order to subdue the kingdoms. And this emir
was one of the earliest omeirs to submit to the Britis h
invasion and conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1902
(afte r the Emirs of Bida, Ilorin , Muri, Adamawa,
Kontagor and Bauchi had .submitted between 1897-1902).
The attitud e of Nassarawa, lik e the emirates above,
dissabled collective resistanc e to the conquest. Thence
the Britis h had changed their attitude s as friends to
become foes and conquerrors, and finally as administrators
Again, it was the colonial invasion tha t actually
destroyed the three kingdoms under study, and not the
emirates as normally claimed in the colonial historio -
graphy.
However, the stiff ;resistance put by the
kingdoms partly influenced the British ideology of
colonial administration, and marginalised them in the
scheme of things.
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the Post-graduate School, Ahmadu Bello University, in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master
of Arts (M.A.)
Department of History
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Ahmadu Bello University
Zaria.
Keywords
HISTORY,, KARU, KURAPB ANIJ KURUDU KINGDOMS ,, STUDY,, ECONOMIC SOCIAL ,, POLITICAL CHANGE AMONG GBAGYI ,, CENTRAL NIGERIA,, 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES,