What historic trading confederacy located along the Niger Delta coast was governed by merchant chiefs organized into competitive 'canoe houses' (wari)?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. the Niger Delta trading city-states
- Step 1: In the Eastern Niger Delta, Ijaw city-states (such as Grand Bonny, Elem Kalabari, and Nembe) organized society into 'canoe houses' (wari). Step 2. Each canoe house was an economic and military trading corporation led by a chief, capable of outfitting a 50-man war canoe mounted with cannon for palm oil trade defense. Answer: the city-states of the Oil Rivers (Bonny, Nembe, Kalabari, Okrika). Why not the others: Dahomey was a centralized kingdom; Oyo Mesi is Yoruba; Nupe was a savanna emirate.
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