A very good, unsophisticated copy of this rare history of the Egbas by Chief Adebesin Folarin (1877-1949). In addition to his work as a barrister, judge, and public official, Folarin was a leading intellectual in Abeokuta.
The Egbas are a subgroup of the Yoruba people in western Nigeria. In his overview of Yoruba historiography, Robin Law notes that “the Yoruba [were] exceptionally prolific among west African peoples in the production of historical literature.” Indeed, this work was published as part of the official celebrations of the centenary of Abeokuta.
The history commences with the emigration from homesteads to the city; but the bulk of the text concerns the second period which stretches from 1830 to the commencement of the First World War and he describes as “a very glorious epoch” marked by ninety years during which “this settlement … maintained a state of independence the most unequivocal and practical that could be conceived.”
It concludes with a list of the Alakes (kings) from the homestead era until the time of publication; names of some of the chiefs who are responsible for electing the Alakes; government proclamations (against smuggling); tax revenues; and criminal cases.
Scarce: OCLC locates copies at BL, Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, & Yale.
Law, R., “Early Yoruba Historiography” in History in Africa Vol. 3 (1976), pp.69-89.
