General Ologbosere

General Ologbosere, also known as Chief Irabor,[1] resisted the conquest of Benin Empire before he was captured and killed.

General Ologbosere
DiedJune 1899
NationalityOld Benin Empire
Other namesChief Irabor
Known formasterminding an attack on a British expedition outside of Benin

Ologbosore masterminded an attack on a British expedition outside of Benin, killing at least ten Europeans and 200 African carriers.[2] He resisted the British invasion from 1897 to 1899. He was the second-in-command of the Benin military and stopped the first British invasion led by James Robert Phillips.[3][4]

History

The 1897 British military campaign sent the reigning king, Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, into exile[5] and many chiefs of the kingdom surrendered or were captured. However, one of the war chiefs chose armed resistance instead.[6]

Ologbosere had during this period been condemned to death in absentia by the British administration for having killed a previous British expedition that was on its way to Benin. That killing is said to have sparked the British punitive response in 1897.[7][8][9]

Ologbosere, an army chief, hid among villages and towns that supported his actions, and for two years led a Gurerilla war of resistance against the British in Benin after the British expedition, he became a thorn in the flesh of the Royal British Empire that had replaced the oba(king)system in the kingdom, as he launched attacks against British outposts destroying the British outposts and flags.[10][11]

Death

Ologbosere was captured.[12] The British forces burned villages, destroyed crops, detained young people and incarcerated rulers. Eventually, war-weary villagers betrayed Ologbosere and his cohorts. [13]

He was held responsible by the British for the killing of a British delegation to Benin City in 1897 and hanged in June 1899.[14]

See also
  • Asoro

References
  1. "Group honours victims of British expedition in old Benin kingdom". The Street Journal. January 13, 2019.
  2. "Measures of Power: Our interest in violent, public justice". The Mail & Guardian. 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  3. Taylor, Mildred Europa (2020-07-13). "This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  4. Francis, Onoiribholo (Jan 14, 2019). "Group Honours Fallen Benin Heroes". Independent.
  5. "Ovonramwen | king of Benin | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  6. Taylor, Mildred Europa (2020-07-13). "This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  7. Taylor, Mildred Europa (2020-07-13). "This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  8. "Measures of Power: Our interest in violent, public justice". The Mail & Guardian. 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  9. "ExecutedToday.com ยป 1899: Ologbosere, of the Benin Empire". Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  10. Taylor, Mildred Europa (2020-07-13). "This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  11. "Measures of Power: Our interest in violent, public justice". The Mail & Guardian. 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  12. Taylor, Mildred Europa (2020-07-13). "This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  13. "Measures of Power: Our interest in violent, public justice". The Mail & Guardian. 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  14. "photographic print (black and white) | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
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