1659-1807: Bonny and New Calabar were two key ports in the British slave trade that were geographically close in the eastern Niger Delta but remained politic…

1659-1807: Bonny and New Calabar were two key ports in the British slave trade that were geographically close in the eastern Niger Delta but remained politically independent of one another. The growth of Bonny was bolstered by its strong commercial connections with the Aro network, a group of Igbo warriors and traders with significant regional prestige. These links helped make the Bight of Biafra the second-largest regional supplier of slaves to the Americas between 1760 and 1810. The rise of Bonny occurred in tandem with the ascent of Liverpool, allowing the English port to dominate the market for captives in the British Caribbean.