1830s–1893: (The Violence of Yorubaland — Demographic Upheaval, Urban Expansion, the Escalation of Slave Exports, the Spread of Islam, a Military Revolution …

1830s–1893: (The Violence of Yorubaland — Demographic Upheaval, Urban Expansion, the Escalation of Slave Exports, the Spread of Islam, a Military Revolution in Firearms, and British Intervention Justified by the Spectacle of African Warfare): The violence of Yorubaland brought about dramatic changes that can highlight the impact of war across the continent. There was massive demographic change as the Fulani advanced southward from Ilorin — people moved from the open savannah into the forest, and permanent migration resulted in urban expansion, both the growth of existing towns and the creation of new fortified settlements. The slave trade escalated dramatically along the coast of modern southwest Nigeria, a significant change from previous patterns — in the eighteenth century, Oyo had acquired most captives from further north, but the jihad and the Sokoto caliphate closed off northern supplies while the collapse of Oyo led to more systematic slave-gathering among the Yoruba themselves. Islam spread into the region following Sokoto’s expansion into Ilorin, and recurrent conflict engendered a military revolution — the use of firearms became common, and a professional soldiery emerged with systematic training and complex tactics. As the century drew to a close, the violence provided the British with a justification for intervention — the Yoruba offered the spectacle of a troubled, war-stricken people crying out for redemption that only Albion could provide. Missionaries had already introduced British culture into coastal society, collected souls among the displaced and defenseless, and lobbied for intervention. In the early 1890s, the British government answered the call, and local rivalries would now be played out in the context of the colonial experiment.