Bight of biafra, bay of the atlantic ocean on the western coast of africa, extending east, then south, for 370 miles 600 km from the nun outlet of the niger river. At his time, 44 percent of the 90,000 africans disembarking on the island between 1751 and 1775 were from the bight. Little is known about the literal meaning of the word biafra. Ben murray bruce has questioned why the bight of biafra was removed from the map of nigeria. Biafra ceased to exist as an independent state in january 1970. Bight of biafra the image below shows the numbers exported through this bight to be about 1. Biafra definition and meaning collins english dictionary. The republic of biafra was a secessionist state at the center of a bloody three year civil war from 1967 to 1970, waged against the nigerian government, and named for an atlantic bay in southwestern nigeria known as the bight of biafra.
Igbo warlord, achuzia reveals origin of biafra daily. Definition of biafra from the collins english dictionary. The scam in the biafra agitation processopinion the. The kingdom of biafra existed 500 years before nigeria. A region of southern nigeria on the bight of biafra, an arm of the gulf of guinea stretching from the niger river delta to northern gabon. Biafra s declaration of independence from nigeria resulted in civil war between biafra and nigeria. The origin of biafra by darren idongesit elombah news.
They stand out in the demography of the eighteenth century slave trade because of the relatively high numbers of women in comparison with all other parts of the african coast. Ugo nwokeji reinterprets why and how such largescale commerce developed in the. It typically indicates a large, open bay, often only slightly receding. Igbo people in the atlantic slave trade biafran unity. All english words that begin with b related terms of bight. The inhabitants were mostly the igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various peoples of nigeria. Bight of biafra king greets european visitors, cape lopez gabon, late 16th cent. The word biafra has its generics from ephraim as pointed out by martin simon ukegbe a religious activist who suggested that the new republic of biafra of 1967 be called the christian democratic republic of bephrayim the b there signifies the bay or bight so the word biafara or biafar has its root from bephraim but the europeans at.
The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra. Biafra definition of biafra by the free dictionary. Old maps show biafra was actually in cameroon and never. The island was named after the first president of the country in 1973, but bioko became the local. Bioko, island in the bight of biafra gulf of guinea, lying about 60 miles 100 km off the coast of southern nigeria and 100 miles 160 km northwest of continental equatorial guinea, western africa. Download scientific diagram map of the bight of biafra in 1940. The name biafra as indicating the country fell into disuse in the later part of the 19th century. The senator who said this during a presentation on.
While it is common to hear an argument postulated by adherents of a recent pro biafra agitation resurgence among young listeners of a pirate radio station operating out of the united kingdom, radio biafra, that biafra was the initial name of the territory to which the south of nigeria belonged, our checks have failed to substantiate this claim. Admiralty chart no 594 africa sheet ii from the river gambia to cape lopez and annabona including the bight of biafra by mr demayne, captain wfw owen, captain ate vidal and captain denham 1812, 1826 and 18391846 rmg f03, published 1827. In geography, a bight is a bend or curve in a coastline, river, or other geographical feature. The four most senior officers of northern origin were also killed. By showing that the rise of the aro merchant group was the. About 500,000 slaves came from the efikibibio country, ijaw country, ejagham country etc. The bight of biafra officially bight of bonny is a bight off the west african coast, in the. Information and translations of biafra in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions.
It lies within the gulf of guinea and is bordered by southeastern ghana, togo, benin, and. Bight definition and meaning collins english dictionary. The town of biafara or biafra comes up in a 1584 map by abraham ortelius from antwerp in modern day belgium where it is shown to be located on the south bank some later descriptions say north of the camarones river. Traditionally, explorers defined a bight as a bay that could be sailed out of on a single tack in a squarerigged sailing vessel, regardless of the direction of the wind. Download our english dictionary apps available for both ios and android. Biafra, officially the republic of biafra, was a secessionist state in southeastern nigeria that existed from 30 may 1967 to 15 january 1970, taking its name from the bight of biafra. The origin of biafra there was a biafra before 1967which lost its sovereignty to colonial powers. Bight definition, the middle part of a rope, as distinguished from the ends.
The transatlantic slave trade from the bight of biafra. Below are some thing you should know about biafra and the biafran war. It was made up of the states in the eastern region of nigeria. Senator representing bayelsa west constituency, sen. By showing that the rise of the aro merchant group was the key factor in trade expansion, g. The niger delta is the delta of the niger river sitting directly on the bight of biafra side of the gulf of guinea on the atlantic ocean wikipedia. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra by g. Some igbo slaves were also referred to as bites, denoting their bight of biafra origin, and other names were used in reference to their home lands in africa. The circles indicate the origin of nigerian braceros by division. Project muse the slave trade and culture in the bight of. The people from the bight of biafra were mostly igbo and ibibio, or became associated with these dominant groups in the course of the atlantic crossing.
I was particularly enamoured with those features that define where the land met with bodies of water. The bight of biafra was changed the name from bight of biafra to bight of bonny. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra dissects and explains the structure, dramatic expansion, and manifold effects of the slave trade in the bight of biafra. It is distinguished from a sound by being shallower. Bioko island and province, equatorial guinea britannica. The name, biafra, has its origin from the bight of biafra, now the gulf of guinea, a portuguese name representing the west coast from where waters flow into the atlantic ocean. Why did nigeria erase bight of biafra from the map. Bight of biafra, also called bight of bonny, bay of the atlantic ocean on the western coast of africa, extending east, then south, for 370 miles 600 km from the nun outlet of the niger river nigeria to cape lopez gabon. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra the slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra dissects and explains the structure, dramatic expansion, and manifold effects of the slave trade in the bight of biafra. In this episode dr catel investigates both the bight of benin and the bight of biafra discussing the various powers that existed during that time. We are calling on all well meaning people of biafran origin, living in the western world. Nairaland forum nairaland general politics niger delta is biafra by origin.
Early modern maps of africa from the 15th19th centuries, drawn by european cartographers from accounts written by explorers and travellers, reveal that the original word used by the european travellers was not biafra but biafara, biafar and sometimes also biafares. They not only were among the greatest traders in the atlantic, but they also fostered a culture that rewarded entrepreneurship and. A biafra like agitation for independence has been unfolding in neighbouring republic of cameroon since november 2016. Biafra meaning and origin of the name biafra nameaning. It took its name from the bight of biafra, the atlantic bay to its south. Biafran warlord and secretarygeneral of the indigenous people of biafra, ipob, worldwide, col joe achuzia, has revealed where the word biafra orgininated from. Presently the basin countries of the bight of bonny are nigeria, cameroon, equatorial guinea and gabon. No necessarily, theres a bight of benin, and the bight of biafra is now known as the bight of bonny.
True etymology wordorigin of biafra notes on an antitraditional. The result is the first study to link the structure and trajectory of the slave trade in a major exporting region to the expansion of a specific african merchant group among other fresh insights into atlantic africas involvement in the trade and the most comprehensive treatment of atlantic slave trade in the bight of biafra. The bight s major slave trading ports were located in bonny and calabar. These africans were therefore mainly of igbo origin. The links between barbados and the bight of biafra had begun in the midseventeenth century, with half of the african captives arriving on the island originating from there. Slaves from the bight of benin vs the bight of biafra. Paul ghana to the nun outlet of the niger river nigeria. Biafra, officially the republic of biafra, was a state in west africa that existed from may 1967 to. Bight of biafra definition and meaning collins english.
The origin of biafra, the bight of biafra or marfanamed after the town marfa in southern portugal between capes formosa and lopez, is the most eastern part of the gulf of guinea, it contains the islands fernando poequatorial guinea, prince and st. As the british dominated the biafran trade, especially before 1810, the great majority of enslaved igbo wound up in the british americas. Bight of benin, bay of the atlantic ocean on the western coast of africa that extends eastward for about 400 miles 640 km from cape st. The country, biafra, is an almost rhomboid shaped territory which is demarcated to the west by the lower reaches of the river niger and its delta, to the east by the obudu plateau and the highlands of oban and ikom, to the south by the bight of biafra and to the north by an administrative boundary following, approximately, the 7 deg.
The igbo in the indigenous igbo territory, the bight of biafra also known as the bight of bonny, became the principal area in obtaining igbo slaves. The people of northern and southern cameroons under the umbrella of. Biafra, secessionist western african state that unilaterally declared its independence from nigeria in may 1967. The bight of biafra, or mafra named after the town mafra in southern portugal, between capes formosa and lopez, is the most eastern part of the gulf of guinea. The reputation of the igbo of the bight of biafra hinterland as bad slaves was legendry and repeated in several accounts. History of biafra biafra, officially the republic of biafra, was a secessionist state in eastern nigeria that existed from 30 may 1967 to january 1970. The innermost bay of the gulf of guinea, it is bounded by southeastern.
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