1CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Introduction
Esanland (Anglicized Ishan) otherwise known as otoesan, is one of the major ethnic groups that make up the present Edo State, Nigeria. It is made up of a distinct people who inhabit a vast region of the state and are qualified in the present Nigerian political nomenclature as Edo Central, and consists of Five Local Governments Areas (Esan Central, Esan West, Esan North-East, Esan South-East, and Igueben)1. Hence, Esan is an ethnic group with a conglomeration of many villages and towns. Geographically, Osagie & Otoide provided that “Esan is located between latitude 60O and 90O of the Equator and longitude 30O and 35O of the Greenwich Meridian”2 and “is a dissected Plateau, with a height of 390m (1300ft) above sea level.”3 The area is bounded by Etsako East and West Local Government Areas in the North, Owan West in the North-West; Uhunmwonde and Orhionwon Local Government Areas in the West, Delta State on the South and River Niger at Illushi in its Eastern end4. According to the statistical data of the 2023 Census, the population of Esanland is put at 900,900.
Socially, they live in compounds made up of different households. The household is the smallest social unit of the Esan people with different compounds making up the community.It is a patriarchal society where women line behind their male counterparts and are not permitted to carry out socio-political functions. Their worldview focuses strongly on the supernatural. Religiously, the Esan people are known ardent believers and practitioners of traditional religion and have many shrines, grooves and sacred places for worship and religious activities.
Far from being a curiosity, colonial rule in Esanland, especially, the people’s response and adaptation to it has come of age as an event worthy of investigation in the annals of the people’s historical antecedent and existence. This is because the emergence, growth and territorial expansion of colonialism in Esanland has given rise to several challenges which can no longer be ignored, but need to be studied, documented and placed in historical perspectives. Some of these challenges pose a historical threat to the future growth and development of the people’s socio-cultural institutions and heritage. Given in the light of the truism that many aspects of the socio-cultural and historical life of the Esan people have gone into extinction due to contact with colonialism and its attendant impacts. The effect borne-out of this union has necessitated difficulty in separating the people’s original and indigenous culture, norms and practices from those ones that were colonially influenced and occasioned. It is against this backdrop that this study examines the historical antecedent and development of colonial rule in the area. To this end, it underlines as a topic: Response and Adaptation to Colonial Rule in Esanland, 1900 – 1960. As part of its objectives, it accounts for the penetration of colonial rule into the area and its influence over the decades by finding out the nature, extent and pace of the changes that it has made to the people.
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study is basically to examine the advent of colonialism in Esanland as well as the people’s response and adaptation to it. By this, the intention is to provide a historical appraisal of the development of colonial rule in Esanland which is quintessential to a proper understanding of why the people responded and adapted to its culture. Therefore, its objectives among others are:
To provide a historical account of Esan people’s response and adaptation to colonial rule from the period 1900 – 1960.900-1960
To investigate and ascertain the factors that necessitated the response and adaptation to colonial rule in Esanland.
To study and document the impacts of colonial rule among the Esan people.