Royal Navy bombards Lagos; Oba Kosoko wounded and flees to Epe
- When
- 1851
- Where
- Lagos Island
- Episodes
- 1
The Royal Navy bombarded Lagos Island in December 1851 to suppress the slave trade and depose Oba Kosoko. After a failed November attack, naval forces struck the palace on 26 December. Kosoko defended vigorously but fled to Epe by 28 December, allowing Akitoye to assume the throne and sign a treaty abolishing the slave trade.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. Oba Kosoko, reigning from 1845, refused to end the Atlantic slave trade, prompting British intervention. On 4 December 1851, after Kosoko's forces fired on a flag of truce, Consul Beecroft declared that Kosoko had declared war on England and had to be replaced by Akitoye. The Royal Navy aimed to depose Kosoko and install Akitoye, who had previously appealed for British aid to restore his position.
Naval Operations. Two naval actions occurred in late 1851. The first, on 25 November, was hastily organized and failed due to underestimating Kosoko's defenses. The second, on 26 December, involved HMS Bloodhound, HMS Teazer, and a flotilla attacking the Oba's palace. This engagement, known locally as Ogun Ahoyaya, resulted in Kosoko's defeat.
Aftermath. Kosoko fled to Epe on 28 December 1851. Akitoye was installed as Oba and signed a treaty with Great Britain on 1 January 1852, abolishing the slave trade. This event set the stage for the eventual annexation of Lagos in 1861, though illegal trading persisted until then.
People involved
- Oba Kosoko · Oba of Lagos
- John Beecroft · Consul of the Bights of Benin and Biafra
- Akitoye · Oba of Lagos
Sources
- Reduction of Lagos Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-09
- Kosoko Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-12
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.