General Ologbosere Explained

General Ologbosere
Other Names:	Chief Irabor
Death Date:	June 1899
Nationality:	Old Benin Empire
Known For:	masterminding an attack on a British expedition outside of Benin

General Ologbosere, also known as Chief Irabor,^[1] resisted the conquest of Benin Empire before he was captured and killed.

Ologbosore masterminded an attack on a British expedition outside of Benin, killing at least ten Europeans and 200 African carriers.^[2] He resisted the British invasion from 1897 to 1899. He was the second-in-command of the Benin military and stopped the first British invasion led by James Robert Phillips.^{[3] [4]}

History

The 1897 British military campaign sent the reigning king, Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, into exile^[5] and many chiefs of the kingdom surrendered or were captured. However, one of the war chiefs chose armed resistance instead.^[6]

Ologbosere had during this period been condemned to death in absentia by the British administration for having killed a previous British expedition that was on its way to Benin. That killing is said to have sparked the British punitive response in 1897.^{[7] [8] [9]}

Ologbosere, an army chief, hid among villages and towns that supported his actions, and for two years led a Gurerilla war of resistance against the British in Benin after the British expedition, he became a thorn in the flesh of the Royal British Empire that had replaced the oba(king)system in the kingdom, as he launched attacks against British outposts destroying the British outposts and flags.^{[10] [11]}

Death

Ologbosere was captured.^[12] The British forces burned villages, destroyed crops, detained young people and incarcerated rulers. Eventually, war-weary villagers betrayed Ologbosere and his cohorts. ^[13]

He was held responsible by the British for the killing of a British delegation to Benin City in 1897 and hanged in June 1899.^[14]

See also

• Asoro

Notes and References

1. Web site: January 13, 2019 . Group honours victims of British expedition in old Benin kingdom . The Street Journal.
2. Web site: 2020-06-04 . Measures of Power: Our interest in violent, public justice . 2023-05-06 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
3. Web site: Taylor . Mildred Europa . 2020-07-13 . This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged . 2023-05-06 . Face2Face Africa . en.
4. News: Francis . Onoiribholo . Jan 14, 2019 . Group Honours Fallen Benin Heroes . Independent .
5. Web site: Ovonramwen king of Benin Britannica . 2023-05-06 . www.britannica.com . en.
6. Web site: Taylor . Mildred Europa . 2020-07-13 . This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged . 2023-05-06 . Face2Face Africa . en.
7. Web site: Taylor . Mildred Europa . 2020-07-13 . This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged . 2023-05-06 . Face2Face Africa . en.
8. Web site: 2020-06-04 . Measures of Power: Our interest in violent, public justice . 2023-05-06 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
9. Web site: ExecutedToday.com » 1899: Ologbosere, of the Benin Empire . 28 June 2011 . 2023-05-06 . en.
10. Web site: Taylor . Mildred Europa . 2020-07-13 . This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged . 2023-05-06 . Face2Face Africa . en.
11. Web site: 2020-06-04 . Measures of Power: Our interest in violent, public justice . 2023-05-06 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
12. Web site: Taylor . Mildred Europa . 2020-07-13 . This army chief fought against invasion of Benin kingdom but was betrayed by his own and hanged . 2023-05-06 . Face2Face Africa . en.
13. Web site: 2020-06-04 . Measures of Power: Our interest in violent, public justice . 2023-05-06 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
14. Web site: photographic print (black and white) British Museum . 2023-05-06 . The British Museum . en.