Yoruba states

▪ historical territory, Africa

      confederation formerly dominant in what is now western Nigeria. The Yoruba probably migrated to the forests and savannas west of the lower reaches of the Niger River, founding the towns of Ekiti, Ife, and Ijebu in the tropical forest zone; a second group of migrants founded Oyo and other towns about AD 1000 in the savanna country north of the forest. The smaller towns usually followed the lead of their larger neighbours in handling external affairs, but internally they were autonomous.

      From the 11th to the 16th century, the rise of Oyo and its subsequent development into an independent empire (see Oyo empire) disturbed the former administrative system. The Yoruba capitals were externally allied both by a confederation of rulers—with the oni of Ife at its head—and by a series of interlocking arrangements between the ruling families of each state. Even when the power of Ife began to decline, the interlocking administrative arrangements continued to function.

      The decline of Oyo in the late 18th century, exacerbated by disputes between minor Yoruba rulers, was hastened by the increasing difficulty of maintaining trade routes to the coast and, in the 19th century, by invasions of the Fon of Dahomey and militant Muslim Fulani of Hausaland.

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