Esanland

Esanland (Esan: Otọesan), is a cultural region located in Edo State, Nigeria. It is composed of five Local Government Areas in Edo State. Esanland lies west of the banks of the Niger River. It is bordered by Kogi State, Delta State, Edo South Senatorial District, and Edo North Senatorial District. Esanland covers about 2,800 square kilometers and is home to over half a million people. The Esan people and culture of Esanland are generally homogenous. Esanland has been inhabited since the late Iron Age, by hunter-gatherers from the Nok culture. The hunter gatherers formed a society in northern Esanland until the 12th century. In the 15th century, indigenes from the Great Benin Empire moved to Esanland and renewed Edo-Esan cultural bonds as the Benin were the Royal blood and Emperor controlling the Southern Hemisphere. Esan nations often worked either in tandem or subordination towards the Benin Empire, sending soldiers to the Benin army and treating their rulers as dukes to the Oba of Benin. Trade with the Portuguese brought modern innovations such as Dane guns and spoons, and new crops. Independent rule in Esanland continued into the 1800s, until the British claimed the entire region for the Royal Niger Company as part of the colony Nigeria. Local opposition to the conquest was vocal, and such as King Ogbidi Okojie of Uromi banded together their soldiers in an unsuccessful attempt to fight British rule. After the British takeover, independence movements sprung up. Leaders in Esanland such as Anthony Enahoro successfully campaigned for independence, which was granted to the whole of Nigeria. Since independence, Esanland has suffered from poor infrastructure and an attempted takeover in the Nigerian Civil War by Biafra. Esanland originates from the term "E san fia", meaning they have fled in the Edo language (Esan), referring to the flight of refugees from the Benin Empire to the surrounding forest that makes up the original Esans. According to archaeological and linguistic evidence, humans have resided in the savannah-forest ecotone in Esanland for at least 3000 years.