Warri

Warri lies in the western Niger Delta, a country of rivers and tidal creeks associated with the Itsekiri kingdom of Iwere. According to Itsekiri and Benin traditions, the kingdom was founded around 1480 by Ginuwa, a prince from Benin. Portuguese merchants and missionaries reached the region, and its rulers established ties with Portugal. In the seventeenth century a royal prince travelled there for education and returned with a Portuguese wife. Warri’s rulers drew strength from control of river trade, including the Atlantic trade in enslaved people.