Chapters
Kingdom of Lagos
Eko · Lagoon islands and creeks
Play LagosEra I · Before the Flag
The five ages
- 1
Founding
c. 1600–1630 · town-centre level 1Awori families fish and farm around Iddo, and Aromire grows pepper on Lagos Island. Around 1600 Benin’s army comes to Iddo; Benin remembers a victory, the Awori a settlement. Benin’s Oba confirms Ashipa, an Awori chief, as ruler. Build compounds on the sand, smoke fish and raise the first palace on the pepper farm.
- 2
Kingdom
c. 1630–1749 · town-centre level 4Oba Ado moves the seat of government from Iddo to Lagos Island, and Iga Idunganran, the palace on the pepper farm, becomes the royal home. The Akarigbere chiefs, led by the Eletu Odibo, and the land-owning Idejo serve the Oba. Lagos pays tribute to Benin.
- 3
Golden age
1749–1841 · town-centre level 7Oba Ologun Kutere builds a fleet of war canoes, and Lagos grows from about 5,000 people in the 1780s to 20,000 by the 1810s. Much of its wealth came from the Atlantic slave trade, which this game names but never turns into a resource. Tribute to Benin stops around 1830.
- 4
Contact
1841–1851 · town-centre level 10In 1841 lightning sets off the palace gunpowder and Oba Oluwole dies. In 1845 Kosoko’s faction besieges Oba Akitoye’s palace for three weeks: Ogun Olomiro, the Salt Water War. Returnees from Freetown and Brazil arrive with new trades and faiths, and in late 1851 a British squadron attacks.
- 5
The Scramble
1852–1861 · town-centre level 13A treaty of 1 January 1852 opens the Consular Period. Kosoko raids from Epe in 1853. In 1861 the squadron returns with terms and threatens to bombard the town. Here your defences decide.
People of Lagos
The figures who appear as the city grows, ruled by the Oba.
Ashipa
War chief and founder, c. 1600He returned the remains of Asheru, a Benin war captain, to Benin; the Oba sent him back with a sword and a royal drum to govern Eko.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Erelu Kuti I
First queen mother, 1700sDaughter of a king, sister of two and mother of Ologun Kutere. Her title still makes its holder regent when the throne is empty.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Akinsemoyin
Oba, 1700sTradition says he raised a white flag on today’s Victoria Island, which opened Lagos to Portuguese traders.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Ologun Kutere
Oba, 1700sHe built a large fleet of war canoes; Ijebu traders brought food to swap for salt, tobacco and spirits.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Efunroye Tinubu
Merchant, c. 1810–1887She traded salt, tobacco and palm oil, and also slaves. Banished from Lagos in 1856, she later supplied Abeokuta’s war against Dahomey; Tinubu Square is named after her.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Oshodi Tapa
War captain, c. 1780–1868In 1845 he let Akitoye slip away, saying the king had put his pursuers “in a trance”.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Akitoye
Oba, 1841–45 and 1851–53His crier sang that he stood “like a pin firmly driven into the ground”. Lagos’s first Eyo procession honoured him.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Kosoko
Oba, 1845–51His crier answered Akitoye’s: “I am the digger who always roots out a pin.” The British attack of 1851 drove him to Epe.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Dosunmu
Oba, 1853–1885Greeted with a 21-gun Royal Navy salute in 1853, he resisted the cession treaty eight years later, then signed it.
Portrait: fictional depictionYour hero in battle
Oshodi Tapa
War captain, c. 1780–1868Family accounts say he escaped a ship bound for the Americas as a boy. He rose to chief and war captain and led Kosoko’s fighters in 1851. Ability: Lagoon ambush. Crews strike together from the creeks: +35% damage for 12 seconds.
Portrait: fictional depictionThe council
| Seat | Who they are | Speaks for |
|---|---|---|
| The Eletu Odibo | Head of the Akarigbere chiefs, the Oba’s prime minister | people, land and the treasury |
| The Ashogbon | Head war chief | the army and Peace |
| The priestess of Ogun | Keeper of the palace shrines | Faith |
| The Babalawo | Ifá diviner and teacher | Progress and research |
| The Oloja | Holder of a market title | Wealth and Unity |
| The Obanikoro | Medicine chief | Health |
| The Erelu Kuti | Queen mother, regent when the throne is empty | Unity and counsel from the third age |
| The Akarigbere chiefs | Kingmakers, led by the Eletu Odibo | whether you keep the throne |
Sign or stand
July 1861. Aboard HMS Prometheus, British officers present their terms: Oba Dosunmu must grant the port and island of Lagos to the British Crown. Commander Bedingfeld threatens to bombard the town if he refuses.
| Sign | Sign. You keep the title of Oba and a pension, but the consul rules the port and Unity falls hard for a month. |
| Stand | Refuse, and stand behind the stockades and shore batteries. History has no record of this choice: here your defences decide. |
What really happened (the game tells you at the end)
On 6 August 1861 Oba Dosunmu signed the Treaty of Cession with Acting Consul William McCoskry, granting “the port and Island of Lagos” to Britain. He kept the title of King and a pension, and Lagos was declared a colony on 5 March 1862. Your city rebuilds: the squadron will come again while you stay in the Scramble.
Raiders and bosses
Who comes for the city in each age. Bosses come once you are into their age. How raids work.
| Age | Raiders | Boss |
|---|---|---|
| First Founding | Raiders from a rival lagoon town | None |
| Second Kingdom | War canoes from a rival town | None |
| Third Golden age | Raiders backed by Dahomey | Adele’s force from Badagry 1825 |
| Fourth Contact | Rival claimants’ fighters | The British naval squadron 26–28 December 1851 |
| Fifth The Scramble | Kosoko’s fighters from Epe | The squadron at the lagoon August 1861 then sign or stand |
Soldiers
| Soldier | From level | |
|---|---|---|
| Spearman | Canoe crews who fight on land with spear and shield. | 2 |
| Bowman | Archers who shoot from behind the spears. | 3 |
| Palace guard | The Oba’s guard: big shields and heavy blades. | 7 |
| Musketeer | Muskets from the ships. One heavy shot, a long reload. | 10 |
Buildings
Every building Lagos can raise, shown as it looks in the middle of the story. What each type does.
People
Family compound
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Rooms round an open courtyard with a veranda, laterite walls and a palm roof. Later, returnees from Brazil build in their own style. Houses your people.
Medicine house
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Leaves, roots and bark for fever and wounds; the Obanikoro is the medicine chief. Raises Health. Raiders never touch it.
Idejo council house
Unlocks at town-centre level 5The White-Cap Chiefs, the landowners, sit in council. Raises Trust and some Peace.
Economy
Fish-smoking camp
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Fish from the lagoon dried on racks and smoked in clay ovens. Tap the camp when it fills to bring the catch in.
Woodcutters’ camp
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Timber and mangrove poles. Materials.
Sand and clay pit
Unlocks at town-centre level 2Sand and clay from the island’s spits. Materials.
Food store
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Dried fish and grain. Raises your Food storage; raiders can take only part of it.
Storehouse
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Timber and poles under a long thatch. Raises your Materials storage.
Cowrie house
Unlocks at town-centre level 3Strings of cowries. Raises your Wealth storage.
Ebute Ero market
Unlocks at town-centre level 3One of the oldest markets in Nigeria, at the waterside: fish, salt and cloth from up and down the lagoon. Wealth, plus a little Unity.
Lagoon wharf
Unlocks at town-centre level 10A wharf for war canoes and trading ships. A large Wealth producer. Must touch the water.
Culture
Ogun shrine
Unlocks at town-centre level 1The palace keeps shrines to Ogun and Èṣù; a priestess runs the Ogun shrine and its rites come every sixteen days. Raises Faith. Raiders never touch it.
Diviners’ house
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Ifá diviners and their students. Makes Knowledge and runs research. Raiders never touch it.
Festival ground
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Open sand for drums and dances. Raises Unity.
War captain’s house
Unlocks at town-centre level 7Home of the war captain and his canoe crews. Brings him to your army.
Eyo festival ground
Unlocks at town-centre level 8The white-robed Eyo masqueraders, the great festival of Lagos. Heritage for the ladder.
Defence
Watch post
Unlocks at town-centre level 3Night guards on the creek paths. Raises Peace.
Lookout platform
Unlocks at town-centre level 2Bowmen watch the lagoon from a raised platform.
Stockade
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Build the stockade of sharpened stakes section by section.
Stockade gate
Unlocks at town-centre level 4A guarded gate where an avenue passes the stockade.
Shore battery
Unlocks at town-centre level 10Cannon dug in on the shore. Hits hard, reloads slowly.
War council
Unlocks at town-centre level 13The chiefs plan the city’s defence against the squadron. Needed to stand in 1861.
Army
War camp
Unlocks at town-centre level 2Where the canoe crews and spearmen drill. Each level holds more soldiers.
Blacksmiths’ forge
Unlocks at town-centre level 5Iron for spears, hooks and blades. Raises Progress.
Landmarks
Èṣù shrine at the palace gate
Unlocks at town-centre level 4A shrine to Èṣù stands at the palace exit; Obas consulted it before journeys. Unity and visitors’ offerings.
Ebute Metta harbours
Unlocks at town-centre level 9Ebute Metta means “the three harbours”: Iddo, Otto and Oyingbo, where canoes from the mainland tie up. Must touch the water.
Research
| Technology | Branch | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Fish traps | Farming | Woven traps in the creeks: +10% Food. |
| Smoking ovens | Farming | Smoked fish keeps for months: +15% Food storage. |
| Cassava from the coast | Farming | A new crop in the island gardens: +15% Food. |
| Deep-water nets | Farming | Bigger catches from the lagoon: +20% Food. |
| Mangrove poles | Building | Strong poles from the creeks: builds 8% faster. |
| Raised floors | Building | Floors above the floodwater: buildings +10% sturdier. |
| Builders’ guild | Building | Guild builders cut costs by 8%. |
| Returnee masons | Building | Masons and carpenters back from Brazil: builds 10% faster. |
| Iron spearheads | Defence | The forge arms the crews: +8% damage. |
| Lookout drill | Defence | Faster, steadier volleys: towers +12% damage. |
| Canoe shields | Defence | Hide shields for the crews: +12% unit health. |
| Swivel guns | Defence | Guns on the canoes and stockades: +12% damage. |
| Cowrie standard | Trade | One money for the whole lagoon: +10% Wealth. |
| Salt and fish trade | Trade | Salt and dried fish inland: +12% Wealth. |
| The ships’ trade | Trade | Cloth and goods from the ships: +20% Wealth. |
| Apprentice diviners | Learning | More students for the diviners: +15% Knowledge. |
| Returnees’ schools | Learning | Returnees teach reading and writing: research 15% faster. |
| CMS Grammar School | Learning | Opened in 1859 in the Cotton House on Broad Street: +20% Knowledge. |
| Festival calendar | Heritage | A year of festivals: Faith and Unity rise. |
| Carved doors | Heritage | Carvers’ doors for the great compounds: Heritage. |
| The first Eyo procession | Heritage | Lagos held its first Eyo procession on 20 February 1854: Heritage. |
| The Eyo festival signature | Heritage | Signature tech. The great festival of Lagos: Unity and Progress. |
| Lagoon war canoes signature | Defence | Signature tech. Canoes with swivel guns guard the stockades: 25% stronger. |
Did you know?
- In 1472 Portuguese sailors named the area Lago de Curamo; they later called it Onim.
- The name Eko is traced to an Edo word meaning “war camp”.
- Iga Idunganran means “the palace built on a pepper farm”.
- A shrine to Èṣù stands at the palace exit; Obas consulted it before journeys.
- The Portuguese refurbished the palace with tiles brought from Portugal.
- Lagos paid tribute to Benin until around 1830.
- Benin officers led by the Eletu Odibo were the first Akarigbere chiefs.
- The Erelu Kuti ranks third in the kingdom and is regent when the throne is empty.
- Lagos grew from about 5,000 people in the 1780s to 20,000 by the 1810s.
- The 1845 succession war is remembered as Ogun Olomiro, the “Salt Water War”.
- Lagosians called the December 1851 battle Ogun Ahoyaya or Ogun Agidingbi.
- Lagos held its first Eyo procession on 20 February 1854.
- CMS Grammar School opened on 6 June 1859 in the “Cotton House” on Broad Street.
- Ebute Metta means “the three harbours”: Iddo, Otto and Oyingbo.
- Railway building began in 1896; the line to Ibadan opened on 4 March 1901.