Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, General Research and Reference Division

Élisée Reclus, The Earth and Its Inhabitants, Africa, vol. III (New York: D. Appleton, 1890–1893)

The jihad of Central Sudan (Nigeria) at the beginning of the nineteenth century exacerbated political tensions in the Yoruba state of Oyo. Large numbers of Muslim Yoruba were deported to Bahia, Brazil, where they organized a series of revolts between 1807 and 1835. As a result, numerous free Muslims were deported back to the Bight of Benin, while others chose to leave. They settled in present-day Benin, Togo, and Nigeria.