Originally published in 1969 and as a second edition in 1976, this book gives a general account of the major Yoruba kingdoms and provides a synthesis of Yoruba and Igbomina history, culture and archaeology. The reasons for, and the chronology of the decline and fall of Old Oyo are also discussed. Much of the history reconstructed in this book was done so almost wholly from oral histories, with all evidence being subjected to rigorous examination.
1. The Yoruba and their Homeland 2. The Primacy of Ife 3. The Rise of Oyo 4. Kingdoms of the East: Ijesha, Ekiti, Igbomina, Owo and Ondo 5. Kingdoms fo the West: Ketu, Shabe, and Dassa 6. Kingdoms fo the South: Ijebu, Egba, Egbado, and Lagos 7. The Traditions Reviewed 8. An Oba and his People 9. War 10. The Decline and Fall of Old Oyo 11. The Wars and the New States 12. On the Threshold of Nigeria
Biography
Robert S. Smith was an expert on the history of the Yoruba peoples in Nigeria and Professor of History at the Universities of Lagos, Ife and Ibadan.
Reviews of the first edition of Kingdoms of the Yoruba:
‘This book can be recommended to all students of West African history at the undergraduate or secondary school level, as a useful introduction to the pre-colonial politics of Africa’s third largest ethnic group.’ Journal of African History
‘The traveller in Yorubaland would find the book a useful companion, so detailed is the treatment of individual states or towns.’ West Africa
