OzikoroThe Musketeers of Warri: Early Adoption of Firearms in the 16th and 17th Centuries
The history of the Itsekiri people of the Warri Kingdom is deeply intertwined with maritime trade, diplomacy, and early contact with Europeans. One of the most significant but often overlooked outcomes of these early encounters was the adoption of firearms, especially muskets, by Itsekiri warriors. As early as the 16th and 17th centuries, the…