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SUMMARY
The economic history of Sapele before the commencement of the legitimate trade in the 19th century was barely significant to historians when compared to other areas like Benin and Warri area which were active locations during the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Thus the history of Sapele prior to the 19th century was mostly reliant on oral folklores propagated by both Okpe and Itsekiri scholars. The 19th century however marked significant shift in the historical trajectory of the town. Sapele’s emergence as an important trading outpost in the mid-19th century owes much to the fact that Sapele was a confluence town where the River Ethiope adjourned with two other important rivers. Other than that, Sapele was not a major supplier of the main article of trade which was palm oil in the 19th century. The decision to establish a vice-Consulate in Sapele in the early 1890s was equally influenced by the strategic location of the town which was barely a handful of village settlements then. No sooner had the British established a vice-Consulate did they discover the abundance of trees whose timbers were highly prized. This necessitated the need for the creation of a seaport. The establishment of a seaport in Sapele in 1892 was thus one of the most significant events in the development of the town.
