Editing Onitsha (section)

== Modern history ==
[[File: Niger bridge.jpg|top|left|thumb|Niger Bridge.]]

Onitsha slowly grew to become an important trading port for the [[Royal Niger Company]] in the mid-1850s following the abolition of slavery and with the development of the steam engine when [[Europeans]] were able to move into the hinterland.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-07-25 |title=Bridges and the cost of democracy |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/bridges-cost-democracy/ }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Onitsha Tourism (2024) Nigeria - Best Places to Visit in Onitsha, Onitsha Travel Reviews and Images |url=https://www.hellotravel.com/nigeria/onitsha |access-date=2024-06-16 |website=HelloTravel}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-07-25 |title=Bridges and the cost of democracy |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/bridges-cost-democracy/ }}</ref>

Trade in [[palm kernel]]s, [[palm oil]], and other cash crops on the coast of the [[Bight of Biafra]] increased around this river port in the 19th century.

In 1857 [[British Empire|British]] [[palm oil]] traders established a permanent station in the city with Christian missionaries joining them.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Gospel on the Banks of the Niger: Journals and Notices of the Native Missionaries Accompanying the Niger Expedition of 1857–1859 |first=Crowther & |last=Taylor |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |orig-date=1859 |isbn=978-1-108-01184-6}}.</ref>

In 1900 Onitsha became part of a British [[protectorate]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Southern Nigeria in Transition 1885–1906 |first=J. C. |last=Anene |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1966 |pages=212–213}}</ref> The British colonial government and Christian [[missionaries]] penetrated most of [[Igboland]] to set up their administration, schools and churches through the river port at Onitsha.

In 1965, the [[River Niger Bridge (Onitsha)|Niger River Bridge]] was built across the [[Niger River]] to replace the ferry crossing. This has helped to grow trade routes with western Nigeria and created significant economic linkages between Onitsha and [[Benin City]] and Lagos particularly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/12/30/with-new-funding-second-niger-bridge-offers-hope-of-economic-revolution/|title=With New Funding, Second Niger Bridge Offers Hope of Economic Revolution|website=The Business Year|date=30 December 2018|access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hometown.ng/listing-item/onitsha/|title=Onitsha {{!}} Hometown.ng™|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-22}}</ref>

The [[Nigeria Civil War|Nigerian-Biafran war]] brought devastation to Onitsha as the city was a major theatre of war for forces entering [[Biafra]] from the western front. The subsequent oil boom years of the 1970s and early 1980s witnessed a huge influx of immigrants into the city. The result has been hastily constructed and haphazard building which has created a huge number of slums.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://onitshacitymarathon.com/aboutonitsha.html|title=About Onitsha|website=onitshacitymarathon.com|access-date=2020-01-22}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Festival===
Once a year in October the kingdom of Onitsha holds the [[Ofala Festival]] which coincides with the traditional [[New Yam festival]] held in many parts of [[Igboland]]. The Ofala Festival in ancient times offered the people the opportunity to see the king and receive blessings from him. Nowadays, it is a way for the people of Onitsha to keep their culture alive, take stock of the communal activities and it has become a major event that draws visitors from far and wide to the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obi of Onitsha Commends Glo for Supporting Ofala Festival - THISDAYLIVE |url=https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/10/13/obi-of-onitsha-commends-glo-for-supporting-ofala-festival |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=www.thisdaylive.com |language=en}}</ref>