Old Calabar was one of the major commercial centres of the West African coast. The Efik of the Cross River estuary built a rich trading society that linked inland networks to Atlantic commerce.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, Efik merchants were key intermediaries between African traders and European ships.
What makes Old Calabar remarkable is this it left written records produced by Africans themselves.
Antera Duke’s diary (1785 – 1788) is the best known example from precolonial southeastern Nigeria. It was not the only one. The Black Davis House Book, Coco Bassey’s diaries, and E. O. Offiong’s papers trade ledgers, court records, letter books also survive.
These documents give historians something rare a window into the commercial, political and everyday life of an African society, written by the people who lived there.