05/01/2026
Calabar: A Historical Name Born of Contact, Commerce, and Cartography
Prince of Bakassi
Introduction
The name Calabar occupies a powerful place in Nigerian and West African history. It evokes images of riverine trade, Efik diplomacy, European contact, and the Atlantic world. Yet a persistent question remains: What does Calabar actually mean, and is it of Portuguese origin?
This article explores the historical meaning of Calabar, tracing its emergence from indigenous foundations through Portuguese encounter and British consolidation.
Indigenous Foundations: Akwa Akpa Before “Calabar”
Long before European contact, the region now known as Calabar was inhabited and dominated by Efik-speaking riverine communities. These settlements collectively referred to their environment as Akwa Akpa, commonly interpreted as “great river” or “river settlement.”
Akwa Akpa was not a single city but a network of autonomous trading towns—notably Old Town, Duke Town, and Creek Town—linked by kinship, commerce, and ritual institutions such as the Ekpe society. Importantly, the name Calabar did not exist locally in pre-European times.
Portuguese Contact and the Birth of a Map Name (15th–16th Century)
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the Cross River estuary in the late 15th century. As with many African coastal regions, they encountered complex societies but struggled with local languages and pronunciations.
Early European maps and records show multiple spellings of the name:
Calabari
Calabarra
Calabaro
These variations reveal that Calabar was not a Portuguese word, but rather a European phonetic rendering of a place already known and governed by Africans. The Portuguese role was decisive not in naming from scratch, but in introducing the name into global cartography and maritime records.
“Old Calabar” and the Atlantic World (17th–18th Century)
By the 17th century, European traders consistently referred to the area as Old Calabar. This label served a practical purpose: it distinguished the Efik-controlled Cross River ports from Calabari (New Calabar) in the eastern Niger Delta and other trading centers such as Bonny.
During this period, Calabar did not mean a city in the modern sense. Instead, it functioned as a commercial designation—a term that encapsulated:
the river
the Efik trading towns
a major Atlantic exchange point (initially in enslaved persons, later palm oil)
To European merchants, “Calabar” meant a place of trade and negotiation, not a linguistically translated name.
British Standardization and Colonial Usage (19th Century)
In the 19th century, British traders, missionaries, and administrators standardized the spelling and usage of the name as Calabar. Through treaties, missionary records, and colonial administration, the term became fixed in official documents.
It was during this period that Calabar transformed from a functional trading label into a recognized urban and administrative center, eventually formalized as Calabar.
What “Calabar” Means Historically
Unlike many indigenous African place names, Calabar does not carry a direct lexical meaning in Efik or Portuguese. Historically, its meaning is functional rather than linguistic.
Calabar came to signify:
a harbor of arrival
a gateway between Africa and the Atlantic world
a space of diplomacy, commerce, and cultural exchange
a meeting point between indigenous authority and global forces
In essence, Calabar is a name born of encounter—shaped by African presence, recorded by Europeans, and solidified through history.
Conclusion
Calabar is neither an original Portuguese word nor an indigenous Efik term. It is a contact-name, forged at the intersection of local riverine civilization, European maritime exploration, and global trade.
If Akwa Akpa represents how the people understood their world from within, Calabar represents how the world first came to know that place.
References
A. J. H. Latham, Old Calabar, 1600–1891: The Impact of the International Economy upon a Traditional Society
K. Onwuka D**e, Trade and Politics in the Niger Delta
Elizabeth Isichei, A History of the Igbo People (Cross River & Efik sections)
Robin Law, The Atlantic Slave Trade and African Societies
National Archives of the United Kingdom, West Africa Trade Records
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