ABSTRACT
This thesis is an attempt at the reconstruction

of the history of Karu, Kurape and Kurudu kingdoms

c. '1700-1900 A.D. These were Gbagyl kingdoms located

in the heart of Nigeria. By the beginning of the 17th

century the area had been occupied by the g'bagyi and

under the p o l i t i c a l control of Kurape for at least a

century. However, by the end of the 18th centuiy the

internal contradictions and the pressures of external

forces disabled Kurape effective control of Karu and

Kurudu area. By the beginning of the 19th century

Karu and Kurudu had become splinter states with defined

boundaries. Although they had become indapendent of

Kurape, they s t i l l maintained some economic, cultural

and military t i e s , and sometimes organised consorti im

military efforts in order to ward off and curb

extern a l attacks.

In the course of t h i s study it was consistently

argued that the internal factors were of paramount

importance in the emergence of the kingdoms. And tJ

s p l i t of Kurape kingdom was to a larger extent caused

by the rulers of Kurape who raided their subjects.

The major challenge these kingdoms faced in the

19th century was the jihadista a c t i v i t i e s in the region.

F i r s t , there sharp demographic changes. The

jihadists a c t i v i t i e s forced down the Hausa, Gwandara,