George Oruigbiji Pepple

George Oruigbiji, otherwise known as Perekule VII, (c. 1849 – 31 October 1888) and variously known in England as Pepper, Pimento or Peppel/Pepple, (a name which he subsequently took) ruled the Kingdom of Bonny, an independent trading state in the Niger Delta between 30 September 1866 and 14 December 1883, when he was deposed. After the British signed a treaty making the state a protectorate, he was restored on 22 January 1887, ruling until his death.

Background The Kingdom of Bonny was a trading state founded before 1600, based on the port of Bonny in what is now Rivers State, Nigeria. It became a major trading center, first of slaves and later of palm oil products. During the 19th century, British influence was growing in the region. George Oruigbiji Pepple was born in 1849, son of King William Dappa Pepple of Bonny, who was deposed by the British and deported to Britain in 1854. George went into exile with his father, and was educated in England at the boys' school at Hall Place, Bexley in southeast London. His studies included English, Greek, Mathematics, Scripture and History, the conventional syllabus of Victorian England.