The entire Yoruba country has never been thoroughly organized into one complete government in a modern sense. The system that prevails is that known as the Feudal, the remoter portions have always lived more or less in a state of semi-independence, whilst loosely acknowledging an over-lord. The king of Benin was one of the first to be independent of the central government, and was even better known to foreigners who frequented his ports in early times, and who knew nothing of his over-lord in the then unexplored and unknown interior.

Yoruba Proper, however, was completely organized, and the descriptions here given refer chiefly to it. With some variations most of the smaller governments were generally modelled after it, but in a much simpler form, and solely in their domestic affairs; foreign relations so far as then obtained, before the period of the revolution were entirely in the hands of the central government at Oyo (Eyeo or Katunga). It should be remembered that the coast tribes were of much less importance then than now, both in population and in intelligence; light and civilization with the Yorubas came from the north with which they have always retained connection through the Arabs and Fulanis. The centre of life and activity, of large populations and industry was therefore in the interior, whilst the coast tribes were scanty in number, ignorant and degraded not only from their distance from the centre of light, but also through their demoralizing intercourse with Europeans, and the transactions connected with the oversea slave trade.