The Brass River, known locally as Nembe, was once a notorious artery in the slave trade network that threaded through the Niger Delta. Located in present-day Bayelsa State, Brass served as a major slave port, funneling thousands of enslaved Africans from the hinterlands onto European ships bound for the Americas.
By the 18th century, Nembe had become a stronghold for the Akassa Brassmen, local middlemen who built powerful trading empires by collaborating with Portuguese and British merchants. Through a complex system of canoe routes and inland raids, captives were transported to Brass, where they were held in makeshift barracoons or temporary holding camps along the riverbanks. These human “commodities” were then exchanged for firearms, liquor, textiles, and other European goods.
Brass’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade was not merely transactional, it reshaped the socio-political dynamics of the entire region. The rise of merchant kings, inter-ethnic rivalries, and militarized expeditions were all fueled by the demand for slaves. Even after the formal abolition of slavery, Brass continued as a site of resistance, economic power, and cultural transformation.
Today, the town of Brass is a quiet coastal community known for fishing and oil activities, but its dark past lingers beneath the surface. Few visible relics remain, but local oral traditions still recall the role Nembe played in that brutal era. The region stands as both a warning and a remembrance, a place where trade once triumphed over humanity.
