Jonathan Adagogo Green, born in 1873 in Ayama, Bonny, in present-day Rivers State, Nigeria, is recognised as the first indigenous professional photographer in Nigeria. His photographic career, which began in the early 1890s and lasted until his death in 1905, produced a remarkable visual record of life in the Niger Delta, capturing portraits of local chiefs, merchant families, colonial figures, and daily activities. Green’s work provides an enduring window into the culture, society, and commerce of his era, offering insights that are not available through written sources alone.
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Early Life and Education
Jonathan Adagogo Green was born into the Ibani (Ijaw) ethnic group. His father, Chief Sunju Okoronkwoye Dublin Green, was a respected merchant and community leader involved in the palm oil trade, which had become the dominant economic activity in Bonny after the decline of the transatlantic slave trade. When his father died in 1875, Jonathan was raised by his uncle, Chief Uruasi Dublin Green, a prominent figure in Bonny society. This guardianship ensured that he had access to education and social connections that would shape his future career.
Green began his schooling at the Church Missionary Society school in Bonny and later continued his education in Lagos, which was a centre of Western-style education in West Africa. Some accounts suggest that he may have also spent time in Sierra Leone, where photography was more widely established, allowing him to acquire further skills. By the time he returned to Bonny, he had gained sufficient knowledge and expertise to establish his own photographic practice.
Establishing His Photographic Practice
Around 1891, at approximately eighteen years of age, Jonathan Adagogo Green opened his photographic studio in Bonny, marking the beginning of his professional career. He quickly became known for his skill in portraiture and his ability to document both local and colonial subjects with clarity and detail.
His photographic work covered a range of subjects, including formal portraits of chiefs and ruling families, images of British colonial officials and European traders, and scenes of everyday life in Bonny and neighbouring communities such as Kalabari and Opobo. Green’s photographs depicted markets, craftsmen at work, ceremonial gatherings, and domestic life, providing a vivid record of the social, economic, and cultural environment of the Niger Delta in the late nineteenth century.
Green’s studio attracted a wide clientele, including local elites and expatriates, and his work was reproduced in postcards and other printed formats, enhancing its circulation beyond Bonny. His distinctive stamp, “J. A. Green, Artist Photographer, Bonny,” marked his prints and reinforced his professional reputation.
Significant Contributions and Themes
Green’s photography is historically significant for several reasons. Firstly, it represents one of the earliest known bodies of work produced by an African photographer in West Africa, demonstrating that indigenous practitioners could compete with European photographers in technical skill and artistic vision. Secondly, his images offer a unique perspective on the Niger Delta that complements written and oral historical sources, capturing details of clothing, architecture, trade, and social hierarchy that might otherwise have been lost.
Through his work, Green documented the interactions between local elites and European traders, the cultural expressions of the Ibani people, and the material and social life of Bonny. His photographs are an invaluable source for understanding the transformation of Bonny from a precolonial trading centre into a region under British colonial influence, while retaining its distinct social structures and cultural identity.
Colonial Context
Green’s career coincided with the formal expansion of British influence in the Niger Delta. Bonny became part of the Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1884, which later became the Niger Coast Protectorate in 1893, before being integrated into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate in 1900. While colonial authorities often used photography to document and control African societies, Green’s work provides an indigenous perspective, capturing life in the Niger Delta from within the community rather than through a purely colonial lens.
By photographing both African elites and European officials, Green negotiated a space between local traditions and colonial modernity, producing images that reflect the complexities of social life, commerce, and cultural identity during a period of profound change.
Death and Enduring Legacy
Jonathan Adagogo Green’s career was cut short when he died in 1905 at the age of thirty-two. Despite the brevity of his life, his contribution to Nigerian visual history is immense. Green’s work is preserved in collections worldwide, including the British Museum, Unilever Archives, and the National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC, as well as in private collections in Nigeria.
In recent decades, scholars and curators have brought renewed attention to Green’s photography, highlighting its importance in documenting indigenous life, colonial encounters, and the early development of photography in Nigeria. His images continue to inform historical research, museum exhibitions, and public understanding of the Niger Delta’s past, establishing him as a pioneering figure in African visual culture.
Jonathan Adagogo Green’s life and work exemplify the emergence of indigenous professional photography in Nigeria and the value of visual documentation for historical understanding. His photographs preserve a vivid record of Bonny society, the Niger Delta economy, and cultural life during a period of transition, providing modern audiences with a rare glimpse into the past. Green’s legacy endures as both a historical record and a source of inspiration for contemporary African photographers and historians.
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Author’s Note
Jonathan Adagogo Green was not only Nigeria’s first indigenous professional photographer but also a chronicler of his time. From Bonny’s ruling families to everyday life in the Niger Delta, his work captures the intersection of culture, commerce, and colonial influence, offering a lasting visual legacy. His photography remains essential for understanding Nigeria’s history and the early emergence of African professional artistry in the late nineteenth century.
References
- Guardian Nigeria: “Green, Nigeria’s First Indigenous Photographer in Spotlight”
- Unilever Archives: Jonathan Adagogo Green Photographic Collection
- British Museum: J. A. Green, Artist Photographer, Bonny Collection
