Consul Lynslager destroys Old Town, Old Calabar

In 1856 Consul Lynslager ordered the destruction of Old Town (one of the constituent settlements of Old Calabar) in reprisal for the killing of a British trader. Naval vessels bombarded and burnt the settlement. This act of collective punishment was carried out without reference to London and without judicial process. It was one of several examples of consuls acting as quasi-sovereign powers in the Delta.