Abstract

The history of the world up to the twentieth century is replete with great personalities often referred to as modernizers. Notable among such men are Peter the Great of Russia, Otto Von Bismark of Prussia, Menelik of Ethiopia, and Mohamed Ali of Egypt. These men impacted positively on their different societies by either uniting or modernizing the people through the adoption of western civilization. Convinced that western civilization was indeed superior in its military and industrial aspects, King Eyo Honesty II of Old Calabar, in spite of opposition from his council of chiefs, requested for and welcomed the missionaries in the nineteenth century because of his desire for western civilization through western education. At the end Old Calabar society was better off than before. The methodology adopted in this paper is the multi-disciplinary approach of historical writing with emphasis on primary and secondary sources. Evidence so obtained confirms King Eyo Honesty II as indeed a great leader who desired the best for his people and society, opposition to civilization through modernization by his council notwithstanding.