Glossary · Term

Palm oil

Palm oil is an edible oil made from the fruit of the oil palm, a tree native to West and Central Africa. It was a staple food and later an important export. The Benin Empire produced it in the forest zone, and commoners in the Lunda Empire cultivated it alongside millet, yams and sorghum.

Mentioned in 6 profiles

Benin EmpireSocioeconomyLunda EmpireSocioeconomyIndonesiaSocioeconomyMalaysiaSocioeconomyKingdom of DahomeySocioeconomy, DeclineLiberiaSocioeconomy

Mentioned in 19 state histories

Kalabari KingdomNembe KingdomBonny KingdomWarri KingdomOld CalabarKingdom of DahomeyDuala kingdomsKingdom of OnitshaKingdom of Porto-NovoAro ConfederacyKingdom of AbohKingdom of Bafutand 7 more

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Palm oil. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/palm-oil
MLA
“Palm oil.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/palm-oil. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Palm oil.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/palm-oil.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Palm oil’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/palm-oil (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻