The legal justification for this campaign was a treaty signed in 1886, when the British had interceded as peacemakers to end the Ekiti Parapo war, which imposed free trade requirements and mandated that all parties continue to use British channels for diplomacy. The Delta streams were called "oil rivers". [11], The British led a series of military campaigns to enlarge its sphere of influence and expand its commercial opportunities. Early nationalists tended to ignore Nigeria as the focus of patriotism. In time they captured Oba Ovonramwen and sent him into exile to Calabar, a town east of Benin. Although per capita income in the country as a whole remained low by international standards, rising incomes among salaried personnel and burgeoning urbanization expanded consumer demand for imported goods. L'indpendance du. [72], The Influenza pandemic made its way to the port of Lagos by September 1918 by way of a number of ships including the SS Panayiotis, the SS Ahanti, and the SS Bida. Lord Lugard recorded a huge success mainly because he used the highly developed traditional system of administration that was already in existence in the Northern Nigeria. A spokeswoman for Austria's Weltmuseum Wien acknowledges 13 of its 173 Benin Bronzes "have been linked definitively to the British invasion" though eight were acquired in the 16th century . Thanks to this skewed writing of history, many Nigerians today still have Empire nostalgia and view the colonial period through rose-tinted . In pursuance of the above general principles the chief civil officers of the provinces are to be called Residents which implies one who carries on diplomatic relations rather than Commissioners or Administrators. Other Protestant denominations from Great Britain, Canada, and the United States also opened missions and, in the 1860s, Roman Catholic religious orders established missions. Following the defeat of an unsuccessful foray by Consul General James R. Phillips, a larger retaliatory force captured Benin City and drove Ovonramwen, the Oba of Benin, into exile. [57], From 1895 to 1900, a railway was constructed running from Lagos to Ibadan; it opened in March 1901. In the Northern Cameroons, however, the largely Muslim electorate chose to merge with Nigeria's Northern Region. 24. June 30, 2022 . The first factor to be taken into account is that the British by nature are conservative. 2. [55], Under the Colonial Office was the Governor, who managed the administration of his colony and held powers of emergency rule. The war years brought a polarization between the older, more parochial leaders inclined toward gradualism and the younger intellectuals, who thought in more immediate terms. penn wood high school alumni; picture of shawn westover; microblading nickel allergy
Colonialism in Nigeria: positive and negative impacts of Nigerian Military Conquest | West-African Colonial Administration In the main the following factors contributed to the growth of colonies: Firstly, in the first place the discovery of new lands encouraged the various colonies to establish their colonies there.
West Africa | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1) In 1894 the territory was redesignated the Niger Coast Protectorate and was expanded to include the region from Calabar to Lagos Colony and Protectorate, including the hinterland, and northward up the Niger River as far as Lokoja, the headquarters of the Royal Niger Company. This article examines the deployment of West African soldiers for military service in West Africa, including the manner of mobilization and recruitment. Although it reserved effective power in the hands of the Governor-General and his appointed Executive Council, the so-called Richards Constitution (after Governor-General Sir Arthur Richards, who was responsible for its formulation) provided for an expanded Legislative Council empowered to deliberate on matters affecting the whole country. One of the most influential monarchies in the history of England began in 1066 C.E. Because of the spread of mission schools and wealth derived from export crops, the southern parties were committed to policies that would benefit the south of the country. [19], The company considered itself the sole legitimate government of the area, with executive, legislative and judicial powers all subordinate to the rule of a council created by the company board of directors in London. These seven factors led to the development of the slave trade: The importance of the West Indian colonies The shortage of labour The. There were three main factors that contributed to the European colonization Africa which were, political, social, and economic. It, therefore, hired native intermediaries who could conduct diplomacy, trade and intelligence work in the local area. Catholic missionaries were particularly active among the Igbo; the CMS worked among the Yoruba. [] These intermediaries assisted government diplomacy and helped to establish and maintain relations between the company and the traditional rulers. In November 1908, Bergheim reported striking oil; in September 1909, he reported extracting 2,000 barrels per day.
African Resistance to European Imperialism: Conflicts & Impact The large companies that subsequently opened depots in the delta cities and in Lagos were as ruthlessly competitive as the delta towns themselves and frequently used force to compel potential suppliers to agree to contracts and to meet their demands. In 1886, Taubman secured a royal charter and his company became the Royal Niger Company. [13], The Colonial Office accepted Lugard's proposal that the Governor would not be required to stay in-country full-time; consequently, as Governor, Lugard spent four months out of the year in London. Nigerian units also contributed to two divisions serving with British forces in Palestine, Morocco, Sicily and Burma, where they won many honours. Their forces, which were drawn from hundreds of Igbo youth from all parts of the region, created many problems for the British, but the British used forceful tactics and heavy armaments (destroying homes, farms, and roads) to prevail. . In 1890, a group of adventurers known as the Pioneer Column, sponsored by South African-based British arch-imperialist Cecil John Rhodes, occupied Zimbabwe and claimed the country for the British. The conquest was personal to William. We bind ourselves not to have any intercourse with any strangers or foreigners except through the said national African Company (Limited), and we give the said National African Company (Limited) full power to exclude all other strangers and foreigners from their territory at their discretion. The first missions were opened by the Church of England's Church Missionary Society (CMS). They selected an increasingly high proportion of African clergy for the missions. 1. Although churchmen in Britain had been influential in the drive to abolish the slave trade, significant missionary activity for Africa did not develop until the 1840s. Out of reverence for traditional kingship, for instance, the Oba of Benin, whose office was closely identified with Edo religion, was accepted as the sponsor of a Yoruba political movement. He argued that the division into two separate colonies was advisable unless a stronger central government could bind Nigeria into more than just an administrative convenience for the three regions. Nigeria: A Country Study. The British finalized the border between Nigeria and French West Africa with the Anglo-French Convention of 1898. The operations of this force are still not fully known due to a policy of strict secrecy mandated by the British Government. British soap and cosmetics manufacturers tried to obtain land concessions for growing oil palms, but these were refused. British influence in the Niger area increased gradually over the 19th century, but Britain did not effectively occupy the area until 1885. Frederick Lugard, shortly before becoming High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria.[68]. . Its residents were employed in official capacities and were active in business. Crowther, a liberated Yoruba slave, had been educated in Sierra Leone and in Britain, where he was ordained before returning to his homeland with the first group of CMS missionaries. The British colonial agricultural and industrial policies in Nigeria have implications for the country's economic advancement. His government guided the country for the next three years, operating with almost complete autonomy in internal affairs. [76], The British treasury initially supported the landlocked Northern Nigeria Protectorate with grants, totalling 250,000 or more each year. Missionaries were active: Presbyterians in Calabar and the Church Missionary Society (CMS), Methodists, and Baptists in Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Oyo, and Ogbomoso. Despite his somewhat successful efforts to enlist non-Yoruba support, the regionalist sentiment that had stimulated the party initially continued. The Action Group consistently supported minority-group demands for autonomous states within a federal structure, as well as the severance of a midwest state from the Western Region. Falola, Toyin, Ann Genova, and Matthew M. Heaton. Free shipping for many products! He also led the Nigerian National Democratic Party, which dominated elections in Lagos from its founding in 1922 until the ascendancy of the National Youth Movement in 1938. The council was headed by a Governor. British expansion accelerated in the last decades of the nineteenth century. Wartime experiences provided a new frame of reference for many soldiers, who interacted across ethnic boundaries in ways that were unusual in Nigeria.
Summarizing Indirect Rule in Nigeria | West-African Colonial Administration From 1815 to 1840, palm oil exports increased by a factor of 25, from 800 to 20,000 tons per year. The Mad Rush Into Africa in the Early 1880s Within just 20 years, the political face of Africa had changed, with only Liberia (a colony run by formerly enslaved African Americans) and Ethiopia remaining free of European control . These courts contained majorities British members and represented a new level of presumptive British sovereignty in the Bight of Biafra. The policy of indirect rule used in Northern Nigeria became a model for British colonies elsewhere in Africa. [35] However, the company did accept that local kings could act as partners in governance and trade. [61], The task of unification was achieved on the eve of World War I. [23] Regardless, slavery had decimated the population and fuelled militarisation and chaos, thereby paving the way for more aggressive colonisation.[21][24]. In Europe, Britain sent troops to help its ally, Prussia, which was surrounded by its enemies. Developed from Mayan civilization B. acquired empires by means of military conquest C. Independently developed iron technology D. Depended entirely on oral record keeping . The war was between the Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist nation that had declared independence from Nigeria. They later discovered that the demand for palm oil was in fact stimulating an internal slave trade, because slaves were largely responsible for collecting palm fruits, manufacturing palm oil, and transporting it to the coast, whether by canoe or by human porterage. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1719. The yoruba-Igbo rivalry became increasingly important in Nigerian politics. In the early stages of British rule, it is desirable to retain the native authority and to work through and by the native emirs. The kingdom of Benin began in the 900s when the Edo people settled in the rainforests of West Africa. This made the British win key battles all over the East Coast, as they effectively grabbed control. European Colonialism in Africa. Even before gaining its charter, the Company signed treaties with local leaders which granted it broad sovereign powers. Britain also annexed Freetown in Sierra Leone, declaring it a Crown Colony in 1808.[20]. Recovery came quickly and improvements in port facilities and the transportation infrastructure during World War I furthered economic development. In the 1700s, the British Empire and other European powers had settlements and forts in West Africa but had not yet established the full-scale plantation colonies which existed in the Americas. Joining the Royal Niger Company in 1894, Lugard was sent to Borgu to counter inroads made by the French, and in 1897 he was made responsible for raising the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) from local levies to serve under British officers. Otherwise, the Governor-General's office was essentially ceremonial. The government was responsible to a Parliament composed of the popularly elected 312-member House of Representatives and the 44-member Senate, chosen by the regional legislatures. ", Simon Heap, "'We think prohibition is a farce': drinking in the alcohol-prohibited zone of colonial northern Nigeria. The decrease in trade indirectly led to the collapse of states like the Edo Empire. This scheme proved unpopular and confusing to many involved parties and was phased out. In the South, only English had official status. Some of them began to migrate back from Sierra Leone in search of home and trade. [58], Some of these public work projects were accomplished with the help of forced labour from native black Africans, referred to as "Political Labour". The Resident also oversaw a Provincial Court at the region's capital. The traders suffered from the risks of their position and believed they were at the mercy of the coastal rulers, whom they considered unpredictable. Most of the fighting was done by Hausa soldiers, recruited to fight against other groups. Under Goldie's direction, the Royal Niger Company was instrumental in depriving France and Germany of access to the region. At the turn of the century, top wages were four bags of salt (company retail price, 3s 9d) for a month of work. The colonial period proper in Nigeria lasted from 1900 to 1960, after which Nigeria gained its independence. emblemhealth medicare customer service; did cody webster play college baseball 0 Home. Following military conquest, the British imposed an economic system designed to profit from African labor. The nationalism that became a political factor in Nigeria during the interwar period derived both from an older political particularism and broad pan-Africanism, rather than from any sense among the people of a common Nigerian nationality. European interpretations of Christian orthodoxy in some cases refused to allow the incorporation of local customs and practices, although the various mission denominations interpreted Christianity in different ways.
Nigeria - Nigeria as a colony | Britannica In the north, for instance, legislation took the form of a decree cosigned by the Governor and the emir, while in the south, the Governor sought the approval of the Legislative Council. With one man in practical control of the Executive and Legislative organs of all the parts, the machine may work passably for sufficient time to enable the transition period to be left behind, by which time the answer to the problemUnitary v. Federal Statewill probably have become clear. The Royal Niger Company established its headquarters far inland at Lokoja, which was the main trading port of the company,[34] from where it began to assume responsibility for the administration of areas along the Niger and Benue rivers where it maintained depots. Far from that, NEPU political struggles transformed the Nigerian Independence struggle from the fight against the British to a fight against both the British and the local agents of the British (the Aristocracy). Empty cart. The British also created "divide and rule" policies, pitting Hindu and Muslim Indians against one another. By 1903 the conquest of the emirates was complete. Most internal problems were concealed, and open opposition to the domination of the Muslim aristocracy was not tolerated. The Lander brothers were seized by slave traders in the interior and sold down the river to a waiting European ship. However, the British East India Company was able to lay the foundation of an empire in the Indian sub-continent because, from a British perspective, of a fortuitous series of circumstances. In the south, by contrast, traditional rulers were employed as vehicles of indirect rule in Edoland and Yorubaland, but Christianity and Western education undermined their sacerdotal functions. Anietie A. Inyang & Manasseh Edidem Bassey, "Imperial Treaties and the Origins of British Colonial Rule in Southern Nigeria, 18601890". The Action Group was thus the heir of a generation of flourishing cultural consciousness among the Yoruba and also had valuable connections with commercial interests that were representative of the comparative economic advancement of the Western Region. If adopted, his proposals can hardly be a permanent solution and I gather that Sir F. Lugard only regards them as temporaryat any rate in part. To start with, European nations were motivated by economic factors arising from the industrial revolution which started in Britain and extended to other European countries such as Belgium, France and Germany (Hochschild, 158).They wanted cheaper mineral resources for their home industries claiming that resources were abundant in Africa for It was colonized by the British in 1884 and the colony is established at the Berlin conference which divides Africa by European powers. A revelatory account of British imperialism's shameful impact on Africa's most populous state. Dike, K. O. Economic links among the regions increased, but indirect rule tended to discourage political interchange. In the face of threats to the divided Yoruba states from Dahomey and the Sokoto Caliphate, as represented by the emirate of Ilorin, the British Governorassisted by the CMSsucceeded in imposing peace settlements on the interior. Although Azikiwe later came to be recognised as the leading spokesman for national unity, when he first returned from university training in the United States, his outlook was pan-African rather than nationalist, and emphasised the common African struggle against European colonialism. Several churches were built to serve the Edo community and a small number of African converts. Segments of the Yoruba community had their own animosities and new rivalries arose. [51], Guidelines for running the Nigerian colony were established in 1898 by the Niger Committee, chaired by the Earl of Selborne, in 1898. All these things which I have said the Fulani by conquest took the right to do now pass to the British. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 8(04), 563. doi:10.1017/s0022278x00023909. British expansion was conducted primarily by commercialists and resulted in more solid economic potential than the French endeavor (Crowder, 1990). From 1790 to 1807, predominantly British slave traders purchased 1,0002,000 slaves each year in Lagos alone. He definitely laid the basis for British claims. The company received 865,000 compensation for the loss of its Charter. The charter allowed the company to collect customs and make treaties with local leaders.[12]. In 1905, the colonial government divided Bengal into Hindu and Muslim sections; this division was revoked after strong protests. He aroused political awareness through his newspaper, the Lagos Daily News. Any activity in the north that might include participation by the federal government (and consequently by southern civil servants) was regarded as a challenge to the primacy of the emirates. During his six-year tenure as High Commissioner, Sir Frederick Lugard (as he became in 1901) was occupied with transforming the commercial sphere of influence inherited from the Royal Niger Company into a viable territorial unit under effective British political control. Gradually, however, the trade forced major economic and social changes in the interior, although it hardly undermined slavery and the slave trade. This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 05:21. Although realistic in its assessment of the situation in Nigeria, the Richards Constitution undoubtedly intensified regionalism as an alternative to political unification. It was replaced by a new coalition government led by David Lloyd George featuring Conservatives and Lloyd George's supporters in the Liberal Party, while Asquith and the remainder of the Liberals entered opposition.[69]. This led to protests known as Women's War. In the long term, the acceptance of Christianity by large numbers of Nigerians depended on the various denominations adapting to local conditions. It is not a unitary state with local government areas but with one Central Executive and one Legislature. Empty cart. In 1912, Lugard returned to Nigeria from his six-year term as Governor of Hong Kong, to oversee the merger of the northern and southern protectorates. The cleavage between the Yoruba and the Igbo was accentuated by their competition for control of the political machinery. Beecroft agreed on condition that the slave trade be abolished, and British merchants have a monopoly in commodities. Some were deposed, some were defeated in battle, and others collaborated. Amalgamation of Nigeria was envisioned from early on in its governance, as is made clear by the report of the Niger Committee in 1898. It represented a substantial element of reformism in the North. For example, many people in Ibadan opposed Awolowo on personal grounds because of his identification with the Ijebu Yoruba. The Ekumeku, however, became a great source of Igbo nationalism. [73], Due to the failure of the sanitation officers in Lagos, the virus would continue to spread throughout the southern provinces throughout September and finally make its way into the hinterlands by October. PhD dissertation accepted at the Graduate Programme in History, York University, Ontario. "The Hidden Hand of Overrule: Political Agents and the Establishment of British Colonial Rule in Northern Nigeria, 18861914". [70], Lugard's immediate successor (19191925), Sir Hugh Clifford, was an aristocratic professional administrator with liberal instincts who had won recognition for his enlightened governorship of the Gold Coast in 19121919.