factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria

As a practice, colonialism is traced to the1854 and 1855 conference at Berlin in Germany. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991. September 1996. [32] This included a river fleet which it used for retaliatory attacks on uncooperative villages. These recourses were considered a necessity to the industrialization of the world . "Nigerian Forces Comforts Fund, 19401947: 'The Responsibility of the Nigerian Government to Provide Funds for the Welfare of Its Soldiers'. In the Bight of Biafra, the major ports were Old Calabar (Akwa Akpa), Bonny and New Calabar. Colonialism and Development: A Comparative Analysis of Spanish and factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria While they all shared a desire for wealth and power, their motivations for colonization differed somewhat, and thus the pattern and success of their colonies varied significantly. Free shipping for many products! The NPC federal parliamentary leader, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was appointed Prime Minister of Nigeria. In 1851 deposed king Akintoye of Lagos sought British help in restoring him to the throne. In 1920, portions of former German Cameroon were mandated to Britain by the League of Nations and were administered as part of Nigeria. The Anglicans and other religious groups had a conscious "native church" policy to develop indigenous ecclesiastical institutions to become independent of Europeans. The British captured Kano in 1903. In 1794, the African Association in Great Britain commissioned Mungo Park, an intrepid Scottish physician and naturalist, to search for the headwaters of the Niger and follow the river downstream. The racial discriminatory tendencies of the Europeans to Nigerians. By extending the elective principle and by providing for a central government with a Council of Ministers, the Macpherson Constitution gave renewed impetus to party activity and to political participation at the national level. Order. During World War II, Awolowo reorganized it as a predominantly Yoruba political party, the Action Group. Description. Colonial official A. J. Harding commented in 1913: Sir F. Lugard's proposal contemplates a state which it is impossible to classify. The most important innovations in the new charter reinforced the dual course of constitutional evolution, allowing for both regional autonomy and federal union. He aroused political awareness through his newspaper, the Lagos Daily News. While each generated considerable political controversy, they moved the country toward greater internal autonomy, with an increasing role for the political parties. The seven men who governed Northern Nigeria, Southern Nigeria and Lagos through 1914 were Henry McCallum, William MacGregor, Walter Egerton, Ralph Moor, Percy Girouard, Hesketh Bell and Frederick Lugard. Some European traders switched to legitimate business only when the commerce in slaves became too hazardous. [74] The disease first found its home among the many trading ports along the West African coast. Three constitutions were enacted from 1946 to 1954. Vice consuls were assigned to ports that already had concluded treaties of cooperation with the Foreign Office. In 1850, the British created a "Court of Equity" at Bonny, overseen by Beecroft, which would deal with trade disputes. SLAVE TRADE - Central Connecticut State University Alan Lennox-Boyd, M.P., the British Secretary of State for the Colonies. The High Commissioner will be guided by all the usual laws of succession and the wishes of the people and chief but will set them aside if he desires for good cause to do so. The war also made the British reappraise Nigeria's political future. 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. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria The Governor-General, in turn, was responsible for appointing the prime minister and for choosing a candidate from among contending leaders when there was no parliamentary majority. Norman Conquest - National Geographic Society British expansion accelerated in the last decades of the nineteenth century. Elliot J. Berg, "The Development of a Labour Force in Sub-Saharan Africa"; France sold Louisiana to the United States, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Military history of Nigeria during World War II, National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, discovery and exploitation of petroleum deposits, "The Nigeria (Constitution) Order in Council, 1954", "Gombe-Abba: Historic emirs' town ruined by the British", A Very Bloody Transaction: Old Calabar and the Massacre of 1767, The Impact of the Slave Trade on African Economies, "Managing Epidemic: The British Approach to 19181919 Influenza in Lagos", "The Nigerian Victory Against The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and 1897 Smallpox Epidemic", "African Pentecostalism and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: The Supernatural Amid the Fearful and Implications for the COVID-19 Pandemic", "The influenza pandemic of 191819 and the spread of cassava cultivation on the lower Niger: a study in historical linkages", Google Cultural Institute: Birth of the Nigerian Colony, 18511914, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colonial_Nigeria&oldid=1136412842, Former British colonies and protectorates in Africa, 1914 establishments in the British Empire, 1960 disestablishments in the British Empire, States and territories established in 1914, States and territories disestablished in 1960, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the flag caption or type parameters, Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters, Articles needing additional references from July 2019, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. British soap and cosmetics manufacturers tried to obtain land concessions for growing oil palms, but these were refused. It is not a personal union of separate colonies under the same Governor like the Windwards, it is not a Confederation of States. The neglect of traditional institutions. The Colonial Civil Service used intermediaries, as the Royal Niger Company had, in an expanded role which included diplomacy, propaganda and espionage. History of Colonization in Africa | How Africa News The council was headed by a Governor. The traders suffered from the risks of their position and believed they were at the mercy of the coastal rulers, whom they considered unpredictable. "Specifically, the Company sought to secure the cooperation of the traditional rulers in ensuring peaceful conditions for trade. E-mail: tundeoduwobi@yahoo.com Recibido: 15 Marzo 2011 / Revisado: 7 Abril 2011 / Aceptado: 17 Abril . The mud-walled city of Kano was captured in February, and, after a vigorous skirmish at Kotorkwashi, the sultan's capital, Sokoto, fell the next month. The Colonial Office approved most of Lugard's plan, but balked at authorising him to pass laws without their approval. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. Most of these came from military backgrounds. Davies and Nnamdi Azikiwe. They gathered information which was needed for policy-making in administration. These included the decline of the Mughal Empire. He was prepared to introduce educational and economic changes to strengthen the north. Most internal problems were concealed, and open opposition to the domination of the Muslim aristocracy was not tolerated. Spain was driven by three main motivations. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands). Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Final Conquest Verse By Verse Study of The Book Revelation DVD Robert Jeffress at the best online prices at eBay! It backed Yoruba irredentism in the Fulani-ruled emirate of Ilorin in the Northern Region, and separatist movements among non-Igbo in the Eastern Region. The Lander brothers were seized by slave traders in the interior and sold down the river to a waiting European ship. [] They needed special personnel: such officials who knew the local conditions and who could communicate between the Company and the indigenous people. [25][n 1], The missionaries gained in power throughout the 1800s. Nigeria - Nigeria as a colony | Britannica 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. The slave trade was heaviest in the period 17001850, with an average of 76,000 people taken from Africa each year between 1783 and 1792. A revelatory account of British imperialism's shameful impact on Africa's most populous state. If an eye is kept on the Gazettes as they come in this will enable us to warn him of any objections we may entertain to legislative proposals, and also give Liverpool and Manchester an opportunity of voicing their objections. [77] Its revenue quickly increased, from 4,424 in 1901 to 274,989 in 1910. In addition, two other protectorates were declared, one over the Oil Rivers and the other over the hinterland of Lagos, to establish a claim that these areas were also British spheres of interest.. Africans also were represented on the Lagos Legislative Council, a largely appointed assembly. The war was driven by the commercial and imperial rivalry between Britain and France, and by the antagonism between Prussia (allied to Britain) and Austria (allied to France). The history of Nigeria can be traced to the earliest inhabitants whose remains date from at least 13,000 BC through early civilizations such as the Nok culture which began around 1500 BC.Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Political activists in the southern areas spoke of self-government in terms of educational opportunities and economic development. The essential basis of this system was a money economyspecifically the British pound sterlingwhich could be demanded through taxation, paid to cooperative natives, and levied as a fine. Otherwise, the Governor-General's office was essentially ceremonial. The Sokoto jihad and the Yoruba wars stimulated the slave trade at a time when the British were actively trying to stop it. [73] The spread of the disease was quick and deadly, with an estimated 1.5% of the population of Lagos falling victim. In 1900, the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate passed from company hands to the Crown. 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. Most of the fighting was done by Hausa soldiers, recruited to fight against other groups. What Britain Did to Nigeria A Short History of Conquest and Rule Max Siollun. Europeans, with an eye to colonization and conquest, restricted the sale of the new weaponry to Africa maintaining military superiority. In the Northern Region, the colonial government took careful account of Islam and avoided any appearance of a challenge to traditional values that might incite resistance to British rule. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation. [82], Oil exploration began in 1906 under John Simon Bergheim's Nigeria Bitumen Corporation, to which the Colonial Office granted exclusive rights. Observers have pinned the 'humanity's worst mistake' label on several of history's major institutions, ranging from the adoption of agriculture to twentieth-century communism (Diamond Reference Diamond 1987; Economist 2009).In our assessment, the institution of modern colonialism - meaning the exploration, conquest, settlement, and political dominance of distant lands by European and . Accordingly, as the volume of trade increased, merchants requested that the Government of the United Kingdom appoint a consul to cover the region. Herbert Richmond Palmer developed details of this model from 1906 to 1911 as the Governor of Northern Nigeria after Lugard.[66]. Lagos was the first part of Nigeria to be conquered and declare a British colony in 1861. In the north Frederick Lugard, the first high commissioner of Northern Nigeria, was instrumental in subjugating the Fulani emirs. Quiz. 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. Lugard informed the leaders of conquered Sokoto: The Fulani in old times [] conquered this country. The French had abolished slavery following the French Revolution, although it briefly re-established it in its Caribbean colonies under Napoleon. The NPC, entering candidates only in the Northern Region, confined campaigning largely to local issues but opposed the addition of new regimes. 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 yoruba-Igbo rivalry became increasingly important in Nigerian politics. British colonialism created Nigeria, joining diverse peoples and regions in an artificial political entity along the Niger River. The political parties jockeyed for positions of power in anticipation of the independence of Nigeria. The experiment began in 1890 and was repealed in 1939,[71]. Progressive constitutions after World War II provided for increasing representation and electoral government by Nigerians. Some of the treaties contained prohibitions on diplomacy conducted without British permission, or other promises to abide by British rule. NEPU formed a parliamentary alliance with the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). They never were able to elect sizeable legislative delegations, but they served as a means of public expression for minority concerns. In Europe, Britain sent troops to help its ally, Prussia, which was surrounded by its enemies. In 1957, the Western and the Eastern regions became formally self-governing under the parliamentary system. The British Conquest and Resistance of Sokoto Caliphate, 18971903 Other Protestant denominations from Great Britain, Canada, and the United States also opened missions and, in the 1860s, Roman Catholic religious orders established missions. ", Tamuno, T. N. (1970). In one year, Lugard recruited 2600 troops, evenly split between Hausa and Yoruba. It continued to enjoy special privileges and maintained a de facto monopoly over commerce. Awolowo had little difficulty in appealing to broad segments of the Yoruba population, but he worked to avoid the Action Group from being stigmatized as a "tribal" group. In time they captured Oba Ovonramwen and sent him into exile to Calabar, a town east of Benin. [11] [12] So, how did Europeans end up in Africa? Despite his somewhat successful efforts to enlist non-Yoruba support, the regionalist sentiment that had stimulated the party initially continued. The company negotiated treaties with Sokoto, Gwandu and Nupe that were interpreted as guaranteeing exclusive access to trade in return for the payment of annual tribute. [67], This system, in which the structure of authority focused on the emir to whom obedience was a mark of religious devotion, did not welcome change. The first missions were opened by the Church of England's Church Missionary Society (CMS). The economy suffered from the decline in the slave trade, although considerable smuggling of slaves to the Americas continued for years afterward. By the eighteenth century, evidence of Christianity had disappeared. The company received 865,000 compensation for the loss of its Charter. It, therefore, hired native intermediaries who could conduct diplomacy, trade and intelligence work in the local area. British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston detested slavery, and in 1851 he took advantage of divisions in native politics, the presence of Christian missionaries, and the maneuvers of British consul John Beecroft to encourage the overthrow of the regime. [79][80], Much of the colony's budget went to payments of its military, the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF). [21], Whether British conquest of Nigeria resulted from a benevolent motive to end slavery or more instrumental motives of wealth and power, remains a topic of dispute between African and European historians. Christian missionaries were barred, and the limited government efforts in education were harmonized with Islamic institutions.[67]. The British responded to such evidence of rivalry by defending their right to free navigation on the river at the Berlin West Africa Conference of 188485. They wanted self-government, charging that only colonial rule prevented the unshackling of progressive forces in Nigeria and other states. A third of the people associated with an 1842 riverine expedition died. "Separatist Agitations in Nigeria Since 1914." factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. But by providing for comparable regional governments exercising broad legislative powers, which could not be overridden by the newly established 185-seat federal House of Representatives, the Macpherson Constitution also gave a significant boost to regionalism. The trend was toward the establishment of a parliamentary system of government, with regional assemblies and a federal House of Representatives. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 8(04), 563. doi:10.1017/s0022278x00023909. [19] Ultimately, this became the Royal Niger Company. Local rulers continued to administer their territories, but consular authorities assumed jurisdiction for the equity courts established earlier by the foreign mercantile communities. All the territories were now under British control, and the search for an identity began, first as Northern and Southern Nigeria and then with eventual amalgamation. 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. Resistance was strong in western Igboland, where a series of wars were waged against the British. [11][12], In 1900, the British Government assumed control of the Southern and Northern Protectorates, both of which were ultimately governed by the Colonial Office at Whitehall. Its architecture was in both Victorian and Brazilian style, as many of the black elite were English-speakers from Sierra Leone and freedmen repatriated from the Empire of Brazil and Spanish Cuba. These organisations were primarily urban phenomena that arose after numerous rural migrants moved to the cities. Why was Britain able to establish an Empire in India 2. 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. For some time, missionaries operated in the area between Lagos and Ibadan. Deadly battles broke out sporadically through 1906. Falola, Toyin, Ann Genova, and Matthew M. Heaton. He used for the first time in Nigeria modern, sometimes flamboyant, electioneering techniques. Lagos was annexed as a Crown Colony in 1861 via the Lagos Treaty of Cession.[30]. Britain and Nigeria'S Independence in 1960 Indeed it was these developments in the history of Kano that transformed the political outlook of the people. Therefore, other factors exist to explain the institutional design. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1012. It is not a federal state with federal Executive, Legislature and finances, like the Leewards. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1921. Laird's efforts were stimulated by the detailed reports of a pioneer German explorer, Heinrich Barth, who travelled through much of Borno and the Sokoto Caliphate, where he recorded information about the region's geography, economy and inhabitants. Causes Of European Colonization In Africa | ipl.org By a British Act of Parliament, Nigeria became independent on 1 October 1960. The classic example in English history was the victory of the Parliament over the king. Men In general, the regional constitutions followed the federal model, both structurally and functionally. [61], The task of unification was achieved on the eve of World War I. A Summary of British Rule in India - ThoughtCo Both Africans and Europeans found illegal supplies such as secret stills, obtaining colonial liquor permits, and smuggling. Three years later internal divisions arose that was dominated by major ethnic loyalties. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria The British Conquest of Benin and the Oba's Return As before, Aro merchants dominated trade in the hinterland, including palm products to the coast and the sale of slaves within Igboland. Village Heads were paid 10 shillings for conscripts, and fined 50 if they failed to supply. From 1815 to 1840, palm oil exports increased by a factor of 25, from 800 to 20,000 tons per year. Its program reflected greater planning and was more ideologically oriented than that of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. British and French traders did a large share of this business until 1807 when they were replaced by the Portuguese and the Spaniards. [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. What are the Factors which facilitated the rise of Colonialism? 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. The CMS initially promoted Africans to responsible positions in the mission field; for instance, they appointed Samuel Ajayi Crowther as the first Anglican Bishop of the Niger. [31], In 1891, the consulate established the Niger Coast Protectorate Force or "Oil Rivers Irregulars".[32]. Robin Hermann, "Empire Builders and Mushroom Gentlemen: The Meaning of Money in Colonial Nigeria". PhD dissertation accepted at the Graduate Programme in History, York University, Ontario. The British colonial agricultural and industrial policies in Nigeria have implications for the country's economic advancement. [63], The Protectorate was centrally administered by the Colonial Civil Service, staffed by Britons and Africans called the British Native Staffmany of whom originated from outside the territory. 1821 - Sierra Leone, Gambia and the Gold Coast form British West Africa. Although he reported on the eastward flow of the Niger, he was forced to turn back when his equipment was lost to Muslim Arab slave traders. It was colonized by the British in 1884 and the colony is established at the Berlin conference which divides Africa by European powers. 1839 - The Opium Wars between China and Britain, resulting from the trade of opium leading to widespread addictions. . Northern leaders committed to modernization were also firmly connected to the traditional power structure. The principal commodities of legitimate trade were palm oil and palm kernels, which were used in Europe to make soap and as lubricants for machinery before petroleum products were developed for that purpose. He was convinced that the Muslim religion had fallen into utter degeneration as a result of moral depravity of the Hausa Emirs. 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. In the long term, the acceptance of Christianity by large numbers of Nigerians depended on the various denominations adapting to local conditions. Aside from the possibility of treasure, the European governments aimed to find a passage through the Americas to Asia. Ken Swindell, "The Commercial Development of the North: Company and Government Relations, 19001906". Borno capitulated without a fight, but in 1903 Lugard's RWAFF mounted assaults on Kano and Sokoto. It soon gained a virtual monopoly over trade along the River[11]. Colonialism is both a practice and a word that means so much to Nigeria. Birth of the Nigerian Colony Google Arts & Culture In the early stages of British rule, it is desirable to retain the native authority and to work through and by the native emirs. British Colonize Nigeria Essay - 979 Words | Bartleby [32], In 1880, the British Government and traders demonetised the Maria Theresa dollar, to the considerable dismay of its local holders, in favour of the pound sterling. Missionaries were active: Presbyterians in Calabar and the Church Missionary Society (CMS), Methodists, and Baptists in Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Oyo, and Ogbomoso. In 1916, Sir Edward Carson led the majority of the Conservative and Unionist Party to vote against Party Leader Bonar Law on the issue, forcing it to withdraw from the Asquith coalition and for the government to begin to break apart.

How Many Yellow Cards Before Suspension In Scottish Football, Bitlife Oldest Age To Adopt A Child, Wakefield Express Obituaries, 13830176d2d515a9785127a74 A Real Estate Licensee May Be Disciplined For, Articles F