Amalgamation of Nigeria was envisioned from early on in its governance, as is made clear by the report of the Niger Committee in 1898. "Specifically, the Company sought to secure the cooperation of the traditional rulers in ensuring peaceful conditions for trade. [64], Each region also had a Native Administration, staffed by locals, and possessing a Native Treasury. Taxes became a source of discontent in the south, however, and contributed to disturbances protesting British policy. Great Britain was the leaders at this time in colonizing the land filled with rich natural recourses. Military Conquest. Until he stepped down as Governor-General in 1918, Lugard primarily was concerned with consolidating British sovereignty and with assuring local administration through traditional rulers. The Colonial Office could veto or revise his policies. European traders in Nigeria initially made widespread use of the cowrie, which was already valued locally. Doctrine of Lapse. Early nationalists tended to ignore Nigeria as the focus of patriotism. What Were Reasons for European Exploration of the Americas? The NPC was called on to form a government, but the NCNC received six of the ten ministerial posts. [] They needed special personnel: such officials who knew the local conditions and who could communicate between the Company and the indigenous people. Motivations for Colonization - National Geographic Society In the 1850s, quinine had been found to combat malaria, and aided by the medicine, a Liverpool merchant, Macgregor Laird, opened the river. In-text citation: 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. Although the capital was not moved, Lugard's bias in favour of the Muslim north was clear at the time. Final Conquest Verse By Verse Study of The Book Revelation DVD Robert Economic links among the regions increased, but indirect rule tended to discourage political interchange. Most Europeans tended to overlook their own differences and were surprised and shocked that Nigerians wanted to develop new denominations independent of European control. He used for the first time in Nigeria modern, sometimes flamboyant, electioneering techniques. with the Norman Conquest led by William, the Duke of Normandy. They had obtained the assent of the emirs to form a political party to counterbalance the activities of the southern-based parties. Segments of the Yoruba community had their own animosities and new rivalries arose. In April 1927, the British colonial government in Nigeria took measures to enforce the Native Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance. They received attention from major parties before elections, at which time either a dominant party from another region or the opposition party in their region sought their alliance. He said that he did "not consider that their past traditions and their present backward cultural conditions afford to any such experiment a reasonable chance of success". The movement brought to public notice a long list of future leaders, including H.O. Catholic missionaries were particularly active among the Igbo; the CMS worked among the Yoruba. In 1957, the Western and the Eastern regions became formally self-governing under the parliamentary system. The trend was toward the establishment of a parliamentary system of government, with regional assemblies and a federal House of Representatives. Lugard bequeathed to his successor a prosperous colony when his term as Governor-General expired. [56], Walter Egerton's sixfold agenda for 1908, as detailed on 29 November 1907, in a telegram to the Colonial Office, is representative of British priorities. From January 1914 onwards, the newly united colony and protectorate was presided over by a proconsul, who was entitled the Governor-General of Nigeria. Some of them also manned Company stations and served as District Agents.". As a protectorate, it did not have the status of a colony, so its officials were appointed by the Foreign Office and not by the Colonial Office. Every Sultan and Emir and the principal officers of state will be appointed by the high Commissioner throughout all this country. Unification meant only the loose affiliation of three distinct regional administrations into which Nigeria was subdividedNorthern, Western and Eastern regions. Though the Europeans possess many considerable settlements both upon the coast of Africa and in the East Indies, they have not yet established in either of those countries such numerous and thriving colonies as those in the islands and continent of America. 24. The company received 865,000 compensation for the loss of its Charter. For some time, missionaries operated in the area between Lagos and Ibadan. [19], West Africa also bought British exports, supplying 3040% of the demand for British cotton during the Industrial Revolution of 17501790.[27]. The first known encounter between the British and the people of the region of modern-day Nigeria was on April 1, 1600, when English sailors landed on the Niger River near Katsina, the largest city in northern Nigeria. The protectorate was organised to control and develop trade coming down the Niger. "The Hidden Hand of Overrule: Political Agents and the Establishment of British Colonial Rule in Northern Nigeria, 18861914". Because of the hazards of climate and tropical diseases for Europeans and the absence of any centralized authorities on the mainland responsive to their interests, European merchants moored their ships outside harbours or in the delta, and used the ships as trading stations and warehouses. "Separatist Agitations in Nigeria Since 1914." The Industrial Revolution was a period of scientific and technological development in the 18th century that transformed largely rural, agrarian societiesespecially in Europe and North America . The Colonial Office approved most of Lugard's plan, but balked at authorising him to pass laws without their approval. 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). [16] Starting in 1740, the British were the primary European slave trafficker from this area. In all three regions, minority parties represented the special interests of ethnic groups, especially as they were affected by the majority. Thanks to this skewed writing of history, many Nigerians today still have Empire nostalgia and view the colonial period through rose-tinted . Oil income was still marginal, but the prospects for continued economic expansion appeared bright and accentuated political rivalries on the eve of independence. Nigeria - Nigeria as a colony | Britannica Lagos became a major slave port in the late 1700s and into the 1850s. Despite his somewhat successful efforts to enlist non-Yoruba support, the regionalist sentiment that had stimulated the party initially continued. The Colonial and Pre-Colonial Eras in Nigeria | AHA - Historians 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 militias and RWAFF battalions were reorganized into the RWAFF Nigeria Regiment.[62]. [74] But with the advancement and efficiency of colonial transportation networks, it was only a matter of time before the disease began to spread into the interior. In German East Africa, Britain took over Tangayika while Ruanda-Urundi possessions were given to Belgium. The Norman conquest in 1066 was the last successful conquest of England. 979 Words. These recourses were considered a necessity to the industrialization of the world . From Lugard's point of view, clear-cut military victories were necessary because the surrenders of the defeated peoples weakened resistance elsewhere. speedo sectionals 2022 texas info@hebasanmakine.com on it burgers ferntree gully closed +90 224 371 29 30 There was virtually no pressure for greater unity among the regions until after the end of World War II. Despite conquering villages by burning houses and crops, continual political control over the Igbo remained elusive. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/the-factors-that-led-to-the-colonization-of-africa-by-the-europeans-PLa41Sz5 Be sure to capitalize proper nouns (e.g. BRITISH CONQUEST, COLONIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA - ResearchGate [50] In the same year, the British created the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF or WAFF), under the leadership of Colonel Frederick Lugard. . Modern nationalists in the south, whose thinking was shaped by European ideas, opposed indirect rule, as they believed that it had strengthened what they considered an anachronistic ruling class and shut out the emerging Westernised elite. The Nigeria Regiment of the RWAFF, integrating troops from the north and south, saw action against German colonial forces in Cameroon and in German East Africa. Motivation for European conquest of the New World 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. Although this trade grew to significant proportionspalm oil exports alone were worth 1 billion a year by 1840it was concentrated near the coast, where palm trees grew in abundance. The superior weapons, tactics and political unity of the British are commonly given as reasons for their decisive . The most important innovations in the new charter reinforced the dual course of constitutional evolution, allowing for both regional autonomy and federal union. [65], Half of all taxes went to the colonial government and half went to the Native Treasury. 2. [17] In 1767, British traders facilitated a notorious massacre of hundreds of people at Calabar after inviting them onto their ships, ostensibly to settle a local dispute. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to see among other things the British interest in the area referred to as Sokoto Caliphate, the crises and conflicts that ensued, the resistance put up by the people and the eventual conquest of the caliphate. [8] British influence in the region began with the prohibition of slave trade to British subjects in 1807. These include the fact that military conscription (draft) of numerous African colonial subjects into European armies generated great amounts of anger. Open Document. In the South, only English had official status. Some of the treaties contained prohibitions on diplomacy conducted without British permission, or other promises to abide by British rule. Initial British attempts to open trade with the interior by way of the Niger could not overcome climate and diseases such as malaria. In May of this year, Herbert J. In 1886, Taubman secured a royal charter and his company became the Royal Niger Company. [73], Africa as a whole was hit by three waves of H1N1 influenza A, the first and second would be the most deadly for the colony of Nigeria. Three of these posts were assigned to representatives from each region, and one was reserved for a delegate from the Northern Cameroons. Additionally. Ethnic cleavages intensified in the 1950s. 4 Pages. Village Heads were paid 10 shillings for conscripts, and fined 50 if they failed to supply. The Factors That Led to the Colonization of Africa by the Europeans One place that felt victim to this imperialism was Africa. Another court was established in 1856 at Calabar, based on an agreement with local Efik traders which prohibited them from interfering with British merchants. The essential basis of this system was a money economy specifically the British pound sterling which could be demanded through taxation, paid to cooperative natives, and levied as a fine. By 1938 the NYM was agitating for dominion status within the British Commonwealth of Nations so that Nigeria would have the same status as Canada and Australia. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria British expansion accelerated in the last decades of the nineteenth century. Lugard's governmental model for Nigeria was unique and there was apparently not much planning for its future development. Newspapers, some of which were published before World War I, provided coverage of nationalist views. British colony and protectorate from 1914 to 1960, Contemporary photograph of the same building, now housing the, Developments in colonial policy under Clifford, Emergence of Southern Nigerian nationalism, Constitutional conferences in the UK (195758), All of this section to this point is from. Local leaders, cognizant of the situation in the West Indies, India, and elsewhere, recognised the risks of British expansion. 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. An example was that at Onitsha, where they could bargain directly with local suppliers and purchase products likely to turn a profit. They took the right to rule over it, to levy taxes, to depose kings and to create kings. Agents also collected intelligence for the colonial officials; they gathered information on public opinion and the military resources of the local polities; they also spied on rival colonial forces in foreign territories. The Colonial Civil Service used intermediaries, as the Royal Niger Company had, in an expanded role which included diplomacy, propaganda and espionage. [11] In 1891, the African Banking Corporation founded the Bank of British West Africa in Lagos.[33]. In 1916 Lugard formed the Nigerian Council, a consultative body that brought together six traditional rulersincluding the Sultan of Sokoto, the Emir of Kano and the Oba of Beninto represent all parts of the colony. The Ekumeku, who were well organized and whose leaders were joined in secrecy oaths, effectively utilized guerrilla tactics to attack the British. It soon gained a virtual monopoly over trade along the River[11]. British exploitation of their fatherland. All these things which I have said the Fulani by conquest took the right to do now pass to the British. The experiment began in 1890 and was repealed in 1939,[71]. Direct taxation on men was introduced in 1928 without major incidents. Otherwise, the Governor-General's office was essentially ceremonial. In popular parlance, discussions of colonialism in Africa usually focus on the European conquests that resulted in the scramble for Africa after the Berlin Conference in the 19th century. The Treasury used a planned budget for payment of staff and development of public works projects, and therefore could not be spent at the discretion of the local traditional ruler. The policy of indirect rule used in Northern Nigeria became a model for British colonies elsewhere in Africa. 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. Men 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 conquest and colonization of the Nigerian territory stirring up nationalist sentiments among the few educated elements mostly foreign educated Africans and liberated slaves, and later African students in Britain. While each generated considerable political controversy, they moved the country toward greater internal autonomy, with an increasing role for the political parties. [52], The territory of the Royal Niger Company became the Northern Nigeria Protectorate, and the Company itself became a private corporation which continued to do business in Nigeria. 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. Other European powers acknowledged Britain's dominance over the area in the 1885 Berlin Conference. The traders suffered from the risks of their position and believed they were at the mercy of the coastal rulers, whom they considered unpredictable. Herbert Richmond Palmer developed details of this model from 1906 to 1911 as the Governor of Northern Nigeria after Lugard.[66]. June 30, 2022 . The Ekumeku, however, became a great source of Igbo nationalism. At the same time, British scientists were interested in exploring the course and related settlements along the Niger River. Other Protestant denominations from Great Britain, Canada, and the United States also opened missions and, in the 1860s, Roman Catholic religious orders established missions. Seven Years' War | The Canadian Encyclopedia African Nationalism | South African History Online In 1841 the British tried to settle some Egba on a model farm in Lokoja, but the plan was aborted because the mortality rate among European officials was so high. The first factor to be taken into account is that the British by nature are conservative. British staffs in each region continued to operate according to procedures developed before unification. Independence was achieved on 1 October 1960. To reduce costs, Lagos was administered first from Freetown in Sierra Leone, along with Gold Coast forts such as Elmina, and later from Accra (in present-day Ghana); only in 1886 did Lagos become a separate colony. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, it ended slavery in its possessions. As its head, the master trader taxed other traders who were members of his "house"; he maintained a war vessel, a large dugout canoe that could hold several tons of cargo and dozens of crew, for the defense of the harbor. The conference is popularly called "The Berlin Conference". The British Conquest State (Chapter 3) - A History of Zimbabwe Colonialism in Nigeria: positive and negative impacts of Nigerian Some were deposed, some were defeated in battle, and others collaborated. History of Nigeria - Wikipedia [] These intermediaries assisted government diplomacy and helped to establish and maintain relations between the company and the traditional rulers. This rate rose to 20,000 per year in the last quarter of the century. Alienated by the anonymity of the urban environment and drawn together by ties to their ethnic homelandsas well as by the need for mutual aidthe new city dwellers formed local clubs that later expanded into federations covering whole regions. The search for oil, begun in 1908 and abandoned a few years later, was revived in 1937 by Shell and British Petroleum. . Subsequent revisions contained in the Lyttleton Constitution, enacted in 1954, firmly established the federal principle and paved the way for independence. This was a case of plenty harvest but few hands to cultivate. Thus Spain and Portugal set up colonies in Central and South America after it was discovered by Columbus. From 1815 to 1840, palm oil exports increased by a factor of 25, from 800 to 20,000 tons per year. When Faidherbe and his successors proceeded with their conquest of the hinterlands they met with strong and sustained resistance from a number of sources including the Moors, the Toucouleur Empire of Segou under Al Hajj Umar and the powerful Almamy . The Southern Protectorate financed itself from the outset, with revenue increasing from 361,815 to 1,933,235 over the same period. Christian missionaries were barred, and the limited government efforts in education were harmonized with Islamic institutions.[67]. 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.. 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. 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. PDF BRITISH CONQUEST, COLONIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA - ResearchGate 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 . Offers a bold rethink: a clear-eyed, unromanticized history of colonial Nigeria written by a Nigerian. The emirs retained their caliphate titles but were responsible to British district officers, who had final authority. Davies and Nnamdi Azikiwe. [73] The colonial government would enact new legislation in reaction to the pandemic including, travel passes for individuals in the colony, increased usage of sanitary practices, and door to door checks on indigenous Nigerian households. Whenever a trader had become successful enough to keep a war canoe, he was expected to form his own "house". Adam Smith wrote in 1776 that the African societies were better established and more populous than those of the Americas, thus creating a more formidable barrier to European expansion. The transfer of responsibility for budgetary management from the central to the regional governments in 1954 accelerated the pace of public spending on services and on development projects. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria This became the Lagos Constabulary, and subsequently the Nigerian Police Force. At the same time it is feasible by degrees to bring them gradually into approximation with our ideas of justice and humanity. On 9 May 1913, Lugard submitted a formal proposal to the Colonial Office in which Northern and Southern provinces would have separate administrations, under the control of a "strongly authoritarian" Governor-General. September 1996. For political the British were fixed on expanding their empire and gaining control of every major city, state, or country in the world so they could govern every man or woman as they Show More What Britain Did to Nigeria | Hurst Publishers They gathered information which was needed for policy-making in administration. A permanent British occupation of Egypt required the inviolability of the Ni They were instrumental in the development of government diplomacy with the traditional rulers; they spread government propaganda among the indigenous people; and they assisted colonial officials in parleying with native forces at war with government troops. David Ellis, "African and European relations in the last century of the transatlantic slave trade"; in Ptr-Grenouilleau. Sir Richmond Palmer, acting as Lieutenant Governor in the North, disagreed with Clifford and advocated the principles of Lugard and further decentralisation. What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Rule by Max Siollun Hurst, 20, 408 pages Join our online book group on Facebook at FT Books Caf Letter in response to this article: During the war, the colonial government earmarked a large portion of the Nigerian budget as a contribution to imperial defence. Each was under a Lieutenant Governor and provided independent government services. Animosity, Amnesia, or Admiration? Mass Opinion Around the World Toward To . Economic competition among these "houses" was so fierce that trade often erupted into an armed battle between the crews of the large canoes. [59], Lugard advocated constantly for the unification of the whole territory, and in August 1911 the Colonial Office asked Lugard to lead the amalgamated colony.[60]. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. [45], A campaign against the Sokoto Caliphate began in 1900 with the creation of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, under the direction of Governor Lugard. The war also made the British reappraise Nigeria's political future. [81] In 1936, of 6,259,547 income for the Nigerian state, 1,156,000 went back to England as home pay for British officials in the Nigerian civil service. In November 1908, Bergheim reported striking oil; in September 1909, he reported extracting 2,000 barrels per day. 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. Although his own ambitions were limited to the Northern Region, Bello backed the NPC's successful efforts to mobilize the north's large voting strength so as to win control of the national government. In general, the regional constitutions followed the federal model, both structurally and functionally. An extensive immigrant population of southerners, especially Igbo, already were living in the north; they dominated clerical positions and were active in many trades. Siollun concludes with what he calls "the mistake of 1914": his view that the British resolution to join their northern and southern protectorates into one poorly integrated colony constitutes the single most consequential decision of colonial rule in Nigeria. The kingdom of Benin began in the 900s when the Edo people settled in the rainforests of West Africa. [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. [8] Azikiwe was installed as Governor-General of the federation and Balewa continued to serve as head of a democratically elected parliamentary, but now completely sovereign, government.