In 1950 Aminu Kano, who had been instrumental in founding the NPC, broke away to form the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), in protest against the NPC's limited objectives and what he regarded as a vain hope that traditional rulers would accept modernization. The Emirs and chiefs who are appointed will rule over the people as of old-time and take such taxes as are approved by the High Commissioner, but they will obey the laws of the Governor and will act in accordance with the advice of the Resident. In 1957, the Western and the Eastern regions became formally self-governing under the parliamentary system. [76], The British treasury initially supported the landlocked Northern Nigeria Protectorate with grants, totalling 250,000 or more each year. Beecroft was the British representative to Fernando Po, where the African Slave Trade Patrol of the Royal Navy was stationed. In the meantime, public sector spending increased even more dramatically than export earnings. Spain was driven by three main motivations. Many Muslims resorted to migration as a form of resistance, a tactic known as the hejira, in which those perceived as infidels are avoided. NEPU formed a parliamentary alliance with the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). The Resident also oversaw a Provincial Court at the region's capital. Some of them began to migrate back from Sierra Leone in search of home and trade. [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. 1839 - The Opium Wars between China and Britain, resulting from the trade of opium leading to widespread addictions. In 1851 deposed king Akintoye of Lagos sought British help in restoring him to the throne. An example was that at Onitsha, where they could bargain directly with local suppliers and purchase products likely to turn a profit. He insisted on maintaining the territorial integrity of the Northern Region. [19] Although the Ijebu had some weapons they were wiped out by British Maxims, the earliest machine gun. 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. French Roman Catholic missionaries, established in Ouidah (Whydah), arrived in Lagos and considered missionary work on the Niger. Most of these came from military backgrounds. In the north, the emirs intended to maintain firm control on economic and political change. 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. Doctrine of Lapse. In the long term, the acceptance of Christianity by large numbers of Nigerians depended on the various denominations adapting to local conditions. However, in October 1929 in Oloko a census related to taxation was conducted, and the women in the area suspected that this was a prelude to the extension of direct taxation, which had been imposed on the men the previous year. In quick order, a large British military forcedeemed the Punitive Expeditionwas assembled, and on February 18, they arrived in Benin City under orders to invade and conquer it. There were three main factors that contributed to the European colonization Africa which were, political, social, and economic. [73] An estimated 500,000 Nigerians would lose their lives due to the pandemic, severely decreasing production capabilities on Nigerian farms and plantations. He definitely laid the basis for British claims. 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. 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". It was a relatively simple adjustment for many Igbo families to transport the oil to rivers and streams that led to the Niger Delta for sale to European merchants. British staffs in each region continued to operate according to procedures developed before unification. In February 1961, a plebiscite was conducted to determine the disposition of the Southern Cameroons and Northern Cameroons, which were administered by Britain as United Nations Trust Territories. British colonialism destroyed the Ndebele state at the end of the nineteenth century. They invited missionaries to follow them and, in the 1840s, made themselves available as agents who allowed missionaries and British traders to gain access to such places as Lagos, Abeokuta, Calabar, Lokoja, Onitsha, Brass, and Bonny. Despite the acceptance of European and North American influences, the nationalists were critical of colonialism for its failure to appreciate the antiquity, richness and complexity of indigenous cultures. This scheme proved unpopular and confusing to many involved parties and was phased out. Support for broad Nigerian concerns occupied a clear second place. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation. Otherwise, the Governor-General's office was essentially ceremonial. There were some specific outcomes and impacts for Africans as a result of WWI. Borno capitulated without a fight, but in 1903 Lugard's RWAFF mounted assaults on Kano and Sokoto. The political parties jockeyed for positions of power in anticipation of the independence of Nigeria. They selected an increasingly high proportion of African clergy for the missions. It, therefore, hired native intermediaries who could conduct diplomacy, trade and intelligence work in the local area. During World War II, three battalions of the Nigeria Regiment fought against Fascist Italy in the Ethiopian campaign. 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. Some were deposed, some were defeated in battle, and others collaborated. The Ekumeku, who were well organized and whose leaders were joined in secrecy oaths, effectively utilized guerrilla tactics to attack the British. The incidence of slavery in local societies increased. From 1815 to 1840, palm oil exports increased by a factor of 25, from 800 to 20,000 tons per year. For some time, missionaries operated in the area between Lagos and Ibadan. 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. Quiz. "John Beecroft, 17901854: Her Brittanic Majesty's Consul to the Bights of Benin and Biafra 18491854". Protestant missionaries tended to divide the country into spheres of activity to avoid competition with each other, and Catholic missions similarly avoided duplication of effort among the several religious orders working there. PhD dissertation accepted at the Graduate Programme in History, York University, Ontario. [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 British Conquest of Nigeria From about the mid nineteenth century, the British began to alter the nature of their relationship between themselves and Nigerians. 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. After initially adopting an indirect rule approach, in 1906 the British merged the small Lagos Colony and the Southern Nigeria Protectorate into a new Colony of Southern Nigeria, and in 1914 that was combined with the Northern Nigeria Protectorate to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. A lack of interest in extending the NPC beyond the Northern Region corresponded to this strictly regional orientation. The war also made the British reappraise Nigeria's political future. Hon. 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. [16] Starting in 1740, the British were the primary European slave trafficker from this area. How did use of enslaved African people for labour develop? 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. The yoruba-Igbo rivalry became increasingly important in Nigerian politics. Olatunji Ojo, "The Organization of the Atlantic Slave Trade in Yorubaland, ca.1777 to ca.1856", Bouda Etemad, "Economic relations between Europe and Black Africa, Giles D. Short, "Blood and Treasure: The reduction of Lagos, 1851", "Northern Nigeria: The Illo Canceller and Borgu Mail" by Ray Harris in. The British annexed Lagos in 1861 in order to protect Akitoyes son and successor, foil Kosokos bid to return, and secure a base for further activities. Colonial Lagos was a busy, cosmopolitan port. This article examines the deployment of West African soldiers for military service in West Africa, including the manner of mobilization and recruitment. The French had abolished slavery following the French Revolution, although it briefly re-established it in its Caribbean colonies under Napoleon. September 1996. with the Norman Conquest led by William, the Duke of Normandy. Afeadie, Philip Atsu. The operations of this force are still not fully known due to a policy of strict secrecy mandated by the British Government. June 30, 2022 . 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 British entry into World War I saw the confiscation of Nigerian palm oil firms operated by expatriates from the Central Powers. God, Gold, and Glory. The kingdom of Benin began in the 900s when the Edo people settled in the rainforests of 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. The racial discriminatory tendencies of the Europeans to Nigerians. . Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991. In 1958 exportation of Nigerian oil was initiated at facilities constructed at Port Harcourt. Individuals could be fined or jailed for refusing to comply.[12]. As before, Aro merchants dominated trade in the hinterland, including palm products to the coast and the sale of slaves within Igboland. The Colony was ultimately governed by the British Colonial Office in London. [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. From January 1914 onwards, the newly united colony and protectorate was presided over by a proconsul, who was entitled the Governor-General of Nigeria. FACTORS THAT LED TO NATIONALISM IN NIGERIA. 1. Some of the treaties contained prohibitions on diplomacy conducted without British permission, or other promises to abide by British rule. [61] John Anderson diplomatically suggested: If it is the necessity for formally submitting the drafts that hurts Sir F. Lugard, I should be quite prepared to omit that provision provided that the period of publication of the draft prior to enactment is extended from one month to two. 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. The council was promoted as a device for allowing the expression of opinions that could instruct the Governor-General. Colonialism is both a practice and a word that means so much to Nigeria. [19] Ultimately, this became the Royal Niger Company. At first, they lived in small family groups, but gradually these groups developed into a. 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. That's human geography 101. Catholic missionaries were particularly active among the Igbo; the CMS worked among the Yoruba. The Royal Navy bombarded Lagos in November 1851, ousted the pro-slavery Oba Kosoko and established a treaty with the newly installed Oba Akintoye, who was expectedly more amenable to British interests. In this way Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowtherborn in the Yoruba-inhabited area of Oshogbo and the first African ordained by the CMSwas able to establish mission stations at Onitsha, Lokoja, and Eggan and later at Brass and Bonny. Lagos was annexed as a Crown Colony in 1861 via the Lagos Treaty of Cession.[30]. Most of the fighting was done by Hausa soldiers, recruited to fight against other groups. Rivalry between the Royal Niger Company and the Lagos Protectorate over the boundary between the emirate of Ilorin and the empire of Ibadan was resolved with the abrogation of the charter of the Royal Niger Company on January 1, 1900, in return for wide mineral concessions. The NPC platform emphasized the integrity of the north, its traditions, religion and social order. As the emirs settled more and more into their role as reliable agents of indirect rule, colonial authorities were content to maintain the status quo, particularly in religious matters. The mud-walled city of Kano was captured in February, and, after a vigorous skirmish at Kotorkwashi, the sultans capital, Sokoto, fell the next month. Regional administrations also varied widely in the quality of local personnel and in the scope of the operations they were willing to undertake. The so-called Macpherson Constitution, after the incumbent Governor-General John Stuart Macpherson, went into effect the following year. The trend was toward the establishment of a parliamentary system of government, with regional assemblies and a federal House of Representatives. In consideration of the foregoing, the said National African Company (Limited) bind themselves not to interfere with any of the native laws or customs of the country, consistently with the maintenance of order and good government [and] agree to pay native owners of land a reasonable amount for any portion they may require. 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. 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 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. [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. Britain withdrew from the slave trade when it was the major transporter of slaves to the Americas. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. Every Sultan and Emir and the principal officers of state will be appointed by the high Commissioner throughout all this country. To establish settled government in the newly won districts; To improve and extend native footpaths throughout the country; To construct properly graded roads in the more populated districts; To clear the numerous rivers in the country and make them suitable for launch and canoe traffic; and. The emirs retained their caliphate titles but were responsible to British district officers, who had final authority. Total revenues of central and regional governments nearly doubled in relation to the gross domestic product during the decade. Its program reflected greater planning and was more ideologically oriented than that of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. 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 . Lugard's success in northern Nigeria has been attributed to his policy of indirect rule; that is, he governed the protectorate through the rulers defeated by the British. ", Simon Heap, "'We think prohibition is a farce': drinking in the alcohol-prohibited zone of colonial northern Nigeria. by How Africa 6 years ago. By the eighteenth century, evidence of Christianity had disappeared. An extensive immigrant population of southerners, especially Igbo, already were living in the north; they dominated clerical positions and were active in many trades. At the same time, George Dashwood Goldie, a British businessman, bought out all French rivals and created the Royal Niger Company (chartered 1886) in order to control trade on the Niger and administer the immense territories of the Sokoto caliphate and Borno. While each generated considerable political controversy, they moved the country toward greater internal autonomy, with an increasing role for the political parties. [72] In line with this attitude, he rejected Lugard's proposal for moving the capital from Lagos, the stronghold of the elite in whom he placed so much confidence for the future. [67], The Colonial Office, where Lugard was still held in high regard, accepted that changes might be due in the south, but it forbade fundamental alteration of procedures in the north. 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. [57], Egerton also supervised improvements to the Lagos harbour and extension of the local telegraph network. The small contingent of northerners who had been educated abroada group that included Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Aminu Kanowas allied with British-backed efforts to introduce gradual change to the emirates. The NPC, entering candidates only in the Northern Region, confined campaigning largely to local issues but opposed the addition of new regimes. The Ekumeku, however, became a great source of Igbo nationalism. The British turned to Persia for oil.[83]. His political platform called for economic and educational development, Africanization of the civil service, and self-government for Lagos. Most of the fighting was done by Hausa soldiers, recruited to fight against other groups. Critics, including representatives of the Middle Belt who resented Muslim domination, were relegated to small, peripheral parties or to inconsequential separatist movements.[85]. 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. The British captured Kano in 1903. The principal figure in the political activity that ensued was Herbert Macauley, often referred to as the father of Nigerian nationalism. The decrease in trade indirectly led to the collapse of states like the Edo Empire. 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. England would forever be changed politically, economically, and socially as a result. In 1946 a new constitution was approved by the British Parliament at Westminster and promulgated in Nigeria. E-mail: tundeoduwobi@yahoo.com Recibido: 15 Marzo 2011 / Revisado: 7 Abril 2011 / Aceptado: 17 Abril . 4 Pages. Initial British attempts to open trade with the interior by way of the Niger could not overcome climate and diseases such as malaria. The Colonial Office approved most of Lugard's plan, but balked at authorising him to pass laws without their approval. There were numerous differences of detail among the regional systems, but all adhered to parliamentary forms and were equally autonomous in relation to the Nigerian federal government at Lagos. Segments of the Yoruba community had their own animosities and new rivalries arose. This made the British win key battles all over the East Coast, as they effectively grabbed control. African nationalism attempted to transform the identity of Africans. When direct Portuguese contacts in the region were withdrawn, however, the influence of the Catholic missionaries waned. [53] The first five heads of the Nigeria Department (18981914) were Reginald Antrobus, William Mercer, William Baillie Hamilton, Sydney Olivier, and Charles Strachey. brighton grey motion loveseat; waterford, ct obituaries; jane wymark children. [] They needed special personnel: such officials who knew the local conditions and who could communicate between the Company and the indigenous people. 2. [31], In 1891, the consulate established the Niger Coast Protectorate Force or "Oil Rivers Irregulars".[32]. 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. 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].