factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria

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. emblemhealth medicare customer service; did cody webster play college baseball 0 Home. In the north Frederick Lugard, the first high commissioner of Northern Nigeria, was instrumental in subjugating the Fulani emirs. 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. Nigerian units also contributed to two divisions serving with British forces in Palestine, Morocco, Sicily and Burma, where they won many honours. The policy of indirect rule used in Northern Nigeria became a model for British colonies elsewhere in Africa. 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. At first, the trade centered around West Central Africa, now the Congo. This article examines the deployment of West African soldiers for military service in West Africa, including the manner of mobilization and recruitment. [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. 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. In the Northern Cameroons, however, the largely Muslim electorate chose to merge with Nigeria's Northern Region. 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. The factors that led to the colonization of africa by the europeans. Palm oil was used locally for cooking, the kernels were a source for food, trees were tapped for palm wine, and the fronds were used for building material. The emirs gave support to limited modernization largely from fears of the unsettling presence of southerners in the north, and by observing the improvements in living conditions in the South. The staff of this office came primarily from the British upper-middle classi.e., university-educated men, primarily not nobility, with fathers in well-respected professions. Independent Christian churches had emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. 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. [57], From 1895 to 1900, a railway was constructed running from Lagos to Ibadan; it opened in March 1901. Britain also annexed Freetown in Sierra Leone, declaring it a Crown Colony in 1808.[20]. 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. In some instances, however, a double allegianceto the idea of sacred monarchy for its symbolic value and to modern concepts of law and administrationwas maintained. [59], Following the order recommended by the Niger Committee, the Colonial Office merged Lagos Colony and the Southern Nigeria Protectorate on 1 May 1906, forming a larger protectorate (still called the Southern Nigeria Protectorate) which spanned the coastline between Dahomey and Cameroon. During the war, union membership increased sixfold to 30,000. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. French Roman Catholic missionaries, established in Ouidah (Whydah), arrived in Lagos and considered missionary work on the Niger. 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]. The British encouraged this secession, worsening the war even further. One 1885 treaty read: We, the undersigned King and Chiefs [] with the view to the bettering of the condition of our country and people, do this day cede to the National Africa Company (Limited), their heirs and assigns, forever, the whole of our territory [] We also give the said National African Company (Limited) full power to settle all native disputes arising from any cause whatever, and we pledge ourselves not to enter into any war with other tribes without the sanction of the said National Africa Company (Limited). [31], In 1891, the consulate established the Niger Coast Protectorate Force or "Oil Rivers Irregulars".[32]. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeriacan low magnesium kill you. British staffs in each region continued to operate according to procedures developed before unification. [9] Administration and military control of the territory was conducted primarily by white Britons, both in London and in Nigeria. During the 1880's through 1914, the start of WWI, was an age of imperialism. By 1903 the conquest of the emirates was complete. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. Indeed it was these developments in the history of Kano that transformed the political outlook of the people. Some of the treaties contained prohibitions on diplomacy conducted without British permission, or other promises to abide by British rule. David Richardson, "Background to annexation: Anglo-African credit relations in the Bight of Biafra, 17001891"; in Ptr-Grenouilleau. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884. On a subsequent expedition to the Sokoto Caliphate, Scottish explorer Hugh Clapperton learned about the mouth of the Niger River, and where it reached the sea, but after suffering malaria, depression and dysentery, he died before confirming it. The palm oil trade was also linked to the Sokoto jihad and the Yoruba wars, because many warriors recognized the importance of slaves not only as soldiers and producers of food to feed soldiers but additionally as producers of palm oil to trade for European dane guns and other goods. Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. 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. 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. [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. Despite conquering villages by burning houses and crops, continual political control over the Igbo remained elusive. 979 Words. One of the factors that contributed to the success of indirect rule in Northern Nigeria was the use of the existing traditional system of administration. The rapid growth of organised labour in the 1940s also brought new political forces into play. Village Heads were paid 10 shillings for conscripts, and fined 50 if they failed to supply. The political parties jockeyed for positions of power in anticipation of the independence of Nigeria. British Colonizing in Nigeria. The movement brought to public notice a long list of future leaders, including H.O. Protestant sects had flourished in Christianity since the Protestant Reformation; the emergence of independent Christian churches in Nigeria (as of black denominations in the United States) was another phase of this history. Nigerian recruits participated in the war effort as labourers and soldiers. There were some specific outcomes and impacts for Africans as a result of WWI. Goods were made available on credit to African middlemen, who were expected to trade them at a pre-arranged price and deliver the proceeds to the company. [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. British expansion accelerated in the last decades of the nineteenth century. The militias and RWAFF battalions were reorganized into the RWAFF Nigeria Regiment.[62]. ", Tamuno, T. N. (1970). 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. 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. The CMS pioneered trade on the Niger by encouraging Scottish explorer and merchant Macgregor Laird to run a monthly steamboat, which provided transportation for missionary agents and Sierra Leonean traders going up the Niger. The movement soon assumed both religious and national characteristics. They noticed something odd about the local fishermen and asked to come ashore. In German East Africa, Britain took over Tangayika while Ruanda-Urundi possessions were given to Belgium. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Europeans had raced to colonize the country Africa. Amalgamation of Nigeria was envisioned from early on in its governance, as is made clear by the report of the Niger Committee in 1898. The company's major imports to the area included gin and low-quality firearms. ", Simon Heap, "'We think prohibition is a farce': drinking in the alcohol-prohibited zone of colonial northern Nigeria. 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. It was supported not only by the income from huge agricultural surpluses but also by a new range of direct and indirect taxes imposed during the 1950s. In practice, Lugard used the annual sessions to inform the traditional rulers of British policy, leaving them with no functions at the council's meetings except to listen and to assent. The trade subsequently continued under the Portuguese Empire. That's human geography 101. The British targeted Nigeria because of its resources. 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. 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. [27] To produce all this oil, the economy of the southern region crossed over from mostly subsistence to the production of palm oil as a cash crop.[28]. [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. The primary motives of European explorers were economic. Public works, such as harbour dredging and road and railway construction, opened Nigeria to economic development. [53] The first five heads of the Nigeria Department (18981914) were Reginald Antrobus, William Mercer, William Baillie Hamilton, Sydney Olivier, and Charles Strachey. The British were not yet willing to assume the expense of maintaining an administration in Nigeria. In 1850, the British created a "Court of Equity" at Bonny, overseen by Beecroft, which would deal with trade disputes. Other firms applying for licenses were rejected. He used for the first time in Nigeria modern, sometimes flamboyant, electioneering techniques. "Nigerian Forces Comforts Fund, 19401947: 'The Responsibility of the Nigerian Government to Provide Funds for the Welfare of Its Soldiers'. Even before gaining its charter, the Company signed treaties with local leaders which granted it broad sovereign powers. 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. The similarity between the federal and regional constitutions was deceptive, however, and the conduct of public affairs reflected wide differences among the regions. In May of this year, Herbert J. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, it ended slavery in its possessions. 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 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. British expansion was conducted primarily by commercialists and resulted in more solid economic potential than the French endeavor (Crowder, 1990). 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 conference is popularly called "The Berlin Conference". Following military conquest, the British imposed an economic system designed to profit from African labor. [22] Many locals remained unconvinced of the Crown's authority to completely reverse the legal and moral attributes of a social institution through fiat. 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. The Lander brothers were seized by slave traders in the interior and sold down the river to a waiting European ship. 0 Wishlist. [49], Concrete plans for transition to Crown ruledirect control by the British Governmentapparently began in 1897. 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. Crowther was succeeded as bishop by a British cleric. But the war had more concrete consequences. Men A Hurst Publication. The British and the French fought the Carnatic Wars, which the British won decisively - making the British the foremost colonial power. 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. He was contemptuous of the educated and Westernised African elite found more in the South, and he recommended transferring the capital from Lagos, the cosmopolitan city where the influence of these people was most pronounced, to Kaduna in the north. They gathered information which was needed for policy-making in administration. Instead, the companies had to be content with a monopoly of the export trade in these products. [38][39], In 1892 the British Armed Forces set out to fight the Ijebu Kingdom, which had resisted missionaries and foreign traders. 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. 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. Davies and Nnamdi Azikiwe. Ever since, the north-south divide has dominated the politics of independent Nigeria. His political platform called for economic and educational development, Africanization of the civil service, and self-government for Lagos. Initially, most palm oil (and later kernels) came from Igboland, where palm trees formed a canopy over the densely inhabited areas of the Ngwa, Nri Kingdom, Awka and other Igbo peoples. Frederick Lugard, who was appointed as High Commissioner of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1900 and served until 1906 in his first term, often has been regarded by the British as their model colonial administrator. The French had abolished slavery following the French Revolution, although it briefly re-established it in its Caribbean colonies under Napoleon. Read published a Memorandum on British possessions in West Africa, which remarked upon the "inconvenient and unscientific boundaries" between Lagos Colony, the Niger Coast Protectorate and the Royal Niger Company. Britain subsequently lobbied other European powers to stop the slave trade as well. penn wood high school alumni; picture of shawn westover; microblading nickel allergy 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. 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. Although realistic in its assessment of the situation in Nigeria, the Richards Constitution undoubtedly intensified regionalism as an alternative to political unification. The delta masked the mouth of the great river, and for centuries Nigerians chose not to tell Europeans the secrets of the interior. The Headquarters of Gombe emirate was Gombe-Abba[15] until when the then Emir of Gombe, Umaru Kwairanga (18981922), was forced to move from Gombe-Abba, a town founded by his grandfather and the founder of Gombe Emirate, Modibbo Bubayero, to Nafada town in 1913, and then to the current Gombe in 1919, that was after Gombe Emirate was conquered by British colonialists in 1903. The NCNC backed creation of a midwest state and proposed federal control of education and health services. British merchants led the trade in palm oil, while the Portuguese and others continued the slave trade. From January 1914 onwards, the newly united colony and protectorate was presided over by a proconsul, who was entitled the Governor-General of Nigeria. In Europe, Britain sent troops to help its ally, Prussia, which was surrounded by its enemies. A people with no knowledge of their past would suffer from collective amnesia, groping blindly into the future without guide-posts of precedence to shape their course. 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. As before, Aro merchants dominated trade in the hinterland, including palm products to the coast and the sale of slaves within Igboland. 2. The classic example in English history was the victory of the Parliament over the king. [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 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. Alan Lennox-Boyd, M.P., the British Secretary of State for the Colonies. After the defection of Kano, the only significant disagreement within the NPC was related to moderates. Vice consuls were assigned to ports that already had concluded treaties of cooperation with the Foreign Office. PhD dissertation accepted at the Graduate Programme in History, York University, Ontario. In an economy with many qualified applicants for every post, great resentment was generated by any favouritism that authorities showed to members of their own ethnic group. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1012. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. They were the most politically conscious segment of the population and created the vanguard of the nationalist movement. . 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. Trained as an army officer, he had served in India, Egypt and East Africa, where he expelled Arab slave traders from Nyasaland and established British presence in Uganda. 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.. 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. [57], Egerton also supervised improvements to the Lagos harbour and extension of the local telegraph network. These seven factors led to the development of the slave trade: The importance of the West Indian colonies The shortage of labour The. They selected an increasingly high proportion of African clergy for the missions. 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 The approaches of the two men to colonial development were diametrically opposed. 1819 - Singapore founded by Sir Stamford Raffles. In contrast, the British pursued comparatively limited settlement and institutional transformation in the more populous and more politically and economically developed preco-lonial areas. What Britain Did to Nigeria A Short History of Conquest and Rule Max Siollun. The British captured Kano in 1903. Combining the three jurisdictions would reduce administrative expenses and facilitate deployment of resources and money between the areas. brighton grey motion loveseat; waterford, ct obituaries; jane wymark children. The basic economic units in each town were "houses", family-operated entities that engendered loyalty for its employees. Although lacking Azikiwe's compelling personality, Awolowo was a formidable debater as well as a vigorous and tenacious political campaigner. Oil income was still marginal, but the prospects for continued economic expansion appeared bright and accentuated political rivalries on the eve of independence. [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. The Northern People's Congress (NPC) was organised in the late 1940s by a small group of Western-educated Northern Nigerians. The most striking departure was in the Northern Region, where special provisions brought the regional constitution into consonance with Islamic law and custom. Every Sultan and Emir and the principal officers of state will be appointed by the high Commissioner throughout all this country. 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. [16] Starting in 1740, the British were the primary European slave trafficker from this area. The Royal Niger Company had its own armed forces. 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. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1315. The Colony was ultimately governed by the British Colonial Office in London. 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. Its residents were employed in official capacities and were active in business. "Specifically, the Company sought to secure the cooperation of the traditional rulers in ensuring peaceful conditions for trade. He insisted on maintaining the territorial integrity of the Northern Region. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation. Columbus, in his voyage, sought fame and fortune, as did his Spanish sponsors. 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. [64], Each region also had a Native Administration, staffed by locals, and possessing a Native Treasury. The operations of this force are still not fully known due to a policy of strict secrecy mandated by the British Government. A third type of organisation that was more pointedly political was the youth or student group, which became the vehicle of intellectuals and professionals. 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. 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. Under Goldie's direction, the Royal Niger Company was instrumental in depriving France and Germany of access to the region. 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. Ethnic and kinship organisations that often took the form of a tribal union also emerged in the 1920s. From 1815 to 1840, palm oil exports increased by a factor of 25, from 800 to 20,000 tons per year. Some of them began to migrate back from Sierra Leone in search of home and trade. 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. In 1957, the Western and the Eastern regions became formally self-governing under the parliamentary system. England would forever be changed politically, economically, and socially as a result. Political activists in the southern areas spoke of self-government in terms of educational opportunities and economic development. In the north, appeals to Islamic legitimacy upheld the rule of the emirs, so that nationalist sentiments were related to Islamic ideals. Resistance was strong in western Igboland, where a series of wars were waged against the British. Separate legislative bodies, the houses of assembly, were established in each of the three regions to consider local questions and to advise the Lieutenant Governors. 4. One of the most effective tactics, the British used to take over most of India. Facebook Instagram Email. [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. 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. By 1903 the conquest of the emirates was complete. [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. The official languages of Kenya, for example, are English and Kiswahili, while Zimbabwe -- formerly Rhodesia under British colonial rule -- uses English as its only official language. The history of external colonisation of Africa can be divided into two stages: Classical antiquity and European colonialism. The kingdom of Benin began in the 900s when the Edo people settled in the rainforests of West Africa. Most of these came from military backgrounds. 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 influence of Christianity and the establishment of schools made the nationalists realize that after all God created everyman equal . How did use of enslaved African people for labour develop? By the eighteenth century, evidence of Christianity had disappeared. Durres Port. 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.

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