The Niger Delta and Calabar, which once had been known for the export of slaves, became notable for the export of palm oil. The first factor to be taken into account is that the British by nature are conservative. The boundaries of the two protectorates and the territories of the Royal Niger Company were difficult to define, but the tension was eased in 1894 when both entities were merged into the Niger Coast Protectorate. By an overwhelming majority, voters in the Southern Cameroons opted to join formerly French-administered Cameroon over integration with Nigeria as a separate federated region. Missionary forces demanded prohibition of liquor, which proved highly unpopular. They had obtained the assent of the emirs to form a political party to counterbalance the activities of the southern-based parties. The British Conquest and Resistance of Sokoto Caliphate, 18971903 The charter allowed the company to collect customs and make treaties with local leaders.[12]. They were helped by two major factors; the discovery of quinine as a preventive drug against malaria and the armory the British possess which was superior compared to those of the Nigerians. 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. The most striking departure was in the Northern Region, where special provisions brought the regional constitution into consonance with Islamic law and custom. However, development of the Nigerian oilfields slowed when Bergheim died in a car crash in September 1912. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. It made anti-slavery treaties with West African powers, which it enforced militarily with the blockade of Africa. Hence, precolonial level of development is positively asso-ciated with level of Spanish colonialism, but negatively associated with level of British colonialism. The Lander brothers were seized by slave traders in the interior and sold down the river to a waiting European ship. In Europe, Britain sent troops to help its ally, Prussia, which was surrounded by its enemies. British exploitation of their fatherland. [11] In 1891, the African Banking Corporation founded the Bank of British West Africa in Lagos.[33]. 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. 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. [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. sutton united average attendance; granville woods most famous invention; alcoa utilities power outage; Colonial Lagos was a busy, cosmopolitan port. 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. Lugard, replacing Egerton as Governor, aborted the project in May 1913. Falola, Toyin, Ann Genova, and Matthew M. Heaton. [19], The company considered itself the sole legitimate government of the area, with executive, legislative and judicial powers all subordinate to the rule of a council created by the company board of directors in London. In 1907, the corporation received a loan of 25,000, repayable upon discovery of oil. The Colonial Civil Service used intermediaries, as the Royal Niger Company had, in an expanded role which included diplomacy, propaganda and espionage. The departure of Azikiwe and other Igbo members of the NYM left the organisation in Yoruba hands. 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. France sold Louisiana to the United States in 1803, the same year that it gave up on trying to regain Saint-Domingue from the Haitian Revolution. The council was promoted as a device for allowing the expression of opinions that could instruct the Governor-General. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria The early Nigerian nationalist did not seek independence. [50] In the same year, the British created the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF or WAFF), under the leadership of Colonel Frederick Lugard. 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. French in West Africa - University of Pennsylvania Political opposition to colonial rule often assumed religious dimensions. Africans come from Africa. The operations of this force are still not fully known due to a policy of strict secrecy mandated by the British Government. There was virtually no pressure for greater unity among the regions until after the end of World War II. Many Muslims resorted to migration as a form of resistance, a tactic known as the hejira, in which those perceived as infidels are avoided. An extensive immigrant population of southerners, especially Igbo, already were living in the north; they dominated clerical positions and were active in many trades. The Igbo redirected slaves into the domestic economy, especially to grow the staple food crop, yams, in northern Igboland for marketing throughout the palm-tree belt. 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. [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. [10], Following military conquest, the British imposed an economic system designed to profit from African labor. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria . 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. Officials of the Sokoto Caliphate considered these treaties quite differently; from their perspective, the British were granted only extraterritorial rights that did not prevent similar arrangements with the Germans and the French and certainly did not surrender sovereignty. An example was that at Onitsha, where they could bargain directly with local suppliers and purchase products likely to turn a profit. The NPC platform emphasized the integrity of the north, its traditions, religion and social order. A.J. Seven Years' War | The Canadian Encyclopedia He was convinced that the Muslim religion had fallen into utter degeneration as a result of moral depravity of the Hausa Emirs. Every Sultan and Emir and the principal officers of state will be appointed by the high Commissioner throughout all this country. British expansion was conducted primarily by commercialists and resulted in more solid economic potential than the French endeavor (Crowder, 1990). The British encouraged this secession, worsening the war even further. Alan Lennox-Boyd, M.P., the British Secretary of State for the Colonies. British Colonizing in Nigeria. Although lacking Azikiwe's compelling personality, Awolowo was a formidable debater as well as a vigorous and tenacious political campaigner. During World War II, three battalions of the Nigeria Regiment fought against Fascist Italy in the Ethiopian campaign. [37] Economically, local colonial administrators also pushed for the imposition of British colonial rule, believing that trade and taxation conducted in British pounds would prove far more lucrative than a barter trade which yielded only inconsistent customs duties. 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 political parties jockeyed for positions of power in anticipation of the independence of Nigeria. Joining the Royal Niger Company in 1894, Lugard was sent to Borgu to counter inroads made by the French, and in 1897 he was made responsible for raising the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) from local levies to serve under British officers. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria Britain withdrew from the slave trade when it was the major transporter of slaves to the Americas. Although realistic in its assessment of the situation in Nigeria, the Richards Constitution undoubtedly intensified regionalism as an alternative to political unification. 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. 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. 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. [43][44] The British forces began annual pacification missions to convince the locals of British supremacy. Elections were held for a new and greatly enlarged House of Representatives in December 1959; 174 of the 312 seats were allocated to the Northern Region on the basis of its larger population. Read suggested they be merged, and more use made of Nigeria's natural resources. Nigeria - Nigeria as a colony | Britannica The neglect of traditional institutions. The huge African continent (three times the size of the continental United States) was particularly vulnerable to European conquest. June 30, 2022 . 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. They were the most politically conscious segment of the population and created the vanguard of the nationalist movement. Imperialism and the Conquest and Colonization of Africa by Europeans Under Lugard from 1900 to 1906, the Protectorate consolidated political control over the area through military conquest and initiated the use of British currency in substitute for barter. Significantly, Macauley's NNDP remained almost entirely a Lagos party, popular only in the area whose people already had experience in elective politics. A spokeswoman for Austria's Weltmuseum Wien acknowledges 13 of its 173 Benin Bronzes "have been linked definitively to the British invasion" though eight were acquired in the 16th century . This became the Lagos Constabulary, and subsequently the Nigerian Police Force. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. 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 cleavage between the Yoruba and the Igbo was accentuated by their competition for control of the political machinery. The 1922 constitution provided Nigerians with the chance to elect a handful of representatives to the Legislative Council. Final Conquest Verse By Verse Study of The Book Revelation DVD Robert brighton grey motion loveseat; waterford, ct obituaries; jane wymark children. [19] Ultimately, this became the Royal Niger Company. . This was a case of plenty harvest but few hands to cultivate. Islam reached Nigeria through the Bornu Empire . with the Norman Conquest led by William, the Duke of Normandy. 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. Nigeria: From Colonization To Decolonization | Afrolady Antrobus, Fiddes and Strachey in the Colonial Office promoted amalgamation, along with Lugard. 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. From 1886 to 1899, much of the country was ruled by the Royal Niger Company, authorised by charter, and governed by George Taubman Goldie. Lagos became a major slave port in the late 1700s and into the 1850s. Wartime experiences provided a new frame of reference for many soldiers, who interacted across ethnic boundaries in ways that were unusual in Nigeria. 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. 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). [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. 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. Order. The conference drafted the terms of a new constitution. By the mid-1940s, the major ethnic groups had formed such associations as the Igbo Federal Union and the Egbe Omo Oduduwa (Society of the Descendants of Oduduwa), a Yoruba cultural movement, in which Awolowo played a leading role. Colonial official A. J. Harding commented in 1913: Sir F. Lugard's proposal contemplates a state which it is impossible to classify. Men such as Balewa believed that only by overcoming political and economic backwardness could the NPC protect the foundations of traditional northern authority against the influence of the more advanced south. Reasons for the development of the slave trade - BBC Bitesize Between them, the French and the British had purchased a majority of the slaves sold from the ports of Edo. As a practice, colonialism is traced to the1854 and 1855 conference at Berlin in Germany. The Anglicans and other religious groups had a conscious "native church" policy to develop indigenous ecclesiastical institutions to become independent of Europeans. [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. Thus Spain and Portugal set up colonies in Central and South America after it was discovered by Columbus. What Britain Did to Nigeria - Max Siollun - Oxford University Press The NPC federal parliamentary leader, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was appointed Prime Minister of Nigeria. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeriacan low magnesium kill you. In the meantime, public sector spending increased even more dramatically than export earnings. 979 Words. How did use of enslaved African people for labour develop? Hausa was recognised as an official language in the north, and knowledge of it was expected of colonial officers serving there. What Were the Effects of the British Taking Over Africa? - The Classroom They gathered information which was needed for policy-making in administration. The influence of Christianity and the establishment of schools made the nationalists realize that after all God created everyman equal . British colonialism created Nigeria, joining diverse peoples and regions in an artificial political entity along the Niger River. 1839 - The Opium Wars between China and Britain, resulting from the trade of opium leading to widespread addictions. "The agents performed similar but more expansive roles as their Company counterparts. [11][12], The amalgamation of different ethnic and religious groups into one federation created internal tension which persists in Nigeria to the present day.[13]. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991. This scheme proved unpopular and confusing to many involved parties and was phased out. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria [29] His servant, Richard Lander, and Lander's brother John were the ones to demonstrate that the Niger flowed into the sea. The modern history of Nigeria - as a political state encompassing 250 to 400 ethnic groups of widely varied cultures and modes of political organization - dates from the completion of the. by How Africa 6 years ago. Some European traders switched to legitimate business only when the commerce in slaves became too hazardous. Economic links among the regions increased, but indirect rule tended to discourage political interchange. It continued to enjoy special privileges and maintained a de facto monopoly over commerce. So, how did Europeans end up in Africa? A third of the people associated with an 1842 riverine expedition died. The British High Commissioners could depose emirs and other officials if necessary. 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. Three years later internal divisions arose that was dominated by major ethnic loyalties. Crowther was succeeded as bishop by a British cleric. 1. 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. 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. Economic competition among these "houses" was so fierce that trade often erupted into an armed battle between the crews of the large canoes. Even before gaining its charter, the Company signed treaties with local leaders which granted it broad sovereign powers. 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. Ethnic and kinship organisations that often took the form of a tribal union also emerged in the 1920s. 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. 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. [19] Although the Ijebu had some weapons they were wiped out by British Maxims, the earliest machine gun. While each generated considerable political controversy, they moved the country toward greater internal autonomy, with an increasing role for the political parties. FACTORS THAT LED TO NATIONALISM IN NIGERIA - keypoint In general, the regional constitutions followed the federal model, both structurally and functionally. In the Bight of Biafra, the major ports were Old Calabar (Akwa Akpa), Bonny and New Calabar. Additionally. [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. British soap and cosmetics manufacturers tried to obtain land concessions for growing oil palms, but these were refused. 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 . The officers of the RWAFF were British. Animosity, Amnesia, or Admiration? Mass Opinion Around the World Toward 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. Free shipping for many products! 2. Exploration was intensified in 1946, but the first commercial discovery did not occur until 1956, at Olobiri in the Niger Delta. In time, they built depots onshore and eventually moved up the Niger River to establish stations in the interior. 2. In the Northern Cameroons, however, the largely Muslim electorate chose to merge with Nigeria's Northern Region. By 1903 the conquest of the emirates was complete. 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. [61], The task of unification was achieved on the eve of World War I. Ouidah (now part of Benin) and Lagos were the major ports on the coast. "John Beecroft, 17901854: Her Brittanic Majesty's Consul to the Bights of Benin and Biafra 18491854". 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.