There were three main factors that contributed to the European colonization Africa which were, political, social, and economic. A chief of Bonny in 1860 explained that he refused a British treaty due to the tendency to "induce the Chiefs to sign a treaty whose meaning they did not understand, and then seize upon the country".[14]. They caused major transformations in traditional society as they eroded the religious institutions such as human sacrifice, infanticide and secret societies, which had formerly played a role in political authority and community life.[26]. Lugard bequeathed to his successor a prosperous colony when his term as Governor-General expired. Herbert Richmond Palmer developed details of this model from 1906 to 1911 as the Governor of Northern Nigeria after Lugard.[66]. Lugard's governmental model for Nigeria was unique and there was apparently not much planning for its future development. In the South, only English had official status. 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. Description. [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 colonialism created Nigeria, joining diverse peoples and regions in an artificial political entity along the Niger River. speedo sectionals 2022 texas info@hebasanmakine.com on it burgers ferntree gully closed +90 224 371 29 30 He argued that the division into two separate colonies was advisable unless a stronger central government could bind Nigeria into more than just an administrative convenience for the three regions. The proliferation of labour organisations fragmented the movement, and potential leaders lacked the experience and skill to draw workers together. 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. Awolowo had little difficulty in appealing to broad segments of the Yoruba population, but he worked to avoid the Action Group from being stigmatized as a "tribal" group. They were the most politically conscious segment of the population and created the vanguard of the nationalist movement. [11], The British led a series of military campaigns to enlarge its sphere of influence and expand its commercial opportunities. September 1996. David Richardson, "Background to annexation: Anglo-African credit relations in the Bight of Biafra, 17001891"; in Ptr-Grenouilleau. [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. British colonialism led to the spread of the English language in Africa, and many former British colonies still maintain English as an official language. Its activist membership was drawn from local government and emirate officials who had access to means of communication and to repressive traditional authority that could keep the opposition in line. The British targeted Nigeria because of its resources. But the war had more concrete consequences. Economic links among the regions increased, but indirect rule tended to discourage political interchange. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Europeans had raced to colonize the country Africa. Balewa formed a coalition government that included the Action Group as well as the NCNC to prepare the country for the final British withdrawal. British staffs in each region continued to operate according to procedures developed before unification. The seven men who governed Northern Nigeria, Southern Nigeria and Lagos through 1914 were Henry McCallum, William MacGregor, Walter Egerton, Ralph Moor, Percy Girouard, Hesketh Bell and Frederick Lugard. ", Helen Chapin Metz, ed. It, therefore, hired native intermediaries who could conduct diplomacy, trade and intelligence work in the local area. The southern nationalists were inspired by a variety of sources, including such prominent American-based activists as Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. The most striking departure was in the Northern Region, where special provisions brought the regional constitution into consonance with Islamic law and custom. 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. The Norman conquest in 1066 was the last successful conquest of England. The similarity between the federal and regional constitutions was deceptive, however, and the conduct of public affairs reflected wide differences among the regions. 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. Newspapers, some of which were published before World War I, provided coverage of nationalist views. Egypt) and titles (e.g. [32] This included a river fleet which it used for retaliatory attacks on uncooperative villages. The early Nigerian nationalist did not seek independence. In the immediate post-World War II period, Nigeria benefited from a favourable trade balance. It represented a substantial element of reformism in the North. In the 1870s, therefore, George Taubman Goldie began amalgamating companies into the United African Company, soon renamed the National African Company. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. 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 operations of this force are still not fully known due to a policy of strict secrecy mandated by the British Government. 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. The most dramatic event having a long-term effect on Nigeria's economic development was the discovery and exploitation of petroleum deposits. Three years later internal divisions arose that was dominated by major ethnic loyalties. 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. Laird's efforts were stimulated by the detailed reports of a pioneer German explorer, Heinrich Barth, who travelled through much of Borno and the Sokoto Caliphate, where he recorded information about the region's geography, economy and inhabitants. Much of the human trafficking which occurred there was nominally illegal, and records from this time and place are not comprehensive. Anietie A. Inyang & Manasseh Edidem Bassey, "Imperial Treaties and the Origins of British Colonial Rule in Southern Nigeria, 18601890". At first, they lived in small family groups, but gradually these groups developed into a. [43][44] The British forces began annual pacification missions to convince the locals of British supremacy. Portuguese Roman Catholic priests who accompanied traders and officials to the West African coast introduced Christianity to the Edo Empire in the fifteenth century. Lagos became a major slave port in the late 1700s and into the 1850s. Significantly, Macauley's NNDP remained almost entirely a Lagos party, popular only in the area whose people already had experience in elective politics. The primary motives of European explorers were economic. Ever since, the north-south divide has dominated the politics of independent Nigeria. Developed from Mayan civilization B. acquired empires by means of military conquest C. Independently developed iron technology D. Depended entirely on oral record keeping . In all three regions, minority parties represented the special interests of ethnic groups, especially as they were affected by the majority. These recourses were considered a necessity to the industrialization of the world . tamko building products ownership; 30 Junio, 2022; factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria . Independent Christian churches had emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. Great Britain was the leaders at this time in colonizing the land filled with rich natural recourses. After the defection of Kano, the only significant disagreement within the NPC was related to moderates. [19] Ultimately, this became the Royal Niger Company. 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. Other commercial crops, such as cocoa and rubber, were encouraged, and tin was mined on the Jos Plateau. 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. The superior weapons, tactics and political unity of the British are commonly given as reasons for their decisive ultimate victory. Between them, the French and the British had purchased a majority of the slaves sold from the ports of Edo. 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. Afeadie, Philip Atsu. If the emirs accepted British authority, abandoned the slave trade, and cooperated with British officials in modernizing their administrations, the colonial power was willing to confirm them in office. 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. 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. [75] The colonial government was not equipped nor ready in general for such a situation. Direct taxation on men was introduced in 1928 without major incidents. oriented. These courts contained majorities British members and represented a new level of presumptive British sovereignty in the Bight of Biafra. 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. But in the 1700s, the Bight of Benin (also known as the Slave Coast) became the next most important hub. Nigerian delegates were selected to represent each region and to reflect various shades of opinion. Doctrine of Lapse. 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. The traders suffered from the risks of their position and believed they were at the mercy of the coastal rulers, whom they considered unpredictable. 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. Hausa was recognised as an official language in the north, and knowledge of it was expected of colonial officers serving there. Native Administration was responsible for police, hospitals, public works and local courts. PhD dissertation accepted at the Graduate Programme in History, York University, Ontario. The council was headed by a Governor. Lugard's campaign systematically subdued local resistance, using armed force when diplomatic measures failed. Nigeria: A Country Study. Kingdoms and empires of precolonial Nigeria, Controversies surrounding the 2007 presidential election, Nigeria under Umaru Musa YarAdua and Goodluck Jonathan, The 2015 elections and electorate concerns, Recession, fight against corruption, and insecurity, Which Country Is Larger By Population? The decrease in trade indirectly led to the collapse of states like the Edo Empire. This led to protests known as Women's War. by | Jun 15, 2022 | north node conjunct neptune synastry | greek mythology son falls in love with mother | Jun 15, 2022 | north node conjunct neptune synastry | greek mythology son falls in love with mother In May of this year, Herbert J. Most of the fighting was done by Hausa soldiers, recruited to fight against other groups. 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. It backed Yoruba irredentism in the Fulani-ruled emirate of Ilorin in the Northern Region, and separatist movements among non-Igbo in the Eastern Region. [23] Regardless, slavery had decimated the population and fuelled militarisation and chaos, thereby paving the way for more aggressive colonisation.[21][24]. [51], Guidelines for running the Nigerian colony were established in 1898 by the Niger Committee, chaired by the Earl of Selborne, in 1898. Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. Beecroft agreed on condition that the slave trade be abolished, and British merchants have a monopoly in commodities. With this victory, the British went on to conquer the rest of Yorubaland, which had also been weakened by sixteen years of civil war. In one year, Lugard recruited 2600 troops, evenly split between Hausa and Yoruba. 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. The movement soon assumed both religious and national characteristics. The delegation was led by Balewa of the NPC and included party leaders Awolowo of the Action Group, Azikiwe of the NCNC, and Bello of the NPC; they were also the premiers of the Western, Eastern and Northern regions, respectively. The Nigerian Civil War is also known as the Nigerian-Biafran war and took place between July 1967 and January 1970. In a sense, you can say that the British were the cause of the Biafran Civil War which happened in Nigeria from 1967 to 1970. African nationalism is a political movement for the unification of Africa (Pan-Africanism) and for national self-determination. The essential basis of this system was a money economyspecifically the British pound sterlingwhich could be demanded through taxation, paid to cooperative natives, and levied as a fine. Free shipping for many products! He used for the first time in Nigeria modern, sometimes flamboyant, electioneering techniques. [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. 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. These organisations were primarily urban phenomena that arose after numerous rural migrants moved to the cities. "The agents performed similar but more expansive roles as their Company counterparts. Early nationalists tended to ignore Nigeria as the focus of patriotism. For some time, missionaries operated in the area between Lagos and Ibadan. An extensive immigrant population of southerners, especially Igbo, already were living in the north; they dominated clerical positions and were active in many trades. Support for broad Nigerian concerns occupied a clear second place. The most powerful figure in the party was Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto. sutton united average attendance; granville woods most famous invention; alcoa utilities power outage; From January 1914 onwards, the newly united colony and protectorate was presided over by a proconsul, who was entitled the Governor-General of Nigeria. For example, many people in Ibadan opposed Awolowo on personal grounds because of his identification with the Ijebu Yoruba. David Ellis, "African and European relations in the last century of the transatlantic slave trade"; in Ptr-Grenouilleau. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1719. [53] The first five heads of the Nigeria Department (18981914) were Reginald Antrobus, William Mercer, William Baillie Hamilton, Sydney Olivier, and Charles Strachey. 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. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeriaturkish airlines flight 981 victims. A.J. During the war, union membership increased sixfold to 30,000. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1315. Ken Swindell, "The Commercial Development of the North: Company and Government Relations, 19001906". 1821 - Sierra Leone, Gambia and the Gold Coast form British West Africa. 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 choice of political elite at the time of independence can also explain these differences. Lugard, replacing Egerton as Governor, aborted the project in May 1913. He also led the Nigerian National Democratic Party, which dominated elections in Lagos from its founding in 1922 until the ascendancy of the National Youth Movement in 1938. In the name of liberating the Igbos from the Aro Confederacy, the British launched the Anglo-Aro War of 19011902. 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 . 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. Facebook Instagram Email. [9] Administration and military control of the territory was conducted primarily by white Britons, both in London and in Nigeria. [8], Through a progressive sequence of regimes, the British imposed Crown Colony government on much of the area of West Africa which came to be known as Nigeria, a form of rule which was both autocratic and bureaucratic. Gradually, however, the trade forced major economic and social changes in the interior, although it hardly undermined slavery and the slave trade. The huge African continent (three times the size of the continental United States) was particularly vulnerable to European conquest. All these things which I have said the Fulani by conquest took the right to do now pass to the British. 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. Africans come from Africa. 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 pulpits of the independent congregations became avenues for the free expression of critics of colonial rule. Lagos was the first part of Nigeria to be conquered and declare a British colony in 1861. However, development of the Nigerian oilfields slowed when Bergheim died in a car crash in September 1912. They never were able to elect sizeable legislative delegations, but they served as a means of public expression for minority concerns. The British wanted products like palm oil and palm kernel and export trade in tin, cotton, cocoa, groundnuts, palm oil and so on (Graham, 2009). Other Protestant denominations from Great Britain, Canada, and the United States also opened missions and, in the 1860s, Roman Catholic religious orders established missions. The company interfered in the territory along the Niger and the Benue, sometimes becoming embroiled in serious conflicts when its British-led native constabulary intercepted slave raids or attempted to protect trade routes. Its program reflected greater planning and was more ideologically oriented than that of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. He definitely laid the basis for British claims. Some of them also manned Company stations and served as District Agents.". It was also partly to protect the Egba that the British shelled Lagos in 1851, expelled Kosoko, the reigning oba, and restored his uncle, Akitoye, who appeared more willing to join in a campaign to abolish the slave trade. 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 This was a case of plenty harvest but few hands to cultivate.