A consul was maintained at Fernando Po to oversee the lucrative palm oil trade in the region called the Oil Rivers. He aroused political awareness through his newspaper, the Lagos Daily News. [16] Starting in 1740, the British were the primary European slave trafficker from this area. Most internal problems were concealed, and open opposition to the domination of the Muslim aristocracy was not tolerated. In contrast to Lugard, Clifford argued that colonial government had the responsibility to introduce as quickly as practical the benefits of Western experience. Critics, including representatives of the Middle Belt who resented Muslim domination, were relegated to small, peripheral parties or to inconsequential separatist movements.[85]. The yoruba-Igbo rivalry became increasingly important in Nigerian politics. Hence, precolonial level of development is positively asso-ciated with level of Spanish colonialism, but negatively associated with level of British colonialism. 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. Vice consuls were assigned to ports that already had concluded treaties of cooperation with the Foreign Office. What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Rule by Max Siollun Hurst, 20, 408 pages Join our online book group on Facebook at FT Books Caf Letter in response to this article: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The Niger Delta and Calabar, which once had been known for the export of slaves, became notable for the export of palm oil. By a British Act of Parliament, Nigeria became independent on 1 October 1960. Beecroft was the British representative to Fernando Po, where the African Slave Trade Patrol of the Royal Navy was stationed. The Deputy Governor served as political administrator for company territory and appointed three officials in Nigeria to carry out the work of administration. [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]. [72] In the south, he saw the possibility of building an elite educated in schools modelled on a European method (and numerous elite children attended high-ranking colleges in Britain during the colonial years). The most dramatic event having a long-term effect on Nigeria's economic development was the discovery and exploitation of petroleum deposits. Northern leaders committed to modernization were also firmly connected to the traditional power structure. 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]. 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). So, how did Europeans end up in Africa? Many Muslims resorted to migration as a form of resistance, a tactic known as the hejira, in which those perceived as infidels are avoided. Columbus, in his voyage, sought fame and fortune, as did his Spanish sponsors. [77] Its revenue quickly increased, from 4,424 in 1901 to 274,989 in 1910. 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. [10], Following military conquest, the British imposed an economic system designed to profit from African labor. British expansion accelerated in the last decades of the nineteenth century. [17] Much of this oil was sold elsewhere in the British Empire. 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. Broadening political participation and expanding educational opportunities and other social services also were viewed as threats to the status quo. In 1957, the Western and the Eastern regions became formally self-governing under the parliamentary system. The trade subsequently continued under the Portuguese Empire. The appointment of Joseph Chamberlain as colonial secretary in 1895 especially marked a shift towards new territorial ambitions of the British Empire. In 1907, the corporation received a loan of 25,000, repayable upon discovery of oil. Consequently, in 1849, John Beecroft was accredited as consul for the bights of Benin and Biafra, a jurisdiction stretching from Dahomey to Cameroon. It continued to enjoy special privileges and maintained a de facto monopoly over commerce. Empty cart. He used for the first time in Nigeria modern, sometimes flamboyant, electioneering techniques. There were three main factors that contributed to the European colonization Africa which were, political, social, and economic. This article examines the deployment of West African soldiers for military service in West Africa, including the manner of mobilization and recruitment. [11] In 1891, the African Banking Corporation founded the Bank of British West Africa in Lagos.[33]. 979 Words. The election of the House of Representatives after the adoption of the 1954 constitution gave the NPC a total of seventy-nine seats, all from the Northern Region. These include the fact that military conscription (draft) of numerous African colonial subjects into European armies generated great amounts of anger. The colonial period proper in Nigeria lasted from 1900 to 1960, after which Nigeria gained its independence. 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. 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. The experiment began in 1890 and was repealed in 1939,[71]. British colony and protectorate from 1914 to 1960, Contemporary photograph of the same building, now housing the, Developments in colonial policy under Clifford, Emergence of Southern Nigerian nationalism, Constitutional conferences in the UK (195758), All of this section to this point is from. The Resident also oversaw a Provincial Court at the region's capital. The influence of Christianity and the establishment of schools made the nationalists realize that after all God created everyman equal . The company received 865,000 compensation for the loss of its Charter. 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. 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. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Europeans had raced to colonize the country Africa. [19] Although the Ijebu had some weapons they were wiped out by British Maxims, the earliest machine gun. This scheme proved unpopular and confusing to many involved parties and was phased out. Lugard bequeathed to his successor a prosperous colony when his term as Governor-General expired. Their history illustrates that rarely they had put a programme or a plan before themselves and then acted upon it. 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 . It is not a unitary state with local government areas but with one Central Executive and one Legislature. Doctrine of Lapse. Wartime experiences provided a new frame of reference for many soldiers, who interacted across ethnic boundaries in ways that were unusual in Nigeria. Modern nationalists in the south, whose thinking was shaped by European ideas, opposed indirect rule, as they believed that it had strengthened what they considered an anachronistic ruling class and shut out the emerging Westernised elite. [65], Half of all taxes went to the colonial government and half went to the Native Treasury. The Colony was ultimately governed by the British Colonial Office in London. 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. [8] British influence in the region began with the prohibition of slave trade to British subjects in 1807. The National Youth Movement used nationalist rhetoric to agitate for improvements in education. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. In the north Frederick Lugard, the first high commissioner of Northern Nigeria, was instrumental in subjugating the Fulani emirs. The movement brought to public notice a long list of future leaders, including H.O. The most powerful figure in the party was Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto. It assumed that comparable alterations would be made elsewhere, an attitude that won the party minority voting support in the other regions. 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. Direct taxation on men was introduced in 1928 without major incidents. During the 1880's through 1914, the start of WWI, was an age of imperialism. It is not a personal union of separate colonies under the same Governor like the Windwards, it is not a Confederation of States. Lugard, replacing Egerton as Governor, aborted the project in May 1913. Britain also annexed Freetown in Sierra Leone, declaring it a Crown Colony in 1808.[20]. 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. 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. The British penetration of Nigeria met with various forms of resistance throughout the country. [40] By 1893, most of the other political entities in Yorubaland recognised the practical necessity of signing another treaty with the British, this one explicitly joining them with the protectorate of Lagos. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. [13], The Colonial Office accepted Lugard's proposal that the Governor would not be required to stay in-country full-time; consequently, as Governor, Lugard spent four months out of the year in London. Additionally. Earlier elements related to this were its founding of the Sierra Leone Colony in 1787 as a refuge for freed slaves, the independent missionary movement intended to bring Christianity to the Edo Kingdom, and programs of exploration sponsored by learned societies and scientific groups, such as the London-based African Association.