factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria

In 1958 exportation of Nigerian oil was initiated at facilities constructed at Port Harcourt. [11] In 1891, the African Banking Corporation founded the Bank of British West Africa in Lagos.[33]. [18], In 1807, the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted the Slave Trade Act, prohibiting British subjects from participating in the Atlantic slave trade. 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. Nigerian students abroad, particularly at British schools, joined those from other colonies in pan-African groups such as the West African Students Union, founded in London in 1925. Independence was achieved on 1 October 1960. Doctrine of Lapse. [59], Lugard advocated constantly for the unification of the whole territory, and in August 1911 the Colonial Office asked Lugard to lead the amalgamated colony.[60]. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. [31], In 1891, the consulate established the Niger Coast Protectorate Force or "Oil Rivers Irregulars".[32]. In German East Africa, Britain took over Tangayika while Ruanda-Urundi possessions were given to Belgium. There were three main factors that contributed to the European colonization Africa which were, political, social, and economic. 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. These seven factors led to the development of the slave trade: The importance of the West Indian colonies The shortage of labour The. In 1916, Sir Edward Carson led the majority of the Conservative and Unionist Party to vote against Party Leader Bonar Law on the issue, forcing it to withdraw from the Asquith coalition and for the government to begin to break apart. Northern leaders committed to modernization were also firmly connected to the traditional power structure. Lugard bequeathed to his successor a prosperous colony when his term as Governor-General expired. By 1903 the conquest of the emirates was complete. The goal of activists initially was not self-determination, but increased participation on a regional level in the governmental process. 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. Thus Spain and Portugal set up colonies in Central and South America after it was discovered by Columbus. The Action Group was largely the creation of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, General Secretary of Egbe Omo Oduduwa and leader of the Nigerian Produce Traders' Association. 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: 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. In May of this year, Herbert J. [79][80], Much of the colony's budget went to payments of its military, the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF). They never were able to elect sizeable legislative delegations, but they served as a means of public expression for minority concerns. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. 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. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. A lack of interest in extending the NPC beyond the Northern Region corresponded to this strictly regional orientation. 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. Their common denominators tended to be based on newly assertive ethnic consciousness, particularly that of the Yoruba and Igbo. 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. Lagos became a major slave port in the late 1700s and into the 1850s. [82], Oil exploration began in 1906 under John Simon Bergheim's Nigeria Bitumen Corporation, to which the Colonial Office granted exclusive rights. The movement brought to public notice a long list of future leaders, including H.O. 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 Northern People's Congress (NPC) was organised in the late 1940s by a small group of Western-educated Northern Nigerians. From 1815 to 1840, palm oil exports increased by a factor of 25, from 800 to 20,000 tons per year. [32] This included a river fleet which it used for retaliatory attacks on uncooperative villages. Some European traders switched to legitimate business only when the commerce in slaves became too hazardous. Nigerian recruits participated in the war effort as labourers and soldiers. As before, Aro merchants dominated trade in the hinterland, including palm products to the coast and the sale of slaves within Igboland. In 1850, the British created a "Court of Equity" at Bonny, overseen by Beecroft, which would deal with trade disputes. David Richardson, "Background to annexation: Anglo-African credit relations in the Bight of Biafra, 17001891"; in Ptr-Grenouilleau. 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. The Colony was ultimately governed by the British Colonial Office in London. In 1907, the corporation received a loan of 25,000, repayable upon discovery of oil. 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. In time, they built depots onshore and eventually moved up the Niger River to establish stations in the interior. [54] Olivier was a member of the Fabian Society and a friend of George Bernard Shaw. His government guided the country for the next three years, operating with almost complete autonomy in internal affairs. Beecroft was the British representative to Fernando Po, where the African Slave Trade Patrol of the Royal Navy was stationed. From 1886 to 1899, much of the country was ruled by the Royal Niger Company, authorised by charter, and governed by George Taubman Goldie. [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 British entry into World War I saw the confiscation of Nigerian palm oil firms operated by expatriates from the Central Powers. In some cases, British assignment of people to ethnic groups, and treatment based along ethnic lines, led to identification with ethnicity where none had existed before.[84]. The Deputy Governor served as political administrator for company territory and appointed three officials in Nigeria to carry out the work of administration. The charter allowed the company to collect customs and make treaties with local leaders.[12]. Sometimes forced labour was used directly for public works projects. Portuguese Roman Catholic priests who accompanied traders and officials to the West African coast introduced Christianity to the Edo Empire in the fifteenth century. [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. The conference is popularly called "The Berlin Conference". Direct taxation on men was introduced in 1928 without major incidents. Recovery came quickly and improvements in port facilities and the transportation infrastructure during World War I furthered economic development. 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. The principal commodities of legitimate trade were palm oil and palm kernels, which were used in Europe to make soap and as lubricants for machinery before petroleum products were developed for that purpose. Every Sultan and Emir and the principal officers of state will be appointed by the high Commissioner throughout all this country. We also understand that the said National African Company (limited) have full power to mine, farm, and build in any portion of our territory. 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. British and French traders did a large share of this business until 1807 when they were replaced by the Portuguese and the Spaniards. The experiment began in 1890 and was repealed in 1939,[71]. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. These included the decline of the Mughal Empire. The British also created "divide and rule" policies, pitting Hindu and Muslim Indians against one another. (Specifically it would enable direct subsidy of the less profitable Northern jurisdiction.) 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. [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]. Despite his somewhat successful efforts to enlist non-Yoruba support, the regionalist sentiment that had stimulated the party initially continued. The history of external colonisation of Africa can be divided into two stages: Classical antiquity and European colonialism. European traders in Nigeria initially made widespread use of the cowrie, which was already valued locally. Consequently, he may well deserve the epithet of the "father of Nigeria", which historians accorded him. 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. This became the Lagos Constabulary, and subsequently the Nigerian Police Force. [9] Administration and military control of the territory was conducted primarily by white Britons, both in London and in Nigeria. It was British colonialism which was the ultimate cause of the war . Lugard, replacing Egerton as Governor, aborted the project in May 1913. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1719. Britain withdrew from the slave trade when it was the major transporter of slaves to the Americas. [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. speedo sectionals 2022 texas info@hebasanmakine.com on it burgers ferntree gully closed +90 224 371 29 30 The operations of this force are still not fully known due to a policy of strict secrecy mandated by the British Government. Order. The Sokoto jihad and the Yoruba wars stimulated the slave trade at a time when the British were actively trying to stop it. Many Muslims resorted to migration as a form of resistance, a tactic known as the hejira, in which those perceived as infidels are avoided. Economic links among the regions increased, but indirect rule tended to discourage political interchange. Free shipping for many products! 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. Vice consuls were assigned to ports that already had concluded treaties of cooperation with the Foreign Office. Most of these came from military backgrounds. FACTORS THAT LED TO NATIONALISM IN NIGERIA. In the 1920s, Nigerians began to form a variety of associations, such as professional and business associations, like the Nigerian Union of Teachers; the Nigerian Law Association, which brought together lawyers, many of whom had been educated in Britain; and the Nigerian Produce Traders' Association, led by Obafemi Awolowo. However, the British East India Company was able to lay the foundation of an empire in the Indian sub-continent because, from a British perspective, of a fortuitous series of circumstances. In contrast, the British pursued comparatively limited settlement and institutional transformation in the more populous and more politically and economically developed preco-lonial areas. The war was between the Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist nation that had declared independence from Nigeria. 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. After the Berlin Conference of 1884, Britain announced the formation of the Oil Rivers Protectorate, which included the Niger Delta and extended eastward to Calabar, where the British Consulate General was relocated from Fernando Po. 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 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. He was aware that the Muslim north would present problems, but he had hopes for progress along the lines which he laid down in the south, where he anticipated "general emancipation" leading to a more representative form of government. British expansion accelerated in the last decades of the nineteenth century. These courts contained majorities British members and represented a new level of presumptive British sovereignty in the Bight of Biafra. Between them, the French and the British had purchased a majority of the slaves sold from the ports of Edo. 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. The Niger Delta and Calabar, which once had been known for the export of slaves, became notable for the export of palm oil. Inconsistencies in British policy reinforced existing cleavages based on regional animosities, as the British tried both to preserve the indigenous cultures of each area and to introduce modern technology, and Western political and social concepts. [19] This scenario provided an opportunity for naval expeditions and reconnaissance throughout the region. The superior weapons, tactics and political unity of the British are commonly given as reasons for their decisive ultimate victory. Nigerian units also contributed to two divisions serving with British forces in Palestine, Morocco, Sicily and Burma, where they won many honours. [81] In 1936, of 6,259,547 income for the Nigerian state, 1,156,000 went back to England as home pay for British officials in the Nigerian civil service. Village Heads were paid 10 shillings for conscripts, and fined 50 if they failed to supply. In the name of liberating the Igbos from the Aro Confederacy, the British launched the Anglo-Aro War of 19011902. 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. 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. Public works, such as harbour dredging and road and railway construction, opened Nigeria to economic development. In the 1870s, therefore, George Taubman Goldie began amalgamating companies into the United African Company, soon renamed the National African Company. Subsequent revisions contained in the Lyttleton Constitution, enacted in 1954, firmly established the federal principle and paved the way for independence. 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. However, development of the Nigerian oilfields slowed when Bergheim died in a car crash in September 1912. Nigeria (Sokoto Caliphate inclusive) fell prey to the attacks. Du Bois. Total revenues of central and regional governments nearly doubled in relation to the gross domestic product during the decade. 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. His objective was to conquer the entire region and to obtain recognition of the British protectorate by its indigenous rulers, especially the Fulani emirs of the Sokoto Caliphate. Under Goldie's direction, the Royal Niger Company was instrumental in depriving France and Germany of access to the region. 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. Missionary forces demanded prohibition of liquor, which proved highly unpopular. British colonialism created Nigeria, joining diverse peoples and regions in an artificial political entity along the Niger River. The war also made the British reappraise Nigeria's political future. As a practice, colonialism is traced to the1854 and 1855 conference at Berlin in Germany. 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. The classic example in English history was the victory of the Parliament over the king. 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. [58], Some of these public work projects were accomplished with the help of forced labour from native black Africans, referred to as "Political Labour". 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. [64], Each region also had a Native Administration, staffed by locals, and possessing a Native Treasury. African nationalism is a political movement for the unification of Africa (Pan-Africanism) and for national self-determination. He used for the first time in Nigeria modern, sometimes flamboyant, electioneering techniques. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 8(04), 563. doi:10.1017/s0022278x00023909. [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. Ethnic cleavages intensified in the 1950s. 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. . Most accounts of Nigeria's colonisation were written by British officials, presenting it as a noble civilising mission to rid Africans of barbaric superstition and corrupt tribal leadership. By 1938 the NYM was agitating for dominion status within the British Commonwealth of Nations so that Nigeria would have the same status as Canada and Australia. The council was promoted as a device for allowing the expression of opinions that could instruct the Governor-General. To some extent, competition amongst these companies undermined their collective position vis--vis, local merchants. This led to protests known as Women's War. 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 NPC platform emphasized the integrity of the north, its traditions, religion and social order. 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. The pulpits of the independent congregations became avenues for the free expression of critics of colonial rule. 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 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. Alan Lennox-Boyd, M.P., the British Secretary of State for the Colonies. [17] Much of this oil was sold elsewhere in the British Empire. The war was driven by the commercial and imperial rivalry between Britain and France, and by the antagonism between Prussia (allied to Britain) and Austria (allied to France). The British colonial agricultural and industrial policies in Nigeria have implications for the country's economic advancement. "John Beecroft, 17901854: Her Brittanic Majesty's Consul to the Bights of Benin and Biafra 18491854". Most internal problems were concealed, and open opposition to the domination of the Muslim aristocracy was not tolerated. The slave trade was heaviest in the period 17001850, with an average of 76,000 people taken from Africa each year between 1783 and 1792. [19][41], In 18961897 the forces of the Niger Coast Protectorate fought with the remnants of the Edo Empire. In 1946 a new constitution was approved by the British Parliament at Westminster and promulgated in Nigeria. 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].

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