Nigerian units also contributed to two divisions serving with British forces in Palestine, Morocco, Sicily and Burma, where they won many honours. The influence of Christianity and the establishment of schools made the nationalists realize that after all God created everyman equal . 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. 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. To some extent, competition amongst these companies undermined their collective position vis--vis, local merchants. 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. 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. . These courts contained majorities British members and represented a new level of presumptive British sovereignty in the Bight of Biafra. There was virtually no pressure for greater unity among the regions until after the end of World War II. After the defection of Kano, the only significant disagreement within the NPC was related to moderates. The experiment began in 1890 and was repealed in 1939,[71]. 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. Economic links among the regions increased, but indirect rule tended to discourage political interchange. The economy suffered from the decline in the slave trade, although considerable smuggling of slaves to the Americas continued for years afterward. They never were able to elect sizeable legislative delegations, but they served as a means of public expression for minority concerns. In 1894 the territory was redesignated the Niger Coast Protectorate and was expanded to include the region from Calabar to Lagos Colony and Protectorate, including the hinterland, and northward up the Niger River as far as Lokoja, the headquarters of the Royal Niger Company. Great Britain was the leaders at this time in colonizing the land filled with rich natural recourses. 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. [11] In 1891, the African Banking Corporation founded the Bank of British West Africa in Lagos.[33]. [50] In the same year, the British created the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF or WAFF), under the leadership of Colonel Frederick Lugard. Although lacking Azikiwe's compelling personality, Awolowo was a formidable debater as well as a vigorous and tenacious political campaigner. The British and the French fought the Carnatic Wars, which the British won decisively - making the British the foremost colonial power. 3. 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. The British colonization of Kenya destroyed the culture and economy of the native people, but it established a democratic government and left Kenya a more modernized country. For political the British were fixed on expanding their empire and gaining control of every major city, state, or country in the world so they could govern every man or woman as they Show More The first factor to be taken into account is that the British by nature are conservative. 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]. 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. Other Protestant denominations from Great Britain, Canada, and the United States also opened missions and, in the 1860s, Roman Catholic religious orders established missions. Progressive constitutions after World War II provided for increasing representation and electoral government by Nigerians. In the Bight of Biafra, the major ports were Old Calabar (Akwa Akpa), Bonny and New Calabar. [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]. Siollun concludes with what he calls "the mistake of 1914": his view that the British resolution to join their northern and southern protectorates into one poorly integrated colony constitutes the single most consequential decision of colonial rule in Nigeria. British exploitation of their fatherland. The neglect of traditional institutions. 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. The Industrial Revolution was a period of scientific and technological development in the 18th century that transformed largely rural, agrarian societiesespecially in Europe and North America . British colonialism created Nigeria, joining diverse peoples and regions in an artificial political entity along the Niger River. The company negotiated treaties with Sokoto, Gwandu and Nupe that were interpreted as guaranteeing exclusive access to trade in return for the payment of annual tribute. 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. In 1950 Aminu Kano, who had been instrumental in founding the NPC, broke away to form the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), in protest against the NPC's limited objectives and what he regarded as a vain hope that traditional rulers would accept modernization. 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. Political activists in the southern areas spoke of self-government in terms of educational opportunities and economic development. Nigerian recruits participated in the war effort as labourers and soldiers. The cleavage between the Yoruba and the Igbo was accentuated by their competition for control of the political machinery. The officers of the RWAFF were British. 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. The Governor was, in effect, the coordinator for virtually autonomous entities that had overlapping economic interests but little in common politically or socially. 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. The conference is popularly called "The Berlin Conference". Portuguese Roman Catholic priests who accompanied traders and officials to the West African coast introduced Christianity to the Edo Empire in the fifteenth century. 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 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. Lugard, replacing Egerton as Governor, aborted the project in May 1913. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1719. [] These intermediaries assisted government diplomacy and helped to establish and maintain relations between the company and the traditional rulers. His political platform called for economic and educational development, Africanization of the civil service, and self-government for Lagos. This was a case of plenty harvest but few hands to cultivate. Antrobus, Fiddes and Strachey in the Colonial Office promoted amalgamation, along with Lugard. They took the right to rule over it, to levy taxes, to depose kings and to create kings. 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 Delta streams were called "oil rivers". [25][n 1], The missionaries gained in power throughout the 1800s. 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. An extensive immigrant population of southerners, especially Igbo, already were living in the north; they dominated clerical positions and were active in many trades. As before, Aro merchants dominated trade in the hinterland, including palm products to the coast and the sale of slaves within Igboland. These schools would teach "the basic principles that would and should regulate character and conduct". the British Government completed their assignment of conquest and came up with what they called the Amalgamation of Nigeria . The country was divided politically, lacking European rivals, and no sense of national unity. 2. It is not a federal state with federal Executive, Legislature and finances, like the Leewards. Balewa was called on to head an NPC-NCNC coalition government, and Awolowo became the official leader of the opposition. [51], Guidelines for running the Nigerian colony were established in 1898 by the Niger Committee, chaired by the Earl of Selborne, in 1898. These policies met with ongoing resistance. Alan Lennox-Boyd, M.P., the British Secretary of State for the Colonies. The National Youth Movement used nationalist rhetoric to agitate for improvements in education. In the north, the emirs intended to maintain firm control on economic and political change. Balewa formed a coalition government that included the Action Group as well as the NCNC to prepare the country for the final British withdrawal. The British also created "divide and rule" policies, pitting Hindu and Muslim Indians against one another. The NCNC backed creation of a midwest state and proposed federal control of education and health services. Regional administrations also varied widely in the quality of local personnel and in the scope of the operations they were willing to undertake. [43][44] The British forces began annual pacification missions to convince the locals of British supremacy. 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. [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. The NPC federal parliamentary leader, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was appointed Prime Minister of Nigeria. [35] However, the company did accept that local kings could act as partners in governance and trade. Slaves formerly had been traded for European goods, especially guns and gunpowder, but now the British encouraged trade in palm oil in the Niger delta states, ostensibly to replace the trade in slaves. The so-called Macpherson Constitution, after the incumbent Governor-General John Stuart Macpherson, went into effect the following year. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria. Three constitutions were enacted from 1946 to 1954. 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 primary motives of European explorers were economic. [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]. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands). [11], By the 1880s, the National African Company became the dominant commercial power, increasing from 19 to 39 stations between 1882 and 1893. The small contingent of northerners who had been educated abroada group that included Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Aminu Kanowas allied with British-backed efforts to introduce gradual change to the emirates. Open Document. The conquest was personal to William. The emirs retained their caliphate titles but were responsible to British district officers, who had final authority. Mordi, Emmanuel Nwafor. [23] Regardless, slavery had decimated the population and fuelled militarisation and chaos, thereby paving the way for more aggressive colonisation.[21][24]. 1819 - Singapore founded by Sir Stamford Raffles. [64], Each region also had a Native Administration, staffed by locals, and possessing a Native Treasury. Catholic missionaries were particularly active among the Igbo; the CMS worked among the Yoruba. Falola, Toyin, Ann Genova, and Matthew M. Heaton. 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). Direct taxation on men was introduced in 1928 without major incidents. Significantly, Macauley's NNDP remained almost entirely a Lagos party, popular only in the area whose people already had experience in elective politics. Description. The supply of precious metals was finite, and monarchs hoped to find large deposits of gold and silver in the Americas. Other firms applying for licenses were rejected. The British encouraged this secession, worsening the war even further. The superior weapons, tactics and political unity of the British are commonly given as reasons for their decisive . The trend was toward the establishment of a parliamentary system of government, with regional assemblies and a federal House of Representatives. Egypt) and titles (e.g. From Lugard's point of view, clear-cut military victories were necessary because the surrenders of the defeated peoples weakened resistance elsewhere. 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). Taxes became a source of discontent in the south, however, and contributed to disturbances protesting British policy. [73] In direct reaction to the epidemic, colonial authorities allowed African doctors and medical personnel to work with influenza patients due to the severity of the situation. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 8(04), 563. doi:10.1017/s0022278x00023909. Although this trade grew to significant proportionspalm oil exports alone were worth 1 billion a year by 1840it was concentrated near the coast, where palm trees grew in abundance. Even before gaining its charter, the Company signed treaties with local leaders which granted it broad sovereign powers. In the Eastern Region, appointed officials who were given "warrants" and hence called warrant chiefs, were strongly resisted by the people because they lacked traditional claims. In the early stages of British rule, it is desirable to retain the native authority and to work through and by the native emirs. British and French traders did a large share of this business until 1807 when they were replaced by the Portuguese and the Spaniards. The Nigerian Civil War is also known as the Nigerian-Biafran war and took place between July 1967 and January 1970. 1) Lack of British Personnel: Obviously Nigeria was not the only West African country colonized by the British, other countries like Ghana, Sierra-Leone and The Gambia were part of the British colonies. They noticed something odd about the local fishermen and asked to come ashore. All these things which I have said the Fulani by conquest took the right to do now pass to the British. Northern leaders committed to modernization were also firmly connected to the traditional power structure. [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. Most of the fighting was done by Hausa soldiers, recruited to fight against other groups. During World War II, Awolowo reorganized it as a predominantly Yoruba political party, the Action Group. [42], The British had difficulty conquering Igboland, which lacked a central political organisation. [11], The British led a series of military campaigns to enlarge its sphere of influence and expand its commercial opportunities. By 18261850, the British Royal Navy was intervening significantly with Lagos slave exports. [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.
Sks Conversion To Bullpup, Fatal Crash St Lucie County, Articles F