The British colonial agricultural and industrial policies in Nigeria have implications for the country's economic advancement. 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. A.J. September 1996. 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. [82], Oil exploration began in 1906 under John Simon Bergheim's Nigeria Bitumen Corporation, to which the Colonial Office granted exclusive rights. 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. [19] Ultimately, this became the Royal Niger Company. By extending the elective principle and by providing for a central government with a Council of Ministers, the Macpherson Constitution gave renewed impetus to party activity and to political participation at the national level. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1012. 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]. 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 . With these events, the daily routines of the royal court were . 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. Robin Hermann, "Empire Builders and Mushroom Gentlemen: The Meaning of Money in Colonial Nigeria". The pace of constitutional change accelerated after the promulgation of the Richards Constitution. [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. In German East Africa, Britain took over Tangayika while Ruanda-Urundi possessions were given to Belgium. 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. 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). 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. Subsequent revisions contained in the Lyttleton Constitution, enacted in 1954, firmly established the federal principle and paved the way for independence. 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. British colonialism led to the spread of the English language in Africa, and many former British colonies still maintain English as an official language. 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. British influence in the Niger area increased gradually over the 19th century, but Britain did not effectively occupy the area until 1885. 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. 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. Ethnic cleavages intensified in the 1950s. 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. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Europeans had raced to colonize the country Africa. [78], After establishing political control of the country, the British implemented a system of taxation in order to force the indigenous Africans to shift from subsistence farming to wage labour. 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. The Crusades and the Reconquista cemented religious intolerance, and the Christians looked to colonization partly as a means of continuing religious conquests. The rapid expansion in exports, especially after 1830, occurred precisely at the time slave exports collapsed. Taxes became a source of discontent in the south, however, and contributed to disturbances protesting British policy. The war also made the British reappraise Nigeria's political future. Consequently, in 1849, John Beecroft was accredited as consul for the bights of Benin and Biafra, a jurisdiction stretching from Dahomey to Cameroon. Significantly, the regional governments controlled public expenditures derived from revenues raised within each region. But in the 1700s, the Bight of Benin (also known as the Slave Coast) became the next most important hub. Although churchmen in Britain had been influential in the drive to abolish the slave trade, significant missionary activity for Africa did not develop until the 1840s. Some were deposed, some were defeated in battle, and others collaborated. A constabulary force was raised and used to pacify the coastal area. 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. Its program reflected greater planning and was more ideologically oriented than that of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. The cleavage between the Yoruba and the Igbo was accentuated by their competition for control of the political machinery. 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. The NPC captured 142 seats in the new legislature. Economic competition among these "houses" was so fierce that trade often erupted into an armed battle between the crews of the large canoes. The militias and RWAFF battalions were reorganized into the RWAFF Nigeria Regiment.[62]. [38][39], In 1892 the British Armed Forces set out to fight the Ijebu Kingdom, which had resisted missionaries and foreign traders. He was convinced that the Muslim religion had fallen into utter degeneration as a result of moral depravity of the Hausa Emirs. [31], Captain John Glover, the colony's administrator, created a militia of Hausa troops in 1861. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Final Conquest Verse By Verse Study of The Book Revelation DVD Robert Jeffress at the best online prices at eBay! Nigerian recruits participated in the war effort as labourers and soldiers. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1213. The huge African continent (three times the size of the continental United States) was particularly vulnerable to European conquest. The preparation of a new federal constitution for an independent Nigeria was carried out at conferences held at Lancaster House in London in 1957 and 1958, which were presided over by The Rt. In the north Frederick Lugard, the first high commissioner of Northern Nigeria, was instrumental in subjugating the Fulani emirs. [10], Following military conquest, the British imposed an economic system designed to profit from African labor. They wanted self-government, charging that only colonial rule prevented the unshackling of progressive forces in Nigeria and other states. Bello wanted to protect northern social and political institutions from southern influence. To raise additional revenues, Lugard took steps to institute a uniform tax structure patterned on the traditional system that he had adopted in the north during his tenure there. Accordingly, as the volume of trade increased, merchants requested that the Government of the United Kingdom appoint a consul to cover the region. Indeed it was these developments in the history of Kano that transformed the political outlook of the people. 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. Other European powers acknowledged Britain's dominance over the area in the 1885 Berlin Conference. These organisations were primarily urban phenomena that arose after numerous rural migrants moved to the cities. 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. [29] His servant, Richard Lander, and Lander's brother John were the ones to demonstrate that the Niger flowed into the sea. [] They needed special personnel: such officials who knew the local conditions and who could communicate between the Company and the indigenous people. [25][n 1], The missionaries gained in power throughout the 1800s. 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 . Many of the slaves exported in the 1820s and 30s were intercepted by the ships of the Royal Navy, emancipated, and deposited in Sierra Leone under missionary tutelage. The conference drafted the terms of a new constitution. The introduction of the federal principle, with deliberative authority devolved on the regions, signalled recognition of the country's diversity. 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. Broadening political participation and expanding educational opportunities and other social services also were viewed as threats to the status quo. FACTORS THAT LED TO NATIONALISM IN NIGERIA. Herbert Richmond Palmer developed details of this model from 1906 to 1911 as the Governor of Northern Nigeria after Lugard.[66]. Ever since, the north-south divide has dominated the politics of independent Nigeria. Its final leg enabled it to meet another line, constructed 19071911, running from Baro, through Minnia, to Kano. A consul was maintained at Fernando Po to oversee the lucrative palm oil trade in the region called the Oil Rivers. Thus Spain and Portugal set up colonies in Central and South America after it was discovered by Columbus. 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. In the Northern Cameroons, however, the largely Muslim electorate chose to merge with Nigeria's Northern Region. God, Gold, and Glory. At the same time, British scientists were interested in exploring the course and related settlements along the Niger River. In the name of liberating the Igbos from the Aro Confederacy, the British launched the Anglo-Aro War of 19011902. 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. 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. The superior weapons, tactics and political unity of the British are commonly given as reasons for their decisive ultimate victory. The British targeted Nigeria because of its resources. June 30, 2022 . Other commercial crops, such as cocoa and rubber, were encouraged, and tin was mined on the Jos Plateau. Some of the treaties contained prohibitions on diplomacy conducted without British permission, or other promises to abide by British rule. Vice consuls were assigned to ports that already had concluded treaties of cooperation with the Foreign Office. 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 British and the French fought the Carnatic Wars, which the British won decisively - making the British the foremost colonial power. In the Bight of Biafra, the major ports were Old Calabar (Akwa Akpa), Bonny and New Calabar. Developed from Mayan civilization B. acquired empires by means of military conquest C. Independently developed iron technology D. Depended entirely on oral record keeping . [17] Much of this oil was sold elsewhere in the British Empire. Read suggested they be merged, and more use made of Nigeria's natural resources. Alan Lennox-Boyd, M.P., the British Secretary of State for the Colonies. The Deputy Governor served as political administrator for company territory and appointed three officials in Nigeria to carry out the work of administration. In 1920, portions of former German Cameroon were mandated to Britain by the League of Nations and were administered as part of Nigeria. [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). Most of the fighting was done by Hausa soldiers, recruited to fight against other groups. [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. The decrease in trade indirectly led to the collapse of states like the Edo Empire. Any activity in the north that might include participation by the federal government (and consequently by southern civil servants) was regarded as a challenge to the primacy of the emirates. 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. 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 . In the north many emirates did not take military action, but the deposed caliph, Atahiru I, rebelled in 1903. Harding, director of Nigerian affairs at the Colonial Office, defined the official position of the British Government in support of indirect rule when he said that "direct government by impartial and honest men of alien race [] never yet satisfied a nation long and [] under such a form of government, as wealth and education increase, so do political discontent and sedition". 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 It assumed that comparable alterations would be made elsewhere, an attitude that won the party minority voting support in the other regions. He said that he did "not consider that their past traditions and their present backward cultural conditions afford to any such experiment a reasonable chance of success". The first factor to be taken into account is that the British by nature are conservative. In 1805, he set out on a second expedition, sponsored by the British Government, to follow the Niger to the sea. During World War II, three battalions of the Nigeria Regiment fought against Fascist Italy in the Ethiopian campaign. Colonialism is both a practice and a word that means so much to Nigeria. It continued to enjoy special privileges and maintained a de facto monopoly over commerce. The legitimate trade in commodities attracted a number of British merchants to the Niger River, as well as some men who had been formerly engaged in the slave trade but who now changed their line of wares. In Europe, Britain sent troops to help its ally, Prussia, which was surrounded by its enemies. The Southern Protectorate financed itself from the outset, with revenue increasing from 361,815 to 1,933,235 over the same period. These schools would teach "the basic principles that would and should regulate character and conduct". The yoruba-Igbo rivalry became increasingly important in Nigerian politics. Every Sultan and Emir and the principal officers of state will be appointed by the high Commissioner throughout all this country. In the immediate post-World War II period, Nigeria benefited from a favourable trade balance. British staffs in each region continued to operate according to procedures developed before unification. 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. The conquest was personal to William. An example was that at Onitsha, where they could bargain directly with local suppliers and purchase products likely to turn a profit. Quiz. 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. [19][41], In 18961897 the forces of the Niger Coast Protectorate fought with the remnants of the Edo Empire. The Colonial Office approved most of Lugard's plan, but balked at authorising him to pass laws without their approval. This rate rose to 20,000 per year in the last quarter of the century. 2. When direct Portuguese contacts in the region were withdrawn, however, the influence of the Catholic missionaries waned. There were some specific outcomes and impacts for Africans as a result of WWI. Other Protestant denominations from Great Britain, Canada, and the United States also opened missions and, in the 1860s, Roman Catholic religious orders established missions. [73] An estimated 500,000 Nigerians would lose their lives due to the pandemic, severely decreasing production capabilities on Nigerian farms and plantations. By 1919 the National Council of British West Africa, an organization consisting of elites across West Africa, was demanding that half the members of the Legislative Council be Africans; they also wanted a university in West Africa and more senior positions for Africans in the colonial civil service. They were the most politically conscious segment of the population and created the vanguard of the nationalist movement. As a protectorate, it did not have the status of a colony, so its officials were appointed by the Foreign Office and not by the Colonial Office. 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. 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. In general, the regional constitutions followed the federal model, both structurally and functionally. emblemhealth medicare customer service; did cody webster play college baseball 0 Home. 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. By the eighteenth century, evidence of Christianity had disappeared. The goal of activists initially was not self-determination, but increased participation on a regional level in the governmental process. At the urging of Governor Frederick Lugard, the two territories were amalgamated as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, while maintaining considerable regional autonomy among the three major regions (Northern protectorate, Southern protectorate and the Colony of Lagos). [19], West Africa also bought British exports, supplying 3040% of the demand for British cotton during the Industrial Revolution of 17501790.[27]. 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. [50] In the same year, the British created the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF or WAFF), under the leadership of Colonel Frederick Lugard. The so-called Macpherson Constitution, after the incumbent Governor-General John Stuart Macpherson, went into effect the following year. 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. Each was under a Lieutenant Governor and provided independent government services. 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. This article examines the deployment of West African soldiers for military service in West Africa, including the manner of mobilization and recruitment. 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. In 1957, the Western and the Eastern regions became formally self-governing under the parliamentary system. Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence.