Beecroft agreed on condition that the slave trade be abolished, and British merchants have a monopoly in commodities. Three of these posts were assigned to representatives from each region, and one was reserved for a delegate from the Northern Cameroons. African Resistance to European Imperialism: Conflicts & Impact It was British colonialism which was the ultimate cause of the war . The boundaries of the two protectorates and the territories of the Royal Niger Company were difficult to define, but the tension was eased in 1894 when both entities were merged into the Niger Coast Protectorate. The Action Group, which staged a lively campaign, favoured stronger government and the establishment of three new states while advocating the creation of a West Africa Federation that would unite Nigeria with Ghana and Sierra Leone. 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. 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. This became the Lagos Constabulary, and subsequently the Nigerian Police Force. The British captured Kano in 1903. 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. 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. The British Conquest of Nigeria From about the mid nineteenth century, the British began to alter the nature of their relationship between themselves and Nigerians. Despite his somewhat successful efforts to enlist non-Yoruba support, the regionalist sentiment that had stimulated the party initially continued. Frederick Lugard, who was appointed as High Commissioner of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1900 and served until 1906 in his first term, often has been regarded by the British as their model colonial administrator. Both Africans and Europeans found illegal supplies such as secret stills, obtaining colonial liquor permits, and smuggling. [11], By the 1880s, the National African Company became the dominant commercial power, increasing from 19 to 39 stations between 1882 and 1893. 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. There were some specific outcomes and impacts for Africans as a result of WWI. The emirs retained their caliphate titles but were responsible to British district officers, who had final authority. The British led a series of military campaigns to enlarge its sphere of influence and expand its commercial opportunities. [49], Concrete plans for transition to Crown ruledirect control by the British Governmentapparently began in 1897. [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]. Support for broad Nigerian concerns occupied a clear second place. ", Helen Chapin Metz, ed. British business interests wanted to use this to create a monopoly over the industry, but Prime Minister H. H. Asquith's Liberal government and subsequent war coalition favored allowing international free trade. 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. 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. factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria The proliferation of labour organisations fragmented the movement, and potential leaders lacked the experience and skill to draw workers together. "John Beecroft, 17901854: Her Brittanic Majesty's Consul to the Bights of Benin and Biafra 18491854". European interpretations of Christian orthodoxy in some cases refused to allow the incorporation of local customs and practices, although the various mission denominations interpreted Christianity in different ways. PDF BRITISH CONQUEST, COLONIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA - ResearchGate Doctrine of Lapse. 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. 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. British and French traders did a large share of this business until 1807 when they were replaced by the Portuguese and the Spaniards. 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. Squaring the ledger Britain's rule in Nigeria | Financial Times The company's major imports to the area included gin and low-quality firearms. What are the Factors which facilitated the rise of Colonialism? The first missions were opened by the Church of England's Church Missionary Society (CMS). The Colonial Office approved most of Lugard's plan, but balked at authorising him to pass laws without their approval. Durres Port. Even before gaining its charter, the Company signed treaties with local leaders which granted it broad sovereign powers. (This was also reflective of growing pan-Africanism among American activists of the time.) Trained as an army officer, he had served in India, Egypt and East Africa, where he expelled Arab slave traders from Nyasaland and established British presence in Uganda. British expansion was conducted primarily by commercialists and resulted in more solid economic potential than the French endeavor (Crowder, 1990). The goal of activists initially was not self-determination, but increased participation on a regional level in the governmental process. [73] The spread of the disease was quick and deadly, with an estimated 1.5% of the population of Lagos falling victim. Initial British attempts to open trade with the interior by way of the Niger could not overcome climate and diseases such as malaria. 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. Read suggested they be merged, and more use made of Nigeria's natural resources. He was convinced that the Muslim religion had fallen into utter degeneration as a result of moral depravity of the Hausa Emirs. The Crusades and the Reconquista cemented religious intolerance, and the Christians looked to colonization partly as a means of continuing religious conquests. In 1886, Taubman secured a royal charter and his company became the Royal Niger Company. Empty cart. French in West Africa - University of Pennsylvania tamko building products ownership; 30 Junio, 2022; factors that led to the british conquest of nigeria . From Lugard's point of view, clear-cut military victories were necessary because the surrenders of the defeated peoples weakened resistance elsewhere. Other European powers acknowledged Britain's dominance over the area in the 1885 Berlin Conference. [38][39], In 1892 the British Armed Forces set out to fight the Ijebu Kingdom, which had resisted missionaries and foreign traders. Davies and Nnamdi Azikiwe. Retrieved October 11, 2014 from. [53] The first five heads of the Nigeria Department (18981914) were Reginald Antrobus, William Mercer, William Baillie Hamilton, Sydney Olivier, and Charles Strachey. The first factor to be taken into account is that the British by nature are conservative. An extensive immigrant population of southerners, especially Igbo, already were living in the north; they dominated clerical positions and were active in many trades. "Specifically, the Company sought to secure the cooperation of the traditional rulers in ensuring peaceful conditions for trade. Men Missionaries were active: Presbyterians in Calabar and the Church Missionary Society (CMS), Methodists, and Baptists in Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Oyo, and Ogbomoso. If an eye is kept on the Gazettes as they come in this will enable us to warn him of any objections we may entertain to legislative proposals, and also give Liverpool and Manchester an opportunity of voicing their objections. NEPU formed a parliamentary alliance with the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). A third of the people associated with an 1842 riverine expedition died. Britain subsequently lobbied other European powers to stop the slave trade as well. They, in turn, have by defeat lost their rule which has come into the hands of the British. The NPC federal parliamentary leader, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was appointed Prime Minister of Nigeria. September 1996. The rapid expansion in exports, especially after 1830, occurred precisely at the time slave exports collapsed. [19], West Africa also bought British exports, supplying 3040% of the demand for British cotton during the Industrial Revolution of 17501790.[27]. In May of this year, Herbert J. 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. Accordingly, as the volume of trade increased, merchants requested that the Government of the United Kingdom appoint a consul to cover the region. In 1946 a new constitution was approved by the British Parliament at Westminster and promulgated in Nigeria. 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. Colonialism and Development: A Comparative Analysis of Spanish and He used for the first time in Nigeria modern, sometimes flamboyant, electioneering techniques. [11] [12] In Europe, Britain sent troops to help its ally, Prussia, which was surrounded by its enemies. In 1905, the colonial government divided Bengal into Hindu and Muslim sections; this division was revoked after strong protests. 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. 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. 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. "The Hidden Hand of Overrule: Political Agents and the Establishment of British Colonial Rule in Northern Nigeria, 18861914". Another court was established in 1856 at Calabar, based on an agreement with local Efik traders which prohibited them from interfering with British merchants. Solicitar ms informacin: 310-2409701 | administracion@consultoresayc.co. Under Goldie's direction, the Royal Niger Company was instrumental in depriving France and Germany of access to the region. The receding British presence enabled local officials and politicians to gain access to patronage over government jobs, funds for local development, market permits, trade licenses, government contracts, and even scholarships for higher education. One of the most effective tactics, the British used to take over most of India. Azikiwe had less interest in purely Nigerian goals than did Davies, a student of Harold Laski at the London School of Economics, whose political orientation was considered left-wing. 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. 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. [11] In 1891, the African Banking Corporation founded the Bank of British West Africa in Lagos.[33]. 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. These courts contained majorities British members and represented a new level of presumptive British sovereignty in the Bight of Biafra. British expansion accelerated in the last decades of the nineteenth century. Du Bois. They selected an increasingly high proportion of African clergy for the missions. Otherwise, the Governor-General's office was essentially ceremonial. This article examines the deployment of West African soldiers for military service in West Africa, including the manner of mobilization and recruitment. European traders in Nigeria initially made widespread use of the cowrie, which was already valued locally.