nigeria resistance to colonial rule

[43][44] The British forces began annual pacification missions to convince the locals of British supremacy. Amalgamation of Nigeria was envisioned from early on in its governance, as is made clear by the report of the Niger Committee in 1898. Colonial Nigeria was the area of West Africa that became the modern day Nigeria, during the time of British rule in the 19th and 20th centuries. The rapid expansion in exports, especially after 1830, occurred precisely at the time slave exports collapsed. what were negative effects of colonial rule in african continent. In the north, the emirs intended to maintain firm control on economic and political change. ", Helen Chapin Metz, ed. In 1920, portions of former German Cameroon were mandated to Britain by the League of Nations and were administered as part of Nigeria. The southern protectorate was divided into two provinces in 1939Western and Easternand in 1954 they, along with the northern protectorate, were renamed the Western, Eastern, and Northern regions as part of Nigerias reconstruction into a federal state. Most of these came from military backgrounds. Resistance to colonial rule took a number of forms, incrementally moving Nigeria toward independence. 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 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. Today, Lagos remains Nigeria's financial capital and, as home to an estimated eight million people, ranks . [49], Concrete plans for transition to Crown ruledirect control by the British Governmentapparently began in 1897. Nigeria Table of Contents. In the south, by contrast, traditional rulers were employed as vehicles of indirect rule in Edoland and Yorubaland, but Christianity and Western education undermined their sacerdotal functions. ", Tamuno, T. N. (1970). [32], In 1880, the British Government and traders demonetised the Maria Theresa dollar, to the considerable dismay of its local holders, in favour of the pound sterling. Both Africans and Europeans found illegal supplies such as secret stills, obtaining colonial liquor permits, and smuggling. Britain withdrew from the slave trade when it was the major transporter of slaves to the Americas. ", Simon Heap, "'We think prohibition is a farce': drinking in the alcohol-prohibited zone of colonial northern Nigeria. The Anglicans and other religious groups had a conscious "native church" policy to develop indigenous ecclesiastical institutions to become independent of Europeans. The Governor-General, in turn, was responsible for appointing the prime minister and for choosing a candidate from among contending leaders when there was no parliamentary majority. Individuals could be fined or jailed for refusing to comply.[12]. In the year 1901, Nigeria officially became a part of the huge British Empire. 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. He was contemptuous of the educated and Westernised African elite found more in the South, and he recommended transferring the capital from Lagos, the cosmopolitan city where the influence of these people was most pronounced, to Kaduna in the north. British colonialism created Nigeria, but did little to make it a viable, stable, self-sustaining national entity. [19], The company considered itself the sole legitimate government of the area, with executive, legislative and judicial powers all subordinate to the rule of a council created by the company board of directors in London. 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. Christian missionaries were barred, and the limited government efforts in education were harmonized with Islamic institutions.[67]. The best way to describe what has happened to Nigeria in the last 72 hours, beginning with the country's first set of general elections on Saturday, February 25, 2023, is to echo Charles Dickens . As a further step toward independence, the Governor's Executive Council was merged with the Council of Ministers in 1957 to form the all-Nigerian Federal Executive Council. In the south the British occasionally created a political hierarchy where there had been none before; in most cases they ruled through those who were most malleable, whether these people had held traditional positions of authority or not. Nigeria officially became a democracy on its independence from Britain in October 1960. [76], The British treasury initially supported the landlocked Northern Nigeria Protectorate with grants, totalling 250,000 or more each year. [57], Egerton also supervised improvements to the Lagos harbour and extension of the local telegraph network. The Igbo redirected slaves into the domestic economy, especially to grow the staple food crop, yams, in northern Igboland for marketing throughout the palm-tree belt. 1960-1966: Early diplomatic relations. The British, when faced with dissent, tended to grant political reforms in an effort to dispel the attractiveness of more-radical . 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. Beecroft agreed on condition that the slave trade be abolished, and British merchants have a monopoly in commodities. Lagos was annexed as a Crown Colony in 1861 via the Lagos Treaty of Cession.[30]. 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 Sokoto jihad and the Yoruba wars stimulated the slave trade at a time when the British were actively trying to stop it. The approaches of the two men to colonial development were diametrically opposed. 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. We bind ourselves not to have any intercourse with any strangers or foreigners except through the said national African Company (Limited), and we give the said National African Company (Limited) full power to exclude all other strangers and foreigners from their territory at their discretion. Pre-colonial southern Nigeria was an _____ societey. The British High Commissioners could depose emirs and other officials if necessary. But in the 1700s, the Bight of Benin (also known as the Slave Coast) became the next most important hub. In 1912, Lugard returned to Nigeria from his six-year term as Governor of Hong Kong, to oversee the merger of the northern and southern protectorates. [51], Guidelines for running the Nigerian colony were established in 1898 by the Niger Committee, chaired by the Earl of Selborne, in 1898. The conference drafted the terms of a new constitution. The British accomplished the colonization by using its military. It is not a unitary state with local government areas but with one Central Executive and one Legislature. The British finalized the border between Nigeria and French West Africa with the Anglo-French Convention of 1898. Consequently, he may well deserve the epithet of the "father of Nigeria", which historians accorded him. In fact, while the southern delegates pressed for 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. How did British keep Nigerians from developing organized political resistance. rebellion. As a latecomer in the struggle for colonies, Germany had to settle for four territories, called "protectorates," in . History of Islam in Nigeria. [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]. In general, the regional constitutions followed the federal model, both structurally and functionally. He aroused political awareness through his newspaper, the Lagos Daily News. 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. The federal government retained specified powers, including responsibility for banking, currency, external affairs, defence, shipping and navigation and communications, but real political power was centred in the regions. In these territories, violent resistance brought colonial rule to a close. [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. Total revenues of central and regional governments nearly doubled in relation to the gross domestic product during the decade. [53] The first five heads of the Nigeria Department (18981914) were Reginald Antrobus, William Mercer, William Baillie Hamilton, Sydney Olivier, and Charles Strachey. Borno capitulated without a fight, but in 1903 Lugard's RWAFF mounted assaults on Kano and Sokoto. Political leaders resorted to the use of political parties and the media to mobilize millions of Nigerians against the continuation of British rule. [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. The NPC captured 142 seats in the new legislature. By the end of World War I, most of Africa had been effectively colonized. [10], Following military conquest, the British imposed an economic system designed to profit from African labor. Its final leg enabled it to meet another line, constructed 19071911, running from Baro, through Minnia, to Kano. The experiment began in 1890 and was repealed in 1939,[71]. Although his own ambitions were limited to the Northern Region, Bello backed the NPC's successful efforts to mobilize the north's large voting strength so as to win control of the national government. In 1794, the African Association in Great Britain commissioned Mungo Park, an intrepid Scottish physician and naturalist, to search for the headwaters of the Niger and follow the river downstream. The introduction of the federal principle, with deliberative authority devolved on the regions, signalled recognition of the country's diversity. [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. NEPU formed a parliamentary alliance with the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). It continued to enjoy special privileges and maintained a de facto monopoly over commerce. 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). Most internal problems were concealed, and open opposition to the domination of the Muslim aristocracy was not tolerated. For example, many people in Ibadan opposed Awolowo on personal grounds because of his identification with the Ijebu Yoruba. Similar status was acquired by the Northern Region two years later. 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. Before 1898, the scramble for Africa by European countries led to the partition of Africa after the Berlin conference of 1884-85. In 1957, the Western and the Eastern regions became formally self-governing under the parliamentary system. At first, the trade centered around West Central Africa, now the Congo. The pace of constitutional change accelerated after the promulgation of the Richards Constitution. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1921. . [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. Newspapers, some of which were published before World War I, provided coverage of nationalist views. 19, no. Consequently, in 1849, John Beecroft was accredited as consul for the bights of Benin and Biafra, a jurisdiction stretching from Dahomey to Cameroon. Namely, it possessed colonies on all continents. An example was that at Onitsha, where they could bargain directly with local suppliers and purchase products likely to turn a profit. Early on in colonial rule, for example, Nigerians protested the manner in which water rates and head taxes were collected. 2, p. 211-221. . The most striking departure was in the Northern Region, where special provisions brought the regional constitution into consonance with Islamic law and custom. 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. Critics, including representatives of the Middle Belt who resented Muslim domination, were relegated to small, peripheral parties or to inconsequential separatist movements.[85]. Later Nigerian troops were sent to East Africa. Beecroft was the British representative to Fernando Po, where the African Slave Trade Patrol of the Royal Navy was stationed. 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. 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. Palm oil was used locally for cooking, the kernels were a source for food, trees were tapped for palm wine, and the fronds were used for building material. The Niger Delta and Calabar, which once had been known for the export of slaves, became notable for the export of palm oil. The Portuguese sold slaves as a way to "obtain spices and weapons in other areas" (Alme). Its program reflected greater planning and was more ideologically oriented than that of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. This video gives a detailed explanation of Colonial rule in Africa, as it answers the questions: Why did Europeans colonize africa? Webster, Boahen and Idowu are of the opinion that the conquest of Africa was very simple and that it was carried out with ease. . By 18261850, the British Royal Navy was intervening significantly with Lagos slave exports. [18], In 1807, the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted the Slave Trade Act, prohibiting British subjects from participating in the Atlantic slave trade. Britain subsequently lobbied other European powers to stop the slave trade as well. Frederick Lugard, who assumed the position of high commissioner of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria in 1900, often has been regarded as the model British colonial administrator. Lugard's campaign systematically subdued local resistance, using armed force when diplomatic measures failed. [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. Each region had a governor, premier, cabinet, legislature, and civil service, with the significantly weaker federal government represented in Lagos by a governor-general, bureaucracy, House of Representatives, and Senate. colonizers and passive resistance by refusing to collaborate with the colonizers e .g. It is not a personal union of separate colonies under the same Governor like the Windwards, it is not a Confederation of States. The company's major imports to the area included gin and low-quality firearms. The incidence of slavery in local societies increased. He was prepared to introduce educational and economic changes to strengthen the north. [17] Much of this oil was sold elsewhere in the British Empire. The protectorate was organised to control and develop trade coming down the Niger. The Macpherson constitution, promulgated in 1951, provided for a central House of Representatives, but friction between the central and regional legislatures, related to the question of where supreme party authority lay, soon caused a breakdown. These courts contained majorities British members and represented a new level of presumptive British sovereignty in the Bight of Biafra. It made anti-slavery treaties with West African powers, which it enforced militarily with the blockade of Africa. Dike, K. O. Separate legislative bodies, the houses of assembly, were established in each of the three regions to consider local questions and to advise the Lieutenant Governors. In the South, only English had official status. Support for broad Nigerian concerns occupied a clear second place. 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". [64], Each region also had a Native Administration, staffed by locals, and possessing a Native Treasury. In practice, British administrative procedures under indirect rule entailed constant interaction between colonial authorities and local rulersthe system was modified to fit the needs of each region. The most important of these was a near fetish with indirect rule that was supposed to facilitate a cheap and effective ruling strategy. WORKING PAPER: Passive and Active Resistance to Openness - 4 can also resist fulfilling the spirit of FOIAs in a more passive or subtle manner. Some European traders switched to legitimate business only when the commerce in slaves became too hazardous. [73] The spread of the disease was quick and deadly, with an estimated 1.5% of the population of Lagos falling victim. Asante Resistance (Ghana) 6. The most important innovations in the new charter reinforced the dual course of constitutional evolution, allowing for both regional autonomy and federal union. 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]. "Separatist Agitations in Nigeria Since 1914." Central Africa to 1964. For this objective, the Company chose to administer the African inhabitants of the Niger Sudan through their traditional rulers and their political institutions. 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. Formal diplomatic relations were established with the opening of the American Embassy in Lagos and of the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, both on 1 October 1960, the same day which Nigeria acquired its independence from British rule. In case of resistance by one of its friends the other would join hands to mount formidable resistance against colonial rule e.g. Native institutions were utilized and interference with local customs kept to a minimum, although the British did not always understand the local customs. Whereas Lugard had applied lessons learned in the north to the administration of the south, Clifford was prepared to extend to the north practices that had been successful in the south. [25][n 1], The missionaries gained in power throughout the 1800s. In: The Journal of African History: (1990 . resistance to British invasion and colonial rule so as to close that vacuum created by the 'majority syndrome' approach. Economic competition among these "houses" was so fierce that trade often erupted into an armed battle between the crews of the large canoes. 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). The Colonial Office could veto or revise his policies. Between them, the French and the British had purchased a majority of the slaves sold from the ports of Edo. [] These intermediaries assisted government diplomacy and helped to establish and maintain relations between the company and the traditional rulers. The political parties jockeyed for positions of power in anticipation of the independence of Nigeria. This line was extended to Oshogbo, 100 kilometres (62mi) away, in 19051907, and to Zungeru and Minna in 19081911. 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. From 1815 to 1840, palm oil exports increased by a factor of 25, from 800 to 20,000 tons per year. Africans also were represented on the Lagos Legislative Council, a largely appointed assembly. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884. Although Nigeria came under the British charter in 1885 and was . . Its architecture was in both Victorian and Brazilian style, as many of the black elite were English-speakers from Sierra Leone and freedmen repatriated from the Empire of Brazil and Spanish Cuba. [35] However, the company did accept that local kings could act as partners in governance and trade. Although lacking Azikiwe's compelling personality, Awolowo was a formidable debater as well as a vigorous and tenacious political campaigner. 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. [8] Azikiwe was installed as Governor-General of the federation and Balewa continued to serve as head of a democratically elected parliamentary, but now completely sovereign, government. The Colonial Office approved most of Lugard's plan, but balked at authorising him to pass laws without their approval. 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. If adopted, his proposals can hardly be a permanent solution and I gather that Sir F. Lugard only regards them as temporaryat any rate in part. Main aim. The Colonial Civil Service used intermediaries, as the Royal Niger Company had, in an expanded role which included diplomacy, propaganda and espionage. 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. [56], Walter Egerton's sixfold agenda for 1908, as detailed on 29 November 1907, in a telegram to the Colonial Office, is representative of British priorities. It was not a walk over for the British to conquer Nigeria, some individuals and groups resisted the imposition of colonial rule. Among the other major parties, the NCNC took fifty-six seats, winning a majority in both the Eastern and the Western regions, while the Action Group captured only twenty-seven seats. Selected petitions and written correspondence between Igbo women and British officials between 1892 and 1960 shed fresh light on how women navigated . In 1922 Kamerun was divided under a League of Nations mandate between France and Britain, Britain administering its area within the government of Nigeria; after 1946 the mandated areas were redesignated as a United Nations (UN) trust territory. "The agents performed similar but more expansive roles as their Company counterparts. It assumed that comparable alterations would be made elsewhere, an attitude that won the party minority voting support in the other regions. In the Bight of Biafra, the major ports were Old Calabar (Akwa Akpa), Bonny and New Calabar. Until he stepped down as Governor-General in 1918, Lugard primarily was concerned with consolidating British sovereignty and with assuring local administration through traditional rulers. 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