The operations of this force are still not fully known due to a policy of strict secrecy mandated by the British Government. "Nigerian Forces Comforts Fund, 19401947: 'The Responsibility of the Nigerian Government to Provide Funds for the Welfare of Its Soldiers'. Falola, Toyin, Ann Genova, and Matthew M. Heaton. Although the capital was not moved, Lugard's bias in favour of the Muslim north was clear at the time. Later Nigerian troops were sent to East Africa. History of Islam in Nigeria. Economic links among the regions increased, but indirect rule tended to discourage political interchange. This was because; education in Southern Nigeria was already leading to a level of awareness and militancy or resistance to colonial rule. 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. The rapid growth of organised labour in the 1940s also brought new political forces into play. [19], West Africa also bought British exports, supplying 3040% of the demand for British cotton during the Industrial Revolution of 17501790.[27]. The present attempt is to inquire into the educational policy of colonial Nigeria, the aim, the nature and process of educational development and how it affected women in Nigeria. The council was promoted as a device for allowing the expression of opinions that could instruct the Governor-General. This video gives a detailed explanation of Colonial rule in Africa, as it answers the questions: Why did Europeans colonize africa? Out of reverence for traditional kingship, for instance, the Oba of Benin, whose office was closely identified with Edo religion, was accepted as the sponsor of a Yoruba political movement. 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. In time, they built depots onshore and eventually moved up the Niger River to establish stations in the interior. His government guided the country for the next three years, operating with almost complete autonomy in internal affairs. The so-called Macpherson Constitution, after the incumbent Governor-General John Stuart Macpherson, went into effect the following year. From January 1914 onwards, the newly united colony and protectorate was presided over by a proconsul, who was entitled the Governor-General of Nigeria. Unification meant only the loose affiliation of three distinct regional administrations into which Nigeria was subdividedNorthern, Western and Eastern regions. Du Bois. 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. Some indigenous peoples, such as those in the Americas, were forced to move to reservations or killed outright by invading European colonizers. [77] Its revenue quickly increased, from 4,424 in 1901 to 274,989 in 1910. Similar status was acquired by the Northern Region two years later. In the north, for instance, legislation took the form of a decree cosigned by the Governor and the emir, while in the south, the Governor sought the approval of the Legislative Council. Inteno Fiberkonverter Blinkar, Herkules Flygplan Fakta, Kraftvrme Frdelar Och Nackdelar, Infllt Mtarskp Utomhus . In: The Journal of African History: (1990 . 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. A third of the people associated with an 1842 riverine expedition died. 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. 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. Rebellions Against Colonial Rule Before the Second World War. After the 1930s, political activities focused primarily on ways to end British rule. It was a resistance movement whereby women in the Eastern Provinces of the British colony of Nigeria intended to reverse colonial policies that intruded on their political, economic, and social participation in local communities. British soap and cosmetics manufacturers tried to obtain land concessions for growing oil palms, but these were refused. Balewa was called on to head an NPC-NCNC coalition government, and Awolowo became the official leader of the opposition. In 1960, the country attained independence from British rule. The superior weapons, tactics and political unity of the British are commonly given as reasons for their decisive ultimate victory. I would encourage the society to resist by declaring a war against the Europeans. Nigeria: ColonizationKatie Graham. With the exception of Brandenburg-Prussia's short-lived attempt to gain a foothold on the West African coast and to participate in the 17th-century transatlantic slave trade, German colonialism began only in the 1880s. The delta masked the mouth of the great river, and for centuries Nigerians chose not to tell Europeans the secrets of the interior. His political platform called for economic and educational development, Africanization of the civil service, and self-government for Lagos. Another court was established in 1856 at Calabar, based on an agreement with local Efik traders which prohibited them from interfering with British merchants. A lack of interest in extending the NPC beyond the Northern Region corresponded to this strictly regional orientation. Crowther was succeeded as bishop by a British cleric. refusing to pay. You are right my brother. According to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Voyage Database, 308,800 were sold across the Atlantic from Lagos in 17761850. In large measure, European missionaries assumed the value of colonial rule in terms of promoting education, health and welfare measures, thereby effectively reinforcing colonial policy. Africans also were represented on the Lagos Legislative Council, a largely appointed assembly. took careful account of Islam and avoided any appearance of a challenge to traditional values that might incite resistance to British rule. As before, Aro merchants dominated trade in the hinterland, including palm products to the coast and the sale of slaves within Igboland. Local leaders, cognizant of the situation in the West Indies, India, and elsewhere, recognised the risks of British expansion. To prevent any united opposition to its authority, the British adopted a divide-and-rule policy, keeping Nigerian groups separate from one another as much as possible. Nigerian units also contributed to two divisions serving with British forces in Palestine, Morocco, Sicily and Burma, where they won many honours. The Anglicans and other religious groups had a conscious "native church" policy to develop indigenous ecclesiastical institutions to become independent of Europeans. [67], The Colonial Office, where Lugard was still held in high regard, accepted that changes might be due in the south, but it forbade fundamental alteration of procedures in the north. In April 1927, the British colonial government in Nigeria took measures to enforce the Native Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance. 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). Political opposition to colonial rule often assumed religious dimensions. 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. The conditions that led African peoples to resist colonial rule often emerged from longstanding grievances against colonial labor exploitation taxation racist and paternalist practices arbitrary violence and political illegitimacy. Britain withdrew from the slave trade when it was the major transporter of slaves to the Americas. Instead, the companies had to be content with a monopoly of the export trade in these products. The most important of these was a near fetish with indirect rule that was supposed to facilitate a cheap and effective ruling strategy. Discover how the Mandinka Empire, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Nigeria resisted European colonists and the impact each conflict had. By a British Act of Parliament, Nigeria became independent on 1 October 1960. Native Administration was responsible for police, hospitals, public works and local courts. [74] The disease first found its home among the many trading ports along the West African coast. Christian missionaries were barred, and the limited government efforts in education were harmonized with Islamic institutions.[67]. The arrival of the British. 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. Samori Ture 7. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991. The most dramatic event having a long-term effect on Nigeria's economic development was the discovery and exploitation of petroleum deposits. 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. [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. 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. Early on in colonial rule, for example, Nigerians protested the manner in which water rates and head taxes were collected. Lugard bequeathed to his successor a prosperous colony when his term as Governor-General expired. The experiment began in 1890 and was repealed in 1939,[71]. By the 1820s, the British had made connections . [63], The Protectorate was centrally administered by the Colonial Civil Service, staffed by Britons and Africans called the British Native Staffmany of whom originated from outside the territory. I will be dealing almost exclusively with the areas of East and Central Africa - Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe - where a more or less coherent debate can be seen. In an era of globalization, leaders of "recognized" nations often discuss the development of indigenous resources without inviting aboriginal leaders to the table. 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. A.J. The British Culture in Nigeria. The Southern Protectorate financed itself from the outset, with revenue increasing from 361,815 to 1,933,235 over the same period. 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. Nigeria's potential in the Post-Colonial Era. The CMS initially promoted Africans to responsible positions in the mission field; for instance, they appointed Samuel Ajayi Crowther as the first Anglican Bishop of the Niger. Retrieved October 11, 2014 from. Colonial Lagos was a busy, cosmopolitan port. Demanding immediate self-government, the Action Group was opposed by the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), which was composed largely of northerners and headed by several leaders, including Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The French had abolished slavery following the French Revolution, although it briefly re-established it in its Caribbean colonies under Napoleon. Nigeria did not come into being until 1914, when the consort of a colonial Governor-General, Flora Shaw and her man, the fascist Lord Lugard willed and named Nigeria into being, with the dubious . 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]. Nigeria is a country in West Africa and was colonized by the British in 1884 during a slave trade (Alme). Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1012. Herbert Richmond Palmer developed details of this model from 1906 to 1911 as the Governor of Northern Nigeria after Lugard.[66]. [82], Oil exploration began in 1906 under John Simon Bergheim's Nigeria Bitumen Corporation, to which the Colonial Office granted exclusive rights. 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. Two tiers of government emerged, central and local. 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. Central Africa to 1964. Public works, such as harbour dredging and road and railway construction, opened Nigeria to economic development. Acephalous . At the same time, British scientists were interested in exploring the course and related settlements along the Niger River. It was suspended in 1950 against a call for greater autonomy, which resulted in an inter-parliamentary conference at Ibadan in 1950. In the name of liberating the Igbos from the Aro Confederacy, the British launched the Anglo-Aro War of 19011902. Despite the acceptance of European and North American influences, the nationalists were critical of colonialism for its failure to appreciate the antiquity, richness and complexity of indigenous cultures. Although the Muslim emirs eventually collaborated with the British to establish such rule in Northern Nigeria, the absence of similar authority structures in the South led to more direct colonial rule. Britain subsequently lobbied other European powers to stop the slave trade as well. The protest began in the [70], Lugard's immediate successor (19191925), Sir Hugh Clifford, was an aristocratic professional administrator with liberal instincts who had won recognition for his enlightened governorship of the Gold Coast in 19121919. Clifford also believed that indirect rule encouraged centripetal tendencies. Gradually, however, the trade forced major economic and social changes in the interior, although it hardly undermined slavery and the slave trade. THE COLONIAL ECONOMIC LEGACY. In 1923 Herbert Macaulay, the grandson of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, established the first Nigerian political party, the Nigerian National Democratic Party, which successfully contested three Lagos seats in the Legislative Council. Strategic Theory, Dynamics, Methods and Movements ), contains accounts of the role of nonviolent action in anti-colonial struggles in Africa - Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique, and Zambia - and also in Bangladesh. Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. The NPC, entering candidates only in the Northern Region, confined campaigning largely to local issues but opposed the addition of new regimes. Portuguese Roman Catholic priests who accompanied traders and officials to the West African coast introduced Christianity to the Edo Empire in the fifteenth century. September 24, 2021 at 9:40pm by jones.7592. A third type of organisation that was more pointedly political was the youth or student group, which became the vehicle of intellectuals and professionals. Indigenous Resistance to New Colonialism. In November 1908, Bergheim reported striking oil; in September 1909, he reported extracting 2,000 barrels per day. Most of these came from military backgrounds. [73], Africa as a whole was hit by three waves of H1N1 influenza A, the first and second would be the most deadly for the colony of Nigeria. . 1324 Words6 Pages. 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 impact of colonialism in Nigeria could be discussed under political, economic, social, educational and religious aspects. How did Africans resist c. Sometimes forced labour was used directly for public works projects. It was supported not only by the income from huge agricultural surpluses but also by a new range of direct and indirect taxes imposed during the 1950s. 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. The Resident also oversaw a Provincial Court at the region's capital. It is not a personal union of separate colonies under the same Governor like the Windwards, it is not a Confederation of States. Frederick Lugard, shortly before becoming High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria.[68]. Although Nigeria came under the British charter in 1885 and was . The book traces communications in Nigeria back to pre-colonial indigenous communications, through the development of telecommunication, broadcasting networks, the press, the Nigerian lm industry ('Nollywood') and on to the digital . The Royal Navy bombarded Lagos in November 1851, ousted the pro-slavery Oba Kosoko and established a treaty with the newly installed Oba Akintoye, who was expectedly more amenable to British interests. [72], The Influenza pandemic made its way to the port of Lagos by September 1918 by way of a number of ships including the SS Panayiotis, the SS Ahanti, and the SS Bida. The yoruba-Igbo rivalry became increasingly important in Nigerian politics. 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. [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]. resistance to British invasion and colonial rule so as to close that vacuum created by the 'majority syndrome' approach. Like in other countries under imperialist rule, colonialism in Nigeria resulted in numerous positive and negative impacts. A more representative system did not appear until 1946, when each geographic group of provinces had its own House of Assembly, with a majority of nonofficial (though not yet all elected) members; there were also a House of Chiefs and, in Lagos, a central Legislative Council. By 18261850, the British Royal Navy was intervening significantly with Lagos slave exports. British and French traders did a large share of this business until 1807 when they were replaced by the Portuguese and the Spaniards. Because Western education and Christianity spread rapidly in the south and not in the north, development was much slower in the north, and the growing disparity between north and south later caused political tensions. Internal self-government was granted to the Western and Eastern regions in 1957. The greatest advantage of Nigeria were its huge natural . The influx of cowrie led to inflation. The goal of activists initially was not self-determination, but increased participation on a regional level in the governmental process. 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. The Action Group was thus the heir of a generation of flourishing cultural consciousness among the Yoruba and also had valuable connections with commercial interests that were representative of the comparative economic advancement of the Western Region. [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. The southern nationalists were inspired by a variety of sources, including such prominent American-based activists as Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. The council was headed by a Governor. In 1929, this incident in Nigeria later became one of the reasons for the fight against colonial rule in Africa A) The Nigerian Oil crisis B) The Aba Women's Revolt C) . Subsequent revisions contained in the Lyttleton Constitution, enacted in 1954, firmly established the federal principle and paved the way for independence. The first missions were opened by the Church of England's Church Missionary Society (CMS). The emirs retained their caliphate titles but were responsible to British district officers, who had final authority. . 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. [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. With one man in practical control of the Executive and Legislative organs of all the parts, the machine may work passably for sufficient time to enable the transition period to be left behind, by which time the answer to the problemUnitary v. Federal Statewill probably have become clear. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1921. The British, when faced with dissent, tended to grant political reforms in an effort to dispel the attractiveness of more-radical . Missionary forces demanded prohibition of liquor, which proved highly unpopular. On 9 May 1913, Lugard submitted a formal proposal to the Colonial Office in which Northern and Southern provinces would have separate administrations, under the control of a "strongly authoritarian" Governor-General. It also means foreign rule on foreign lands. 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. [51], Guidelines for running the Nigerian colony were established in 1898 by the Niger Committee, chaired by the Earl of Selborne, in 1898. European colonialists had managed to quell the efforts by Africans to resist the establishment of colonial rule with one exception. The conference drafted the terms of a new constitution. African Resistance to Colonial Rule (Talten, Africana Age) LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE Background: Attitudes Towards Policing The period from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s marked the zenith of imperial rule in Africa. It assumed that comparable alterations would be made elsewhere, an attitude that won the party minority voting support in the other regions. In fact, while the southern delegates pressed for The discussion of pragmatic resistance in Africa comes full circle with the former Portuguese colonies, South Africa, and Kenya. In the twentieth century, Lagos became a center for resistance to colonial rule. 2, p. 211-221. . These schools would teach "the basic principles that would and should regulate character and conduct". [10], Following military conquest, the British imposed an economic system designed to profit from African labor. By the eighteenth century, evidence of Christianity had disappeared. The Northern People's Congress (NPC) was organised in the late 1940s by a small group of Western-educated Northern Nigerians. In 1944 Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo who had been educated in the United States, united more than 40 different groups to establish the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). The company's major imports to the area included gin and low-quality firearms. As a historical event, anticolonialism means the struggle against imperial rule in colonized countries, mostly during the first half of the twentieth century. Despite his somewhat successful efforts to enlist non-Yoruba support, the regionalist sentiment that had stimulated the party initially continued. [11], The British led a series of military campaigns to enlarge its sphere of influence and expand its commercial opportunities. Nigerian delegates were selected to represent each region and to reflect various shades of opinion. [40] By 1893, most of the other political entities in Yorubaland recognised the practical necessity of signing another treaty with the British, this one explicitly joining them with the protectorate of Lagos. By the 1950s, there were organized nationalist parties that demanded political independence in almost every colony in Africa. [11], Britain's imperialistic posture became more aggressive towards the end of the century. In 1957, the Western and the Eastern regions became formally self-governing under the parliamentary system. Osoba and Fajana pointed . [45], A campaign against the Sokoto Caliphate began in 1900 with the creation of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, under the direction of Governor Lugard. [65], Half of all taxes went to the colonial government and half went to the Native Treasury.