At the same time, British scientists were interested in exploring the course and related settlements along the Niger River. 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]. In the ensuing decade, resistance to colonial rule continued, but Africans altered their tactics and women featured prominently in anticolonial resistance when cultural changes tended to disadvantage women. Political opposition to colonial rule often assumed religious dimensions. [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. 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 rapid expansion in exports, especially after 1830, occurred precisely at the time slave exports collapsed. His political platform called for economic and educational development, Africanization of the civil service, and self-government for Lagos. In the 1920s, Nigerians began to form a variety of associations, such as professional and business associations, like the Nigerian Union of Teachers; the Nigerian Law Association, which brought together lawyers, many of whom had been educated in Britain; and the Nigerian Produce Traders' Association, led by Obafemi Awolowo. Revolts took place across Nigeria, but were most frequent in the Niger Delta. 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. 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. Economic competition among these "houses" was so fierce that trade often erupted into an armed battle between the crews of the large canoes. Balewa was called on to head an NPC-NCNC coalition government, and Awolowo became the official leader of the opposition. Frederick Lugard, shortly before becoming High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria.[68]. 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. Early nationalists tended to ignore Nigeria as the focus of patriotism. In April 1927, the British colonial government in Nigeria took measures to enforce the Native Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance. The seven men who governed Northern Nigeria, Southern Nigeria and Lagos through 1914 were Henry McCallum, William MacGregor, Walter Egerton, Ralph Moor, Percy Girouard, Hesketh Bell and Frederick Lugard. The early resistance to colonialism in Africa began in the late 19th century with the increasing unrest in East Africa and several organized groups. Then they resisted the policy as much as possible. 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. Local leaders, cognizant of the situation in the West Indies, India, and elsewhere, recognised the risks of British expansion. 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 most dramatic event having a long-term effect on Nigeria's economic development was the discovery and exploitation of petroleum deposits. Three years later internal divisions arose that was dominated by major ethnic loyalties. Each was under a Lieutenant Governor and provided independent government services. Although he reported on the eastward flow of the Niger, he was forced to turn back when his equipment was lost to Muslim Arab slave traders. Jaja of Opobo allied with hrs old friends namely Alobo and Onaba to resist the British colonialists in the Niger Delta states. Between them, the French and the British had purchased a majority of the slaves sold from the ports of Edo. The movement brought to public notice a long list of future leaders, including H.O. Ken Swindell, "The Commercial Development of the North: Company and Government Relations, 19001906". The government was responsible to a Parliament composed of the popularly elected 312-member House of Representatives and the 44-member Senate, chosen by the regional legislatures. Alienated by the anonymity of the urban environment and drawn together by ties to their ethnic homelandsas well as by the need for mutual aidthe new city dwellers formed local clubs that later expanded into federations covering whole regions. [54] Olivier was a member of the Fabian Society and a friend of George Bernard Shaw. [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]. A . "John Beecroft, 17901854: Her Brittanic Majesty's Consul to the Bights of Benin and Biafra 18491854". 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. The company's major imports to the area included gin and low-quality firearms. [79][80], Much of the colony's budget went to payments of its military, the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF). 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. 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. 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. Retrieved October 11, 2014 from. Oil income was still marginal, but the prospects for continued economic expansion appeared bright and accentuated political rivalries on the eve of independence. It continued to enjoy special privileges and maintained a de facto monopoly over commerce. The principal figure in the political activity that ensued was Herbert Macauley, often referred to as the father of Nigerian nationalism. 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. Economic hardship caused by the war certainly underlay and even provoked resistance against the colonial authorities. In case of resistance by one of its friends the other would join hands to mount formidable resistance against colonial rule e.g. In pursuance of the above general principles the chief civil officers of the provinces are to be called Residents which implies one who carries on diplomatic relations rather than Commissioners or Administrators. [25][n 1], The missionaries gained in power throughout the 1800s. Mordi, Emmanuel Nwafor. The Colonial Era (1882-1960) British colonialism began under the pretense of policing the slave trade. [9] Administration and military control of the territory was conducted primarily by white Britons, both in London and in Nigeria. Rebellions Against Colonial Rule Before the Second World War. Indigenous Resistance to New Colonialism. Total revenues of central and regional governments nearly doubled in relation to the gross domestic product during the decade. 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. Two tiers of government emerged, central and local. Before 1898, the scramble for Africa by European countries led to the partition of Africa after the Berlin conference of 1884-85. According to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Voyage Database, 308,800 were sold across the Atlantic from Lagos in 17761850. Davies and Nnamdi Azikiwe. Nigerian students abroad, particularly at British schools, joined those from other colonies in pan-African groups such as the West African Students Union, founded in London in 1925. Decolonization Resource Collection (National History Center) Less Scrambling, more Reflecting: Teaching about colonialism in Africa from the perspective of resistance by Bram Hubbel, February 9, 2019. "Specifically, the Company sought to secure the cooperation of the traditional rulers in ensuring peaceful conditions for trade. Deadly battles broke out sporadically through 1906. [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. It is not a unitary state with local government areas but with one Central Executive and one Legislature. 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 . While this system had built-in contradictions, over the years the Nigerian system developed into a sophisticated form of local government, especially in the emirates and under the banner of native administration, which became the hallmark of British colonial rule in Africa. Ist October, 2010, marks The 50th anniversary of Nigeria's independence from imperial Britain. [11][12], The amalgamation of different ethnic and religious groups into one federation created internal tension which persists in Nigeria to the present day.[13]. 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". Divide and rule policy: This was mainly applied in areas where African societies or population had poor relations as a result of differences between their leaders or divisions created by Christian religious sects to easily defeat Africans in case of impending resistance against colonial rule. 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. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, it ended slavery in its possessions. resistance to British invasion and colonial rule so as to close that vacuum created by the 'majority syndrome' approach. Consequently, in 1849, John Beecroft was accredited as consul for the bights of Benin and Biafra, a jurisdiction stretching from Dahomey to Cameroon. Frequently African armies of 20, 000 were defeated by European-led armies of 2,000 or less. took careful account of Islam and avoided any appearance of a challenge to traditional values that might incite resistance to British rule. Subsequent revisions contained in the Lyttleton Constitution, enacted in 1954, firmly established the federal principle and paved the way for independence. Amalgamation of Nigeria was envisioned from early on in its governance, as is made clear by the report of the Niger Committee in 1898. Read suggested they be merged, and more use made of Nigeria's natural resources. Borno capitulated without a fight, but in 1903 Lugard's RWAFF mounted assaults on Kano and Sokoto. During World War II, Awolowo reorganized it as a predominantly Yoruba political party, the Action Group. France sold Louisiana to the United States in 1803, the same year that it gave up on trying to regain Saint-Domingue from the Haitian Revolution. [72] In line with this attitude, he rejected Lugard's proposal for moving the capital from Lagos, the stronghold of the elite in whom he placed so much confidence for the future. [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. 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. 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. [76], The British treasury initially supported the landlocked Northern Nigeria Protectorate with grants, totalling 250,000 or more each year. 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