Maji-Maji Uprising (Tanganyika) 4. As a philosophical movement and critical . History of Islam in Nigeria. Gradually, however, the trade forced major economic and social changes in the interior, although it hardly undermined slavery and the slave trade. "John Beecroft, 17901854: Her Brittanic Majesty's Consul to the Bights of Benin and Biafra 18491854". [19], West Africa also bought British exports, supplying 3040% of the demand for British cotton during the Industrial Revolution of 17501790.[27]. rebellion. [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. Rebellions Against Colonial Rule Before the Second World War. In 1886, Taubman secured a royal charter and his company became the Royal Niger Company. Under the Political Department of the Civil Service were Residents and District Officers, responsible for overseeing operations in each region. Updated: 11/12/2021 Create an account THE COLONIAL ECONOMIC LEGACY. Support for broad Nigerian concerns occupied a clear second place. The Colonial Civil Service used intermediaries, as the Royal Niger Company had, in an expanded role which included diplomacy, propaganda and espionage. Political activists in the southern areas spoke of self-government in terms of educational opportunities and economic development. Davies and Nnamdi Azikiwe. At the same time it is feasible by degrees to bring them gradually into approximation with our ideas of justice and humanity. Modern nationalists in the south, whose thinking was shaped by European ideas, opposed indirect rule, as they believed that it had strengthened what they considered an anachronistic ruling class and shut out the emerging Westernised elite. In the twentieth century, Lagos became a center for resistance to colonial rule. Even before gaining its charter, the Company signed treaties with local leaders which granted it broad sovereign powers. In: Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs: (1999), vol. Britain also annexed Freetown in Sierra Leone, declaring it a Crown Colony in 1808.[20]. 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 1850, the British created a "Court of Equity" at Bonny, overseen by Beecroft, which would deal with trade disputes. 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. The company's major imports to the area included gin and low-quality firearms. Hausa was recognised as an official language in the north, and knowledge of it was expected of colonial officers serving there. [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. The most dramatic event having a long-term effect on Nigeria's economic development was the discovery and exploitation of petroleum deposits. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1921. 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). In 1946 a new constitution was approved by the British Parliament at Westminster and promulgated in Nigeria. From 1886 to 1899, much of the country was ruled by the Royal Niger Company, authorised by charter, and governed by George Taubman Goldie. 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. After initially adopting an indirect rule approach, in 1906 the British merged the small Lagos Colony and the Southern Nigeria Protectorate into a new Colony of Southern Nigeria, and in 1914 that was combined with the Northern Nigeria Protectorate to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. 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. 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. American president Dwight D. Eisenhower was represented at the independence ceremonies by Nelson Rockefeller, the . Thanks. Although it reserved effective power in the hands of the Governor-General and his appointed Executive Council, the so-called Richards Constitution (after Governor-General Sir Arthur Richards, who was responsible for its formulation) provided for an expanded Legislative Council empowered to deliberate on matters affecting the whole country. . It is not a personal union of separate colonies under the same Governor like the Windwards, it is not a Confederation of States. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1719. 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. The yoruba-Igbo rivalry became increasingly important in Nigerian politics. Webster, Boahen and Idowu are of the opinion that the conquest of Africa was very simple and that it was carried out with ease. opposed early self-rule for colonial Nigeria on the ground of perceived domination by the southerners. Its final leg enabled it to meet another line, constructed 19071911, running from Baro, through Minnia, to Kano. NEPU formed a parliamentary alliance with the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). 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]. A national party, the Nigerian Youth Movement, emerged in 1934, and its members won elections to the Legislative Council. The forces unleashed against the British were now diverse, including soldiers who had served in World War II, the media, restless youth, market women, educated people, and farmers, all of whom became committed to the anticolonial movement. The British took an interest in Nigeria because of its resources. For some time, missionaries operated in the area between Lagos and Ibadan. Initial British attempts to open trade with the interior by way of the Niger could not overcome climate and diseases such as malaria. 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. 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. Battle of Adowa (Ethiopia) 5. 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. 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. Some European traders switched to legitimate business only when the commerce in slaves became too hazardous. [10], Following military conquest, the British imposed an economic system designed to profit from African labor. nigeria resistance to colonial rule. 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. Nigeria's first nationalist movements appeared in the 1920s, and resistance to colonial rule grew over the next three decades. 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. This rate rose to 20,000 per year in the last quarter of the century. Beecroft agreed on condition that the slave trade be abolished, and British merchants have a monopoly in commodities. 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. In practice, Lugard used the annual sessions to inform the traditional rulers of British policy, leaving them with no functions at the council's meetings except to listen and to assent. How did Algerias resistance to French control differ rom East africas resistance to German rule. To be sure, there were widespread resistances against colonial rule, which include the 'Abd al-Qadir led resistance against the French in Algeria, the Asante King (Prempeh I) led revolt against British colonialists in Ghana, the Maji Maji revolt in Tanganyika, the Ndebele rebellions in Rhodasia, the Ijebu Kingdom and the Opobo resistances in . The arrival of the British. In the South, only English had official status. Du Bois. All were knighted. In time, they built depots onshore and eventually moved up the Niger River to establish stations in the interior. The trend was toward the establishment of a parliamentary system of government, with regional assemblies and a federal House of Representatives. Over the next decades as colonial rule became institutionalized, African resistance to colonialism became more focused and intense. 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. Nigeria's potential in the Post-Colonial Era. Anticolonialism in the twentieth and twenty-first century refers to two interconnected concepts: a historical event and a critical analytic. British influence in the Niger area increased gradually over the . This was because; education in Southern Nigeria was already leading to a level of awareness and militancy or resistance to colonial rule. Catholic missionaries were particularly active among the Igbo; the CMS worked among the Yoruba. Definition of Colonialism Colonialism means a system which the Europeans adopted in ruling the colonies of Africa to their own benefits. 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 British Empire, once known as "the empire where the sun never sets," is the most powerful political entity in the history of the world. This scheme proved unpopular and confusing to many involved parties and was phased out. Background: Attitudes Towards Policing The period from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s marked the zenith of imperial rule in Africa. From January 1914 onwards, the newly united colony and protectorate was presided over by a proconsul, who was entitled the Governor-General of Nigeria. There were numerous differences of detail among the regional systems, but all adhered to parliamentary forms and were equally autonomous in relation to the Nigerian federal government at Lagos. If the emirs accepted British authority, abandoned the slave trade, and cooperated with British officials in modernizing their administrations, the colonial power was willing to confirm them in office. In the 1850s, quinine had been found to combat malaria, and aided by the medicine, a Liverpool merchant, Macgregor Laird, opened the river. Nigeria: ColonizationKatie Graham. In 1958 exportation of Nigerian oil was initiated at facilities constructed at Port Harcourt. British merchants led the trade in palm oil, while the Portuguese and others continued the slave trade. 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. [19] This scenario provided an opportunity for naval expeditions and reconnaissance throughout the region. By the end of World War I, most of Africa had been effectively colonized. [17] Much of this oil was sold elsewhere in the British Empire. In 1960, the country attained independence from British rule. Afeadie, "The Hidden Hand of Overrule" (1996), p. 1012. The movement brought to public notice a long list of future leaders, including H.O. To some extent, competition amongst these companies undermined their collective position vis--vis, local merchants. 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. [42], The British had difficulty conquering Igboland, which lacked a central political organisation. Bolivian indigenous activist Ivan Ignacio, one of many indigenous activists at the second People's Summit in Qubec . of British Colonial Nigeria. The Women's War of 1929, known among Igbo women as Ogu Umunwanyi, occurred from November 23 to January 10, 1930. 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. 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. Following Lugards success in the north, he set out the principles of the administrative system subsequently institutionalized as indirect rule. Essentially, local government was to be left in the hands of the traditional chiefs, subject to the guidance of European officers. However, decolonization also brought regionalization and a hardening of ethnic identities. A third of the people associated with an 1842 riverine expedition died. Before 1898, the scramble for Africa by European countries led to the partition of Africa after the Berlin conference of 1884-85. 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. By the 1950s, there were organized nationalist parties that demanded political independence in almost every colony in Africa. The women's protest of 1929 marked an apex in women's resistance in eastern Nigeria to colonial rule. In fact, while the southern delegates pressed for Independence was achieved on 1 October 1960. Main aim. Although there was strong resistance from natives against the British, it was all crushed by the British. Consequently, in 1849, John Beecroft was accredited as consul for the bights of Benin and Biafra, a jurisdiction stretching from Dahomey to Cameroon. In general, the regional constitutions followed the federal model, both structurally and functionally. Critics, including representatives of the Middle Belt who resented Muslim domination, were relegated to small, peripheral parties or to inconsequential separatist movements.[85]. When direct Portuguese contacts in the region were withdrawn, however, the influence of the Catholic missionaries waned. 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. He argued that the division into two separate colonies was advisable unless a stronger central government could bind Nigeria into more than just an administrative convenience for the three regions. 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