Gaining Control in NigeriaBritain gained control of southern Nigeria through both diplomatic and military means. Some local rulers agreed to sign treaties of protection with Britain and accepted British residents. However, others opposed the foreign intervention and rebelled against it. The British used force to put down and defeat these rebellions. British conquest of northern Nigeria was accomplished by the Royal Niger Company. The company gained control of the palm-oil trade along the Niger River after the Berlin Conference gave Britain a protectorate over the Niger River delta. In 1914, the British claimed the entire area of Nigeria as a colony.
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Managing the Colony
In this new age of imperialism, it was necessary not only to claim a territory but also to govern the people living there. However, managing Nigeria would not prove to be easy. It was one of the most culturally diverse areas in Africa. About 250 different ethnic groups lived there. The three largest groups were the Hausa-Fulani in the north, the Yoruba in the southwest, and the Igbo in the southeast. These groups were different from one another in many ways, including language, culture, and religion. The Hausa-Fulani people were Muslim and had a strong central government. The Igbo and Yoruba peoples followed traditional religions and relied on local chiefs for control. Britain did not have enough troops to govern such a complex area. As a result, the British turned to indirect rule of the land. Ruling indirectly through local officials worked well with the Hausa-Fulani. However, this management method did not work as well with the Igbo and Yoruba peoples. Their local chiefs resented having their power limited by the British.
Reasons for European Involvement
In the nineteenth century, Britain was interested primarily in opening markets for its manufactured goods in West Africa and expanding commerce in palm oil. Securing the oil and ivory trade required that Britain take over power of coastal chiefs in what became Nigeria. By 1850 British trading interests were concentrating in Lagos, Nigeria and the Niger River delta. British control in Nigeria formally began in 1861, when Lagos became a crown colony. Through a series of steps designed to facilitate trade, by 1906 present-day Nigeria was under British control.
Formal "protection" and--eventually--colonization of Nigeria resulted not only from the desire to safeguard Britain's expanding trade interests in the Nigeria, but also from an interest in forestalling formal claims by other colonial powers, such as France, Netherlands and Germany. The European struggle to establish forts and trading posts on the West African coast from about the mid-1600s to the mid-1700s was part of the wider competition for trade and empire in the Atlantic. The British found they could compete with the Dutch in West Africa only by forming national trading companies such as the Royal Niger Company. In the early eighteenth century, Britain and France destroyed the Dutch hold on West African trade; and by the end of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Britain had become the dominant commercial power in West Africa.
Formal "protection" and--eventually--colonization of Nigeria resulted not only from the desire to safeguard Britain's expanding trade interests in the Nigeria, but also from an interest in forestalling formal claims by other colonial powers, such as France, Netherlands and Germany. The European struggle to establish forts and trading posts on the West African coast from about the mid-1600s to the mid-1700s was part of the wider competition for trade and empire in the Atlantic. The British found they could compete with the Dutch in West Africa only by forming national trading companies such as the Royal Niger Company. In the early eighteenth century, Britain and France destroyed the Dutch hold on West African trade; and by the end of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Britain had become the dominant commercial power in West Africa.
Effects of Imperialism
Colonies such as Nigeria became part of British imperial expansion that focused on exploiting raw materials, minerals, and foodstuffs important to Western industrial development. Britain tried to encourage tropical export crops in Nigeria and to stimulate demand there for British manufactured goods. The colonies built a railroad network between the 1890s and World War II, and constructed roads at an accelerating rate after the 1930s. These developments, along with the introduction of the pound sterling as the currency, encouraged export trade in tin, cotton, cocoa, groundnuts, and palm oil. Britain maintained its economic control over the colonies through military power, strategic alliances, and the collaboration of native rulers.
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