Birth of the Nigerian Colony

Like so many modern African states, Nigeria is the creation of European imperialism. Its very name – after the great Niger River, the country's dominating physical feature – was suggested in the 1890s by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later became the wife of colonial governor Frederick Lugard. 

The modern history of Nigeria – as a political state encompassing 250 to 400 ethnic groups of widely varied cultures and modes of political organization – dates from the completion of the British conquest in 1903 and the amalgamation of northern and southern Nigeria into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914.

This exhibit traces the gradual colonisation of the British from the bombardment of Lagos in 1852 to the amalgamation.

Flora Shaw was born in London into a large family for whom she helped to care. She began her career in journalism in 1886-7 writing for the Pall Mall Gazette and the Manchester Guardian. From 1893 she was colonial editor of The Times, making her the highest paid woman journalist of her day.



In a famous article, she suggested the name “Nigeria” to describe the region held by the Niger Royal Company Territories and the Southern Protectorate (see map). Only afterwards was this name extended to the Northern region when the British, led by Frederick Lugard, conquered Sokoto and Kano.

There are several dominant themes in Nigerian history that are essential in understanding contemporary Nigerian politics and society. First, the spread of Islam, predominantly in the north but later in southwestern Nigeria as well, began a millennium ago. 

The creation of the Sokoto Caliphate in the jihad (holy war) of 1804-8 led by Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817) brought most of the northern region and adjacent parts of Niger and Cameroon under a single Islamic government.

The great extension of Islam within the area of present-day Nigeria dates from the nineteenth century and the consolidation of the caliphate. This history helps account for the dichotomy between north and south and for the divisions within the north that have been so strong during the colonial and postcolonial eras.

Second, the slave trade, both across the Sahara Desert and the Atlantic Ocean, had a profound influence on virtually all parts of Nigeria. The transatlantic trade in particular accounted for the forced migration of perhaps 3.5 million people between the 1650s and the 1860s, while a steady stream of slaves flowed north across the Sahara for a millennium, ending at the beginning of the twentieth century. 

Within Nigeria, slavery was widespread, with social implications that are still evident today. The Sokoto Caliphate, for example, had more slaves than any other modern country, except the United States in 1860.

In 1807 the Houses of Parliament in London enacted legislation prohibiting British subjects from participating in the slave trade. However, the restriction was applied generally to all flags and was intended to shut down all traffic in slaves coming out of West African ports.

This campaign to eradicate the slave trade and substitute for it trade in other commodities increasingly resulted in British intervention in the internal affairs of the Nigerian region. 

Direct British interference began in Lagos in 1851 when military power was used to unseat Kosoko, the reigning King, who had made no serious effort to end the ongoing slave trade in the region. 

It was hoped that replacing Kosoko with Akitoye, a rival claimant to the throne, would bring an end to the slave trade, stabilize the region for the spread of 'legitimate' commerce for the expansion of British interests.

After the bombardment of Lagos, Kosoko was replaced by Akitoye. Unfortunately, over the next ten years Akitoye and his successor, Dosunmu (Docemo) were unable to bring the stability to the region that the British had hoped for, and, in 1861, Lagos was annexed as a British colony under the direct political control of a British governor through the Treaty of Cession signed on 6 August.

The colonization of Nigeria had officially begun.

From Lagos, the British made their way inland, slowly bringing the rest of Yorubaland under British rule – applying force when necessary.

In the port cities of the Bight of Biafra, the promotion of anti-slavery and British trading interests was a key aspect of the British rhetoric that led to colonization. Furthermore, in 1885 at the Berlin Conference, the European powers attempted to resolve their conflicts of interest by allotting areas of exploitation in Africa. This led to the formation of the Oil Rivers Protectorate by Britain after the consul, Hewett, had traversed the entire coastal region from Calabar into the western delta convincing local rulers, through the power of his office, to sign treaties of protection.

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.

With the Niger delta and Calabar effectively under British control, all that was needed was to shore up interests on the navigable reaches of the Niger and Benue against encroachment by France and Germany. For this, they turned to adopted a different approach and turned to Sir George Goldie.

Among the British trading companies, whose activities had far-reaching consequences for Nigeria, was the United Africa Company, founded by George Goldie in 1879. In 1886 Goldie's consortium was chartered by the British government as the Royal Niger Company and granted broad concessionary powers in “all the territory of the basin of the Niger.”

The Royal Niger Company established its headquarters far inland at Lokoja. From there, it pretended to assume responsibility for the administration of areas along the Niger and Benue rivers where it maintained depots. 

The company interfered in the territory along the Niger and the Benue and negotiated treaties with Sokoto, Gwandu, and Nupe that were interpreted as guaranteeing exclusive access to trade in return for the payment of annual tribute.

Although treaties were signed with rulers as far north as Sokoto by 1885, actual British control was confined to the coastal area and the immediate vicinity of Lokoja until 1900. The Royal Niger Company had access to the territory from Lokoja extending along the Niger and Benue rivers above their confluence, but there was no effective control, even after punitive expeditions against Bida and Ilorin in 1897. 

The clear intent was to occupy the Sokoto Caliphate, but for that purpose the Royal Niger Company was not deemed to be a sufficient instrument of imperialism. Consequently, on December 31, 1899, Britain terminated the charter of the company, providing compensation and retention of valuable mineral rights.

It is at this point that Frederick Lugard arrived on the scene.

During his six-year tenure as high commissioner, Lugard was occupied with transforming the commercial sphere of influence inherited from the Royal Niger Company into a viable territorial unit under effective British political control. 

His objective was to conquer the entire region and to obtain recognition of the British protectorate by its indigenous rulers, especially the Fulani emirs of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Lugard's campaign systematically subdued local resistance, using armed force when diplomatic measures failed. Borno capitulated without a fight, but in 1903 Lugard's RWAFF mounted assaults on Kano and Sokoto. 

By July 27 1903, the mighty caliphate founded by Usman dan Fodio was no more.