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ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF THE NIGER DELTA AND ITS PEOPLE (2/6)

Colonial History of Nigeria: Slave Trade, Resource Extraction, and the Invention of a National Territory

By Kaitlyn Alme

The colonial period in Nigeria began with the slave trade in the 15th century. According to an article from
The Commonwealth entitled "Nigeria: History," the Portuguese paved the way for the slave trade, and
Nigeria was a big area of business for them. They sold slaves in order to obtain spices and weapons in
other areas. However, the article written by John Edward Phillips entitled "What's New About African
History?" states that the Nigerians themselves were the ones who provided the slaves. Tensions between
different ethnic groups and tribes caused prisoners of war, so to speak, who would be sold to the
Portuguese as slaves. For many Nigerians, this was their main source of income.

"Nigeria: History" also states that by the 18th century, the British had replaced the Portuguese as the
leaders of the slave- trade business. According to Google Culture Institute's "Birth of the Nigerian
Colony," British traders settled in Nigeria around this time in an area that surrounded the Niger River
known as Lagos. The abolition of the slave trade was the key moment when the British truly “intervened
in the region.” They placed their focus on obtaining goods to increase their ability to trade, as well as on
converting the people of the area, which was previously heavily Muslim, to Christianity.

The British began their colonization of the area by slowly moving around the area and defeating different
power heads in order to obtain more trading goods. According to an article written by Toyin Falola titled
"Nigeria as a Colony," the British government gained control over the Royal Niger Company’s territories,
and added on lower regions near the river to create the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria and
Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. The British kept their control over Nigeria via indirect rule, which
meant that local leaders would govern the area under orders of the British. This way, the British could
profit from the economy of Nigeria that, because of their intervention, was based primarily on the
export of different crops including palm oil, cacao, and peanuts, while also not getting in the way of
ethnic tensions.

Falola also writes that in order to deal with the diversity of groups of the area they had essentially
created and defined as a colony, the British created a “divide and rule policy” that could keep different
Nigerian groups as far away from one another as possible. Further divisions among the country came
about from the fact that “traditional authorities” led the north, and subsequently Islam resisted the
spread of Christianity. The south, however, was home of a “political hierarchy” in which the British “ruled
through those who were most malleable.” Here Christianity spread quickly, adding further tensions to
the area by separating people in both religion and politics.

Following WWII, Kamerun (Cameroon), a former German colony, was to be divided based on a League of
Nations Mandate between the British and the French. According to Falola, the British added their part of
the Former German colony to Nigeria, and once again, the diversity within the borders of Nigeria
expanded. The British had a hard time keeping control of Nigeria, partly due to the trouble between
groups and partly due to Pan-Africanism and the struggle to liberate black people form racism and
European domination. The movement inspired the first political party of Nigeria, which fought against
the British rule via the youth, the media, the educated, and the farmers.

The response of the British included slowly changing the governing system within Nigeria in order to
allow the Nigerian people to have more of a voice. However, this resulted in further divisions and
disagreements among Nigerians. Near the mid 20th century, many groups in Nigeria were fearful of
gaining independence, for they knew the major ethnic groups would gain control of the new country.
However, by 1960, Nigeria achieved its independence (Falola).

The following map shows 21st century Nigeria and the major ethnic groups that live within the country.
Because the colonial powers drew national borders around so many different groups, the postcolonial
history includes the struggle for power among various factions. To learn about other issues regarding
Nigeria's population and government in the viewpoint of a Nigerian author, see this page.

Nigerian states by population density (English legend). Population densities are listed in population/km².
4 February 2008.

DESCRIPTIONDETAILSCITATIONSSOURCE FILE

Nigerian states by population density (English legend). Population densities are listed in population/km².
4 February 2008.

Works Cited

"Birth of the Nigerian Colony - Google Cultural Institute." Birth of the Nigerian Colony - Google Cultural
Institute. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. <https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/u/0/exhibit/birth-of-the-
nigerian-colony/ARi_MKdz?hl=en&position=44%2C0>.

Falola, Toyin O. "Nigeria - Nigeria as a Colony." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Web. 31 Mar. 2016. <http://www.britannica.com/place/Nigeria/Nigeria-as-a-colony>.

"Nigeria : History." The Commonwealth. Web. 25 Mar. 2016. <http://thecommonwealth.org/our-

member-countries/nigeria/history>.

Phillips, John Edward. "What's New About African History?" History News Network. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
<http://historynewsnetwork.org/arti