INTRODUCTION
We should start by noting the fact that Europeans had ‘discovered’ Africa many years before this period. The Portuguese discovery of the African space as far back as the 15 century opened up a lot of doors, which of course will eventually lead to the misfortune of numerous African societies. One of these unfortunate doors will be the launching of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
It should also be added that at this stage, even they (the Portuguese) were not attaching much importance to the African continent, as they were more concerned with trading with India and the East Indies, and also attending to their ventures of colonization in Latin America. The reason being that, the slave trade hindered any serious effort to develop a peaceful trade.
When the 19th century came, while impressive developments have kicked off in several other parts of the world, West Africa was experiencing great troubles, courtesy the evil demands of the slave trade. At this point, insecurity and fighting were the order of the day, affecting seriously the productivity of the region, and pushing many West African societies backwards. Wars were fought solely to take prisoners for sale as slaves to the European traders.
EUROPEAN INTEREST IN WEST AFRICA EVEN AFTER THE ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE
After the abolition of the slave trade, the Europeans couldn’t immediately detach themselves from West Africa, due to certain reasons, such as:
The duty of the British government to ensure the success of the colony of freed slaves that was established in Sierra Leone in 1787 (which became known as Freetown).
The determination of the British to put a complete end to the slave trade
The great zeal to know more about the unknown lands that lay beyond the African Coastlines, as well as the Exploration of the River Niger. It is believed that the success of this venture will help curb slave trade from its source, send European missionaries to convert Africans to Christianity, and to develop trade
There was also the desire to find market for products of Britain’s new industries and raw materials like palm oil for the lubrication of the machines.
Hence, the point is, the need to enforce the abolition of the slave trade as well as the perceived advantages of exploring the Niger, kept them in West Africa, even when many others felt the space won’t be significant again, and eventually led to the conquest of numerous West African societies.
The Conquest Of Lagos In 1861
As noted earlier, slave trade continued even after the British demanded it be stopped. Not only was it that some Europeans (particularly from Spain and Portugal) were still interested in continuing the ventures silently, but some African rulers themselves were greedy enough to let go easily.
Such was the case of the King of Dahomey. By 1850, while the slave trade had come to an end in most places in West Africa, it was still flourishing in Dahomey and Lagos. Hence, when the British came to the King of Dahomey, he demanded that he will stop only if the King of Lagos – Kososko, will give up the trade too.
Kososko on his part was adamant, prompting the British to use force, and eventually chasing him out of Lagos, while Akintoye (who ought to have been the ruler instead of Kososko) came back to become the King of Lagos.
Unfortunately, Akintoye died too soon, and his son Dosumu found it difficult to rule his kingdom. A great deal of problem came because many of the people wished slave trade will stay, which prompted the British to intervene again. They agreed in 1861 that the only thing to do was to bring the kingdom of Lagos directly under British rule, which King Dosumu agreed to. Hence, a Vice Consul was appointed to oversee the activities of Lagos.
Conquest Of Other Parts OF Nigeria
Nevertheless, at the second half of the 19th century, the attitude of European nations towards Tropical Africa changed in a jiffy. The Industrial Revolution has erupted, and the Europeans now know more about the continent (courtesy the bold works of their explorers as well as the missionaries). The explorers, through their activities, were able to make British explorers recognize the benefits of trade with tropical Africa.
Their eyes became opened to see that Africa is a big market for their manufactured products.
Additionally, Africa is blessed with pivotal natural resources. It was seen that these abundant raw materials will be useful to industrialized European countries. Large quantities of oil were used for oiling their machines in Europe, as well as for the making of oil. The oil palm of West Africa was found to produce very suitable oil for these purposes.
It was also noticed that if transportation in Africa was enhanced, many other products, including the likes of groundnuts, wood, cotton and minerals could be easily taken to Europe in exchange for manufactured goods.
These developments and considerations were paramount in the conquest of other parts of what later became known as Nigeria, beyond Lagos.
Moving Beyond The Slave Trade To Focus On The Niger Exploration
As noted earlier, one of the major reasons the Europeans couldn’t detach immediately from Tropical Africa after abolishing the slave trade, was because they want to ensure its success. Nevertheless, at this point, everyone seems to have moved beyond the slave trade. But the British remained because of the immense benefits they discovered they could acquire from Africa. The discovery was made obvious via the fruits of the seriousness they gave to the Niger Exploration.
We should add that even towards the end of the 18th century, many in Europe were again interested in finding out more about the world around them. The voyages of the Spaniards and Portuguese in the 15th century led to the increase of knowledge about the countries that could easily be reached by sea, particularly in Asia and America, and they were able to know a lot about the interior of these places. Nevertheless, little remained known about the interior of Africa.
Thus, one of the prominent things done was the founding of the African Association in 1788. Its objective was to assist with resources and advise anyone willing and fit to go down to Africa and bring back news of the unknown countries which lay behind the coastal strip of bush which was already known. The most integral focus of the Association was the exploration of the River Niger.
After different attempts by different Europeans at different times, the Niger Question was finally settled in 1830, when Richard and John Lander set out from Badagry and reached Bussa, where he got boats to travel down the Niger. Unfortunately, he lost his life after being captured by unfriendly Africans, and couldn’t reach the sea. Nevertheless, he has gone far enough to settle the question which many explorers have lost their lives in trying to answer.
It now became known that the river emptied itself into the creeks of the Bight of Benin and it only remained to make good use of it as a highway for trade with the people of the interior. Obviously, this discovery will change the course of Nigeria, because it opened doors for traders and missionaries to flood into the territory.
Even More Conquests
The major aim of the Europeans was to trade. In fact, immediately after the discovery of Lander was made known in Britain, Macgregor Laird, a popular trader, formed a company to trade on the Niger. Treaties became numerous, and local rulers who didn’t understand the terms of the treaty, signed them. Also, because quarrels sometimes arose between some of the traders, or between them and the chiefs of the coastal tribes, the British government decided to appoint a Consul in Bights of Benin and Biafra as early as in 1849.
John Beecroft was appointed as Her Britannia Majesty’s Consul for Bight of Benin and Biafra. He was to act as a representative to Her Majesty’s government for the purpose of directing the legal trade between British merchants and other indigenous areas. This laid the foundation for British rule in Nigeria.
Also, in 1870, several British merchants came together to form the National African Company. In 1886, the company received a Royal Charter and was known as the Royal Niger Company. It has the authority to administer territories on the Niger inland from the coast. The Company has the right to demand taxes, raise an army, set up courts and appoint judges. It contributed to securing territories for the British government. Even while still known as National African Company, it has concluded about 37 treaties at the Niger territories.
The Company moved its capital from Asaba to Lokoja after securing Niger Delta and some Igbo parts of the country, so as to penetrate the northern part dominated by the Hausa and Fulani people.
After Benin was attacked in 1897, the whole Yorubaland, Benin and Oil Rivers became the Niger Coast Protectorate. Also, between 1901 and 1917, the British had subdued most towns in Igboland through military patrol.
To the North, on 1st January 1900, Lugard declared the Sokoto Caliphate a British Protectorate. After much wars between 1900 and 1906, the whole of the North had fallen to the British imperial forces.
At the end of the 19th century, several amalgamations were made, bringing several societies into unified pockets, and two major protectorates – Southern Nigerian Protectorate (administered by Sir Ralph More) and Northern Nigerian Protectorate (whose British High Commissioner was Lugard).
Eventually, on 1st January 1914, Nigeria came into being as the two Protectorates were amalgamated, with Lugard its first Governor-General.
In conclusion, obviously, all of these won’t have been a reality without British zeal in enforcing the abolition of the slave trade as well as the exploration of the Niger.