Engl.235: Notes
A Brief History of Nigeria
The history of Nigeria is bound up with its geography.
Located above the inner curve of the elbow on the West Coast of Africa, just north of
the equator and south of the Sahara Desert.
More than 200 ethnic groups (each with its own language/beliefs/culture) live in
present-day Nigeria.
The largest ethnic groups:
1. The mostly Protestant Yoruba in the West.
2. The Catholic Igbo in the East.
3. The predominantly Muslim Hausa-Fulani in the North.
This diversity of peoples is the result of thousands of years of history:
• Traders/nomads/refugees/invaders came to settle with the indigenous
population.
• Colonialists as Western nations became aware of the area's resources.
The events take place at the end of the 19th C. & early part of 20th C.
Although the British did not occupy most of Nigeria until 1904, they had a strong
presence in West Africa since the early 19th C.
The British were a major buyer of African slaves in the 17th & 18th C.
1807: the British outlawed slave trade within their empire.
At the time, they did not yet control Nigeria and internal wars continually increased
the available supply of captured slaves.
The year 1861:
• As the slave trade continued to expand, the British decided to occupy Lagos: a
major slave-trading post and the capital of present-day Nigeria.
• Slowly and hesitantly, the British occupied the rest of Nigeria.
• Ultimately, prompted to occupy Nigeria for more than the slave trade.
The British were in competition with other Europeans for control of the natural wealth
of West Africa.
