Colonial Nigeria
Explore Nigeria’s colonial era (c. 1861–1960), from the annexation of Lagos and the Royal Niger Company to the 1914 amalgamation and the road to independence. This category examines British administration, missionary education, commerce and railways, taxation and labor, cultural change and urban life, and the rise of nationalist movements, including women’s protests, unions, and political parties. Discover biographies, key events, and documents that reveal resistance, collaboration, and everyday experiences across Nigeria’s regions.
The Willink Commission: How Nigeria Confronted Minority Fears Before Independence but Left Questions Unresolved
Before Nigeria gained independence in 1960, the country faced a pressing internal challenge: the fears of its minority communities. The Willink Commission, appointed in...
State Creation in Nigeria, Remedy for Minority Fears or a Shift Toward Federal Centralisation?
Nigeria’s journey from a federation of regions to a nation of thirty-six states is a story of political negotiation, minority protection, and federal consolidation....
How British Colonial Rule Left Nigeria Uneven Before Independence
Nigeria did not become one country because its many peoples came together to negotiate a shared national future. The state that became modern Nigeria...
Western Power and Nigeria’s Long Twentieth Century
Nigeria’s relationship with Western powers developed across several historical phases. Colonial rule created the modern state structure. The Nigerian Civil War drew foreign governments...
Lalage Jean Bown and the Rise of Adult Education in Post Colonial Africa
When Lalage Jean Bown arrived in the Gold Coast in 1949, she entered a region on the edge of historic change. Colonial rule was...
The Peace Cord of Yorubaland
In nineteenth century Yorubaland, diplomacy did not always depend on written letters. Long before colonial administration expanded written correspondence, Yoruba communities already possessed a...
How the Ooni of Ife Used Àrokò to Invite Missionaries to Yorubaland
In the early nineteenth century, communication across Yorubaland did not depend only on written letters. Important messages often travelled through trusted messengers, spoken interpretation,...
When a Missionary Met the Alake of Abeokuta, What Richard Henry Stone Saw in a Nineteenth Century Yoruba Court
In 1899, American missionary Richard Henry Stone published a memoir describing his years among the Yoruba of what is now southwestern Nigeria. The book,...
How Lagos Entered 1884, A City of Sports, Society Balls, and Public Debate
In the opening days of 1884, Lagos appeared as a town alive with celebration, ceremony, and civic discussion. Public sports drew crowds to Tinubu...
Ibadan in the Early 1960s, The City That Moved Western Nigeria
In the early 1960s, Ibadan stood as one of the most influential cities in Nigeria. It was a place of movement and ambition, a...