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.
How Britain used Lagos, treaties, gunboats, and railways to tighten control over Yoruba country
British expansion into Yoruba speaking territories did not begin with a single declaration over Yorubaland. It began with Lagos, because Lagos controlled shipping, customs...
Empire on the Water, The 1894 Ebrohimi Campaign and the 1895 Akassa Raid That Redefined Power in the Niger Delta
By the 1890s, the Niger Delta was one of West Africa’s most active commercial zones. River routes connected inland producers to coastal markets, and...
How a Trading Company and a Yoruba War Peace Deal Opened the Door to Colonial Southern Nigeria
In the late nineteenth century, Britain expanded its power in the territories that would later form Nigeria through two distinct but converging developments. One...
Britain’s Oil Rivers Protectorate, Trade, Treaties, and Imperial Power in the Niger Delta, 1885 to 1893
In the late nineteenth century, the Niger Delta stood at the centre of a powerful export economy. Its creeks and river mouths carried palm...
Britain Said He Broke a Treaty, Then They Removed Him, The 1887 Deportation of King Jaja of Opobo
In the late nineteenth century, the Niger Delta was a region of structured political authority and intense commercial competition. River systems connected inland producers...
Gunboats at the Lagoon, How Britain Forced the Cession of Lagos and Turned It Into a Crown Colony
In the mid nineteenth century, Lagos stood at a strategic crossroads of trade and politics along the West African coast. Its lagoon system linked...
Nigeria’s 13,000 Year Old Burial, Inside Iwo Eleru Rock Shelter and the Deep Human History of Southwestern Nigeria
Southwestern Nigeria is known for its vibrant cultures and long historical traditions, yet its far older human record stretches back thousands of years beyond...
The Trans Saharan Trade and Northern Nigeria, How the Desert Built Markets, Cities, and Power
For centuries, the Sahara was not a barrier, it was a corridor. Camel caravans crossed its dunes and oases, stitching together the savannah belt...
The Trans Saharan Trade and the Rise of Northern Nigeria’s Great Market Cities
For many readers, the Sahara Desert sounds like a wall. In reality, for centuries it worked more like a long, demanding road. Caravans crossed...
European Contact and the Atlantic Slave Trade
European contact with southern Nigeria’s coastline began as commerce rather than conquest. From the late fifteenth century, Portuguese ships reached the West African coast...