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.
Otukpo Traditional Oath-Taking: Inside the Powerful History of Justice, Alekwu and Colonial Courts
Otukpo traditional oath-taking belongs to a much wider history of justice, religion and colonial government in Idomaland. A courtroom photograph associated with Otukpo in...
Muhammadu Dikko in London: 3 Remarkable Visits and the Making of a Modern Katsina Royal Legacy
A photograph taken in the British capital on 1 May 1933 created one of the most memorable images of a Northern Nigerian ruler during...
Ekumeku Movement: The Powerful Western Igbo Resistance to British Conquest
The Ekumeku Movement was a network of resistance among communities west of the River Niger, particularly in the Asaba hinterland, that challenged expanding European...
Battle of Abeokuta 1851: The Decisive Egba Victory That Broke Dahomey’s Assault
The Battle of Abeokuta 1851 was one of the defining military confrontations of nineteenth-century Yorubaland. On 3 March, a large army from the Kingdom...
Bussa Rebellion of 1915: How About 600 Rebels Exposed the Fragility of British Indirect Rule
The Bussa Rebellion of 1915 was a short but significant uprising against British colonial administration in Nigerian Borgu. In June 1915, about 600 men...
Agbekoya Revolt: How Yoruba Farmers Forced Historic Tax Concessions, 1968–1969
The Agbekoya Revolt of 1968–1969 was one of the most important agrarian uprisings in post-independence Nigeria. What began as mounting resentment among farmers over...
Kenneth Campbell and the Phillips Mission: 240 Carriers on the Fatal Road to Benin in 1897
Kenneth Campbell and the Phillips Mission occupy a little-known but revealing place in the history of the British confrontation with the Kingdom of Benin...
Orok Edem-Odo: The Pivotal Reign of King Duke IX at Calabar’s Imperial Turning Point
Orok Edem-Odo, also known in contemporary records as Prince Duke and King Duke Ephraim Eyamba IX, occupied the kingship of Duke Town during one...
Archibong I: 4 Powerful Forces That Shaped Old Calabar’s Succession Crisis
Archibong I emerged as king of Duke Town during one of the most unsettled periods in nineteenth-century Old Calabar. His reign, from his formal...
Old Calabar Native Council: 21 Remarkable Faces of Efik Authority in 1906
The Old Calabar Native Council appears in a remarkable group photograph dated 3 August 1906. Twenty-one men are identified by name, presenting modern readers...