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.
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...
How the 1804 Sokoto Jihad Reordered Northern Nigeria, and Why It Changed Islam’s Social Reach
Long before 1804, Islam had taken root in Hausaland through trans Saharan trade, clerical scholarship, and court patronage. Cities such as Kano and Katsina...
Britain’s Abolition of the Slave Trade and the Transformation of Commerce in Southern Nigeria
In 1807, the British Parliament passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, banning British ships and British subjects from participating in the transatlantic...
Bauchi and the Early Years of Aviation in Northern Nigeria
For many people in Bauchi, the story of the town’s first aeroplane arrival has long been told as a dramatic moment of wonder, noise,...
The Exact Day Nigeria Abandoned Pounds, How the Naira Was Introduced, and Why 1973 Matters More Than 1971
Nigeria’s move from pounds, shillings, and pence to naira and kobo stands as one of the most important economic transitions in the country’s modern...
How the Royal Niger Company Constabulary Turned River Commerce Into Authority, 1888 to 1900
In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, British influence along the Niger River was secured through more than treaties and commerce. It was...
Mungo Park and the River Niger, What He Really Did, and Why “Discovery” Is the Wrong Word
The River Niger is one of Africa’s great waterways, stretching across much of West Africa and shaping human life along its banks for thousands...