Awo’s thought

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK THE Alaafin of Oyo, realising from the Benin example the accretion of his power and prestige, which the application of ‘indirect rule’ to his domain would import, voluntarily requested the Governor-General to…

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK THERE was also an open-door policy towards missionaries of all beliefs - Christians, Moslems, and others. In fact, the first batch of Christian missionaries had started to operate in the South in the 1840s,…

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK LUGARD clearly comprehended the complex problems with which he was confronted, and lost no time in devising realistic and effective solutions for them. He divided the territory under his charge into Provinces,…

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK From Lugard to Richards WE have seen that by January 1, 1900, four distinct administrative units had emerged. They were: (1) The Colony and Protectorate of Lagos under a Governor; (2) The Protectorate of…

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK AS time went on, it became clear to the British Government that the Royal Niger Company (RNC) was unequal to the mounting demands of the imperial rivalry in which the British, and the French in particular. had…

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK JUST as the British were getting thoroughly fed up with Kosoko’s uncompromising encouragement of the slave-trade, Akintoye addressed a beautifully-worded petition to Beecroft in 1851 in which, among other things,…

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK BY 1870, there were also French merchants trading side by side with the British on the Niger. In order to eliminate competition among themselves and so increase their profits, and to present a common front to…

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK THE abolition of slavery involved Great Britain in enormous expenditure. She paid the sum of £20m, as compensation to British slave owners for the emancipation of their slaves. The sum of £400,000 was paid to…

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK WINDHAM was followed in 1562 by John Hawkins. He was more successful, but did not come as far as the Bight of Benin. He stopped at Sierra Leone from where he took away 300 slaves. For his exploit, he was knighted…

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK IN the contact of Europe with West Africa, Portugal blazed the .ltrail. Whilst her missionaries were zealously trying to proselytize Africans in Benin and Warri, her merchant adventures were busy, on the Gold…