Abstract
British colonial enterprise in Nigeria has often been discussed in the light of British commercial companies that began to operate along the coasts of West Africa from the 1840s. These commercial firms often obtained charters to administer different territories on behalf of the British government. These territories were further organized into Colonies and Protectorates and there was a resultant increase in British colonial interest in the regions. These Protectorates were eventually amalgamated in 1914 to form a single administrative unit and consequently, there was an effective establishment of British colonial rule in what later became modern Nigeria. However, much as this historical analysis might be empirical, there is an aspect of the history that appears not to have engaged enough scholarly attention in the recent past. The missionary strands in the British colonial enterprise in Nigeria are factors that seem to be neglected, yet without it; the history of British penetration into Nigeria in particular and effective colonial rule in general may not be complete. The British missionaries were in Nigeria for the spiritual and moral regeneration of the people, yet they cooperated with the British government in establishing British colonial administration in the area. Their invitation to the British colonial office for a military conquest of the “heathens” in the regions which they considered a basic prerequisite for effective establishment of Christianity, and their continued efforts to pacify the conquered people, predisposed them as the spiritual arm of British imperialism in Nigeria. Since the missionaries believed that European rule, rather than the existing African administration, facilitated their missionary enterprise, it was obvious that the establishment of British political authority would be looked upon as a welcome change. This is the missing link in the British colonial enterprise in Nigeria that the various sub-themes of this study have addressed. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n3p249
Highlights
The colonial question is an important factor in the history of Nigeria
The missionaries had a tremendous amount of influence on the people, their influence deriving not from stringent laws and prosecutions and the fears that these could generate in the colonized people but essentially from the submissive influence of the teaching of Christian principles and this the colonial government considered an advantage in fostering colonial rule
As in many parts of Africa, the British trading companies were first to establish relationship with the various peoples in what later became Nigeria before the British colonial government established itself in the territories. These trading companies were chartered to administer the territories on behalf of the British government before formal colonial administrative structures were put in place. It was the missionary enterprise, which in several places followed behind the trading companies and the colonial presence, which saved the relationship between these agencies and the indigenous people from a total collapse
Summary
The colonial question is an important factor in the history of Nigeria. Nwosu (1998) agrees that it is as important as the voyage of discovery, the slave trade, or the world wars in shaping the destiny of the nations and peoples of the third world. Out of the three “civilizing” agencies that accompanied the expedition-British envoys concluding treaties with the various ethnic nationalities; missionaries preaching the gospel and individual merchants and trading companies conveying manufactured goods to the Niger and raw materials back to Britain–the missionaries appeared to have done the most in first of all getting a permanent foothold in Nigeria and in helping to get the local peoples to appreciate the need to establish a lasting relationship between themselves and the British government. These trading companies were chartered to administer the territories on behalf of the British government before formal colonial administrative structures were put in place It was the missionary enterprise, which in several places followed behind the trading companies and the colonial presence, which saved the relationship between these agencies and the indigenous people from a total collapse. This done, he hoists the British flag and proclaim the colony British territory. (p. 30)
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