Early European Contacts With The Coastal States SS1 Nigerian History Lesson Note

European Contacts with Nigeria

Reasons for European Contacts

European countries like Britain, Portugal, Spain, and France came to West Africa for several important reasons:

1. Search for New Territories: European nations wanted to claim new lands for themselves. They called this creating a “sphere of influence” in the “sun” (tropical regions).
2. Finding Shorter Trade Routes: Europeans were looking for faster ways to reach India. The route around West Africa was shorter than traveling through the Middle East.
3. Age of Exploration: The Renaissance period in Europe (14th-17th centuries) created new interest in exploring the world. People became curious about unknown places and wanted to make sea journeys.
4. Trading Opportunities: Europeans wanted to trade directly with African peoples. They were especially interested in goods they couldn’t get in Europe.
5. Spreading Christianity: Many Europeans believed it was their duty to convert Africans to Christianity. Missionaries often followed traders.

The Portuguese on Nigerian Coasts

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Nigerian shores:

1. Early Exploration: By 1472, Portuguese ships had explored the Bights of Benin and Biafra (areas along Nigeria’s coast).
2. Contact with Benin Kingdom: A Portuguese explorer named Joao Affonso d’Aveiro reached the Kingdom of Benin when Oba Ozolua was ruling (around 1480s). He traded pepper with people at the port of Ughoton.
3. Trade with Itsekiri: In the early 1500s, Portuguese traders established relationships with the Itsekiri people in the western Niger Delta. They exchanged European goods like glass beads and perfumes for African products.
4. Later Expansion: Portuguese traders reached Lagos in the 1700s. They established trading posts at Badagry and Lagos ports.
5. Items of Trade: The Portuguese brought items like glass, beads, perfumes, cloth, and metal goods. They took away pepper, ivory, local crafts, and later, slaves.

Impact of European Contact

European arrival changed Nigerian societies in several ways:

1. Introduction of Christianity: Portuguese missionaries tried to convert people to Christianity. The Kingdom of Benin and Warri were early targets for Christian teaching.
2. Diplomatic Relations: Some African kingdoms exchanged ambassadors with European nations. The Benin Kingdom sent representatives to Portugal, and the Portuguese king sent messengers to the Oba.
3. New Food Crops: Europeans introduced new foods from the Americas. Maize (corn) and cassava became important crops in the eastern Niger Delta region. These crops changed local farming and eating habits.
4. Beginning of Atlantic Slave Trade: While some slave trading existed in West Africa before Europeans arrived, Portuguese traders began buying slaves in larger numbers. This was the beginning of the terrible Atlantic slave trade that would grow much larger in later centuries.
5. Direct Trade with Europe: Before Europeans arrived, trade with the outside world happened through many middlemen across the Sahara Desert. European ships allowed direct trade between Nigerian coastal peoples and Europe.
6. New Trade Goods: Europeans brought items never seen before in Nigeria, like guns, mirrors, and certain types of cloth. These new goods changed local economies and sometimes disrupted power balances.
7. Cultural Exchange: Contact brought exchange of ideas, technologies, and beliefs. Both Europeans and Nigerians were influenced by meeting each other.
8. Language Effects: Portuguese words entered some Nigerian languages. Trading required communication, which led to the development of pidgin languages along the coast.
9. Health Impact: Europeans brought new diseases to which Nigerians had no immunity, causing population decline in some areas.

These early contacts between Europeans and Nigerians set the stage for more intense relationships in later centuries. What began as trading partnerships would eventually lead to colonization, but that would not happen until the late 19th century, hundreds of years after the first Portuguese ships reached Nigerian shores.