British Colonial Economy Social Development & Inter Group Relations In Nigeria SS2 Nigerian History Lesson Note

When the British ruled Nigeria as a colony (from the late 1800s until 1960), they made many changes to how people lived, worked, and related to each other. The British changed Nigeria’s economy to serve British interests, introduced new social systems like Western education and healthcare, and affected how different Nigerian groups interacted with each other. These changes had both positive and negative effects that can still be seen in Nigeria today.

British Colonial Economy

Introduction of Cash Crops

Before the British came, most Nigerians grew food for their families and local trade. The British changed this:

• New Farming Focus
  1. The British encouraged growing crops that could be sold for money (cash crops)
  2. These crops were mainly sent to Britain for use in factories
  3. Main cash crops included cocoa, palm oil, groundnuts (peanuts), and cotton
  4. Different regions specialized in different crops
• How It Worked
  1. Farmers were sometimes forced to grow these crops
  2. Taxes had to be paid with money, so people had to grow cash crops to earn money
  3. British companies set the prices, usually very low
  4. Farmers worked hard but made little profit

Trading System

The British created a new trading system:

• Marketing Boards
  1. The British set up boards to control buying and selling of crops
  2. These boards bought crops from Nigerian farmers at fixed prices
  3. They sold the crops to Britain at higher prices
  4. The difference in price was kept by the colonial government
  5. This system continued even after independence
• European Trading Companies
  1. Companies like United Africa Company (UAC) and John Holt controlled trade
  2. They bought crops from Nigerians and sold European goods
  3. They made large profits while Nigerians made little
  4. They had monopolies (no competition) in many areas

Infrastructure Development

The British built new infrastructure (roads, railways, etc.) mainly to help their trade:

• Railways
  1. First railway built from Lagos to Ibadan in 1896
  2. Railways connected farming areas to ports
  3. Designed to move goods out of Nigeria, not connect Nigerian cities
  4. Focused on areas with resources the British wanted
• Roads
  1. Built to connect places the railways didn’t reach
  2. Helped move crops to railway stations
  3. Made it easier for tax collectors and officials to reach villages
  4. Local people often forced to build roads without pay
• Ports
  1. Developed ports like Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Calabar
  2. Used for exporting crops and importing British goods
  3. Created new important cities along the coast
  4. Shifted economic power to coastal areas

Taxation

The British introduced new taxes:

• Direct Taxation
  1. Every adult male had to pay taxes
  2. Forced people to earn money instead of just farming for food
  3. Local chiefs helped collect taxes
  4. Those who couldn’t pay were punished
• Import and Export Duties
  1. Taxes on goods coming in and going out of Nigeria
  2. Made imported goods more expensive
  3. Raised money for the colonial government
  4. Protected British goods from competition

Mining and Industry

The British developed mining but limited other industries:

• Mining Development
  1. Tin mining in Jos Plateau
  2. Coal mining in Enugu
  3. Gold in northern Nigeria
  4. Mines owned by British companies
  5. Nigerian workers paid very little
• Limited Manufacturing
  1. Few factories were built in Nigeria
  2. Britain wanted to sell its factory goods to Nigeria
  3. Nigerians were discouraged from starting industries
  4. Raw materials were sent to Britain, finished goods sent back to Nigeria

Currency and Banking

The British changed how money worked:

• British West African Currency
  1. Replaced traditional currencies like cowries and manilas
  2. Made trade with Britain easier
  3. Controlled by British authorities
  4. Linked to the British pound
• Banking System
  1. First bank (Bank of British West Africa) established in 1894
  2. Mainly served European businesses
  3. Most Nigerians had no access to banks
  4. Credit (loans) rarely available to Nigerian businesses

Social Development During Colonial Rule

Western Education

• Mission Schools
  1. Christian missionaries started most early schools
  2. Focused on reading, writing, and religion
  3. Aimed partly to convert Nigerians to Christianity
  4. First schools mainly in southern Nigeria
• Government Schools
  1. Colonial government started some schools later
  2. Few secondary schools and very few colleges
  3. Education focused on creating clerks and junior officials
  4. Very little higher education until late colonial period
• Regional Differences
  1. More schools in the South than the North
  2. Christian areas had more schools than Muslim areas
  3. Urban areas had better schools than rural areas
  4. Created educational gaps that still exist today

Healthcare

• Introduction of Western Medicine
  1. Hospitals and clinics built in major towns
  2. Vaccination campaigns against some diseases
  3. Training of Nigerian medical assistants
  4. Better health for some Nigerians
• Limitations
  1. Healthcare focused on Europeans and urban Nigerians
  2. Rural areas had very little healthcare
  3. Few Nigerian doctors were trained
  4. Traditional medicine was discouraged but still widely used

Urbanization

New cities grew and old ones changed:

• Growth of Administrative Centers
  1. Cities like Lagos, Kaduna, and Enugu grew as colonial headquarters
  2. New jobs in government attracted people to these cities
  3. Created new urban elites
• Trading Centers
  1. Port cities grew with increased trade
  2. Railway junctions became important towns
  3. Created new patterns of settlement
• Urban Problems
  1. Rapid growth led to poor housing
  2. Limited clean water and sanitation
  3. New social problems in cities
  4. Breakdown of traditional family systems

Social Class Changes

• New Elite Groups
  1. Western-educated Nigerians formed a new elite
  2. Clerks, teachers, and junior officials had higher status
  3. Traditional elites (chiefs) maintained some power
  4. Created new social divisions
• Wage Labor
  1. Many Nigerians became paid workers for the first time
  2. Worked on farms, in mines, on railways, or as servants
  3. Created working class with different interests from farmers
  4. Led to early labor movements and strikes

Religious Changes

• Spread of Christianity
  1. Missionaries came with colonizers
  2. Schools helped spread Christianity
  3. Grew quickly in southern Nigeria
  4. Created tensions with traditional religions
• Islamic Response
  1. Islam strengthened in northern Nigeria
  2. Used as cultural defense against Western influence
  3. Some colonial policies protected Islamic practices
  4. Grew in influence and organization
• Decline of Traditional Religions
  1. Traditional practices discouraged by both Christians and Muslims
  2. Called “pagan” or “primitive” by Europeans
  3. Some practices banned by colonial law
  4. Continued in rural areas and in modified forms

Inter-Group Relations in Colonial Nigeria

Creating New Divisions

• Administrative Boundaries
  1. British created provinces and districts that didn’t match ethnic boundaries
  2. Some ethnic groups were split between different administrative units
  3. Others who were traditionally separate were grouped together
  4. Created new political groupings
• Ethnic Classification
  1. British tried to classify Nigerians into distinct “tribes”
  2. Created more rigid ethnic identities
  3. Recorded ethnic information in censuses and documents
  4. Emphasized differences between groups

Regional Development Patterns

• North-South Divide
  1. Different colonial policies in North and South
  2. More Western education in the South
  3. More preservation of traditional systems in the North
  4. Created lasting differences that affected inter-group relations
• Urban-Rural Divide
  1. Cities developed faster than rural areas
  2. Created tensions between urban and rural people
  3. Urban dwellers often looked down on rural people
  4. Rural areas provided resources but got less development

Migration and New Settlements

• Labor Migration
  1. People moved to find work in mines, plantations, and cities
  2. Created mixed communities of different ethnic groups
  3. Northern workers moved to southern cities
  4. Created new patterns of settlement
• Trading Patterns
  1. New trade routes created new interactions
  2. Some groups became known as traders in new regions
  3. Igbo, Lebanese, and Yoruba traders spread widely
  4. Created both cooperation and competition

Changing Power Relations

• Favored Groups
  1. Some groups were favored by colonial authorities
  2. Given positions in colonial administration
  3. Created resentment from other groups
  4. Changed traditional power balances
• “Martial Races”
  1. British recruited soldiers mainly from certain groups
  2. Northern groups were preferred for the military
  3. Created new power imbalances
  4. Military became dominated by certain ethnic groups

Competition for Colonial Benefits

• Education and Jobs
  1. Groups competed for limited educational opportunities
  2. Competition for jobs in colonial service
  3. Some areas advanced faster than others
  4. Created sense of being “ahead” or “behind”
• Infrastructure
  1. Competition for roads, schools, and hospitals
  2. Communities petitioned for development projects
  3. Created rivalries between towns and regions
  4. Sense of unfairness in resource distribution

Traditional Relations Disrupted

• Pre-Colonial Relations
  1. Traditional trading partnerships were disrupted
  2. Ancient alliances and conflicts were ignored
  3. New administrative units cut across traditional relations
  4. British often didn’t understand existing relationships
• New Conflicts
  1. Disputes over land increased with cash crop farming
  2. Competition for colonial favor created new tensions
  3. Traditional methods of resolving conflicts were weakened
  4. British often made decisions that favored one group over another

Political Consequences

Rise of Ethnic Politics

• Ethnic Unions
  1. People from the same ethnic group formed associations
  2. Examples: Igbo State Union, Egbe Omo Oduduwa (Yoruba)
  3. These became bases for political organization
  4. Focused on advancing their own group’s interests
• Regional Political Parties
  1. Political parties formed along regional and ethnic lines
  2. Northern People’s Congress (NPC) in the North
  3. Action Group in the West
  4. National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in the East
  5. Set the pattern for ethnic politics after independence

Nationalism and Unity

• Early Nationalists
  1. Early nationalists tried to unite all Nigerians against colonial rule
  2. People like Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe
  3. Worked across ethnic lines
  4. Limited success due to colonial divisions
• Pan-Nigerian Organizations
  1. Some organizations tried to include all Nigerians
  2. Nigerian Youth Movement and Nigerian National Democratic Party
  3. Struggled against ethnic and regional divisions
  4. Showed possibility of Nigerian unity