Downloaded 4.0 License

chapter 5 British Nigeria 1 Introduction In the 1880s, while France was occupied with the Sudan and Germany not yet a serious competitor, Great Britain acquired its most important overseas territory in the Western part of Africa, Nigeria, so named by Lady Flora Lugard (1852–1929), British journalist and wife of Lord Lugard, first Governor-General of the territory.1 Britain initially targeted the Nigerian coast, which is formed by the Niger Delta and its tributaries. Britain acquired this territory by concluding treaties, specifically protectorate treaties, with Nigerian native rulers. This chapter aims to examine the context of these treaties in terms of their negotia- tions, texts and follow-up. Traditionally, protectorate treaties were concluded between two States by which one State transferred its external sovereign rights – its rights to enter into and maintain relations with other States – to the protecting State. In the age of New Imperialism, however, Britain used protectorate treaties not only to acquire external sovereignty, but also internal sovereign rights, i.e., the rights to control the internal affairs of the African polity it had undertaken to pro- tect. And having acquired internal sovereignty rights, Britain also claimed to have acquired proprietary rights to African land. To substantiate this main argument, the current chapter appraises imperium and dominium and their relationship in the context of the British colonization of Nigeria in the late nineteenth century. It explores how the concepts of dominium and imperium appeared in the treaties between the British and the Nigerian people(s), and whether the institutions of territorial sovereignty and land ownership were used accurately and consistently. The chapter offers an analysis of protectorate treaties, specifically treaty provisions that concern the transfer of territorial sovereignty and private property of land, as well as the remedies under and be- yond the treaties which could be invoked in case of breach of treaty. First, the historical background to the British presence in Nigeria is outlined (§2). Sec- ond, the theoretical framework of title to territory is explained from the British perspective (§3). Third, the results of a study and analysis of treaty practices between British and Nigerians are presented (§4). Fourth, the chapter assesses the lawfulness of these treaties and other kinds of agreements by discussing British conduct and the legislation enacted by the British after treaties had 1 Lady Lugard introduced the name in The Times on 8 January 1897. © Mieke van der Linden, 2017 | doi 10.1163/9789004321199_006 Mieke van der Linden - 9789004321199 This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-NDDownloaded 4.0 license. from Brill.com09/29/2021 05:32:50PM via free access 96 chapter 5 been concluded as well as the role of the British colonial judiciary and its case law (§5). Finally, the findings are summarized and British colonial practices in Nigeria are placed in the broader context of the European acquisition and partition of Africa in the late nineteenth century (§6). 2 Historical Background As earl as the seventeenth century, the British had found their way to the West-African coast, where the main economic activity was trading slaves. The abolition of the British slave trade on 1 January 1808 radically changed British motives for being in Africa and therefore their activities. In the 1830s, a lively trade in palm oil developed. Especially the interior was rich in this oil, and it was the waterways, the Oil Rivers, of which the Niger was the most important, that brought the British to the area. European tradesmen were forbidden by their own authorities to do business directly with African natives, which is why African middlemen were used to liaise between the oil producers in the Hinterland and the European traders on the coast. The intermediate trade took place in the coastal city states of Brass, Bonny, and Calabar, which did not fall under British dominion and where trade and politics were hardly separable. The African middlemen had the monopoly on the intermediate trade, secured by commercial treaties with British traders. The British historian Augustus Mockler-Ferryman (1856–1930) paints a clear picture of contemporary practices in the Niger area: ‘The common theory that “trade follows the flag” hardly holds good with regard to the Niger, for that the Union Jack now floats over the greater part of these vast territories is due almost entirely to the efforts of traders and trading companies, though it is only fair to add that the British Govern- ment has usually backed up the traders whenever necessary.’2 Consolidating its commercial interests on the West-African coast and the Niger became Britain’s primary objective. This consolidation involved concluding treaties between British agents and African rulers or peoples on such issues as the abolition of the slave trade and human sacrifices, the promotion of peaceful trade and the protection of British subjects and missionaries.3 2 A.F. Mockler-Ferryman, ‘British Nigeria,’ Journal of the Royal African Society, 1 (1902), 160. See also M. Crowder, The Story of Nigeria (London, 1962); and M. Crowder, Colonial West Africa Collected Essays (London, 1978). 3 J.C. Anene, Southern Nigeria in Transition 1885–1906. Theory and Practice in a Colonial Protec- torate (Cambridge University Press, 1966), 31–32. Mieke van der Linden - 9789004321199 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 05:32:50PM via free access <UN> British Nigeria 97 Another important trade centre for British agents was the Kingdom of Lagos. Here, the growing palm oil trade drew British attention. In 1861, Britain convinced the King of Lagos, Docemo, to dispose of his empire in favour of the British in return for an annual bonus of gbp 1,000. As a result, Lagos became an English Crown colony. In 1849, a British consul had been appointed to control the area of the Oil Rivers. The consul looked after the British interests and over time earned the respect of the African rulers, who appealed to him when in dif- ficulty. However, the consul’s judicial and administrative duties (and powers) were limited to British subjects. Other than appointing a consul the British Government took no action – hence the name ‘informal empire.’4 The British consolidated their commercial interests in the Niger Delta and its watershed5 mainly through concluding treaties between British agents and African rulers and their peoples. Although the British government did not want to be directly involved in the acquisition and administration of overseas territories, mainly for financial reasons, it did promise traders that they could count on military support, if necessary. This restraint remained British government policy until the 1880s. In 1880, British consul Edward Hewett found that informal empire no longer sufficed. Britain exercised exclusive influence over territories without having acquired formal possession of them. As consul, Hewett was expected to maintain order and uphold the law, but he did not have the authority to perform his duties. He advocated a formal empire for two reasons: to overrule the power- ful position of the African middlemen and to avoid French interference.6 In April 1882, Hewett requested the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Earl of Kimberley (1826–1902), to establish a protectorate or a Crown colony in the Nigerian coast area. Remarkably, this request was accompanied by letters from the Cameroonians in which the African rulers ‘were alleged to be will- ing to surrender their country to the British Queen.’7 Kimberley, however, rejected the request.8 A member of the anti-imperial Government of Prime Minister William Gladstone (1809–1898), Kimberley emphasized the addition- al responsibilities of the British government when acquiring the territory of 4 Wesseling, Verdeel en heers, 233. See Sanderson, ‘European Partition of Africa,’ 97. See also W.R. Johnston, Sovereignty and Protection: A Study of British Jurisdictional Imperialism in the Late Nineteenth Century (Durham: Duke University Press, 1973). 5 See P.J. Cain and A.G. Hopkins, ‘The Political Economy of British Expansion Overseas, 1750– 1914,’ Economic History Review, 33 (1980), 463–490. 6 Pakenham, Scramble for Africa, 192. 7 Anene, Southern Nigeria in Transition, 56. 8 Wesseling, Verdeel en heers, 234. Mieke van der Linden - 9789004321199 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 05:32:50PM via free access <UN> 98 chapter 5 ‘barbarians.’ British occupation of the Niger would only lead to war, war would require funding and taxes would have to be raised in the home country to re- plenish the treasury. Then Sir George Goldie Taubman (1846–1925; hereafter ‘Sir Goldie’) entered the stage.9 From 1877, he led a very successful trading company, initially named the United African Company, which in 1882 became the National African Com- pany. A trader and an imperialist, Sir Goldie dreamt of building a vast Brit- ish empire based on commerce on the African continent. Since the 1870s, the British had obtained access to the Niger and, alongside the trade in the Niger Delta with its African trade centres and middlemen, a new trade market had been established in which British did business directly with African producers. French traders also found their way into the interior, which led to fierce competition between them and the British. At the end of 1884, following vari- ous mergers with British and French trading companies, Sir Goldie and his

Load more