History of Nigeria
Lead Image from Google
Based of my master's class, I have a minor subject and this subject is foundation of education. This subject talks about the education system of every country. We are not just focusing on the education system but also the history of the following countries. Our instructor provided us a printed learning material, it states there about histories. The given learning material is not enough for us to understand the histories that is why, we search on the internet for more informations.
After we read about histories, the one that really touch my eyes when reading is about the history of Nigeria. I think there were also users here in read cash which came from Nigeria, hello guys!? I just want to share what I learned about my readings.
So here it is . . .
When I trace back the history of Nigeria. I can compare the historical background of this country with the previous countries, such as Madagascar and Zimbabwe.
Nigeria has some of Africa's oldest cultures and empires. The Nok civilization, named after the Nigerian settlement where the sculptures were discovered, flourished in the 5th century BC on the southern slopes of the Jos plateau. The Nok tribes may have just acquired the iron technology spreading south through Africa. Like the Nok, the early kingdoms of the region prospered from trade north over the Sahara and east into Sudan. 9th-century commercial empire around Lake Chad.
It started in Kanem, east of the lake, and spread to Bornu, West. The Hausa created small but stable kingdoms with strong-walled capitals. It was often threatened by their larger neighbors (Mali, Gao, and Bornu). These trade routes help Hausa traders.It was the 14th century. Western Savanna grasslands and forests between Hausa kingdoms and the coast are Yoruba strongholds. Their two great states. A savanna-forest border town, Ife. For over a thousand years, Ife thrived. It was founded in 16th century Oyo.
Throughout the 16th century, Oyo gained power by building a formidable cavalry. In the 18th century, Ono ruled Niger to Dahomey. Due to these developments, the most famous Nigerian monarchy emerged in the 15th century. The Ife left Benin's cast-metal sculpture. Benin isn't as big as Oyo. In the 15th century, the French took control. A century later, Benin's tropical forest still stretches from the Niger Delta to Lagos. Benin's fame isn't solely due to power. The Portuguese discovered these magnificent African items and the oba's ceremonial splendor in the 1470s. The Benin kings fascinate me. The West was scandalized by their use of human sacrifice in court rites. They're strong. The original dynasty lasted until the late twentieth century but had no political power.
Benin is the most well-known of Nigeria's historical kingdoms.Sokoto and Fulani 1804–1903. The Fulani, a Hausa-speaking tribe in northern Nigeria, adopted orthodox Islam in the early 1800s. In 1804 Sheikh Usman dan Fodio and his two sons led the Fulani against the lax Muslim Hausa rulers. In 1809, Sokoto became the Fulani capital, ruling central and northern Nigeria for the next century. But British interests have steadily encroached. Nigeria has fascinated British explorers, anti-slavery activists, missionaries, and traders since Mungo Park died in Bussa in 1806.
The British funded an expedition to Bornu's realm in 1821. Its members arrived in 1823. Hugh Clapperton's troops reach Sokoto via Kano and Hausa land. On the Nigerian coast, Clapperton returns to England in 1825 for a few months. Now we know how to trade between Europe and Asia. Everything seems ready to go. After Lander's second return to England, an English merchant group includes Macgregor Laird. Milford Haven's Alburkah sailed south in July 1832. Less than three months later, she arrives at the Niger's mouth. The Alburkah ascends one of the Niger delta's many waterways en route to Lokoja. An ocean vessel was entering continental Africa via the Niger. The iron steamer performs admirably. But medicine is still lagging. In 1834, the Alburkah arrived in Liverpool with nine of the original forty-eight crewmen. Macgregor Laird is a weak link.
Through 1900, trade and anti-slavery took place. Almost as deadly as the next British Niger expedition. To stop the slave trade in 1841, the ship Fever killed 48 of the 145 European crew members, forcing the ship's abandonment. In 1854, a doctor named William Baikie led an expedition up the Niger. His men die from quinine. Quinine is derived from the cinchona tree's bark. But its anti-malaria efficacy marks a turning point in European colonialism to replace slave trade revenue. Britain's anti-slavery program promotes palm oil exports. As the demand for palm oil rises, the upriver chieftains acquire more slaves, which proves counterproductive. Altruistic principles drive thoughtful efforts to establish trading stations. Slave survivors from foreign slave ships are being resettled in Freetown by the British navy. British policy changed in 1849. A consul oversees the Bights of Biafra and Benin from Fernando Po. So, he deals directly with the Lagos king. After several failed attempts, a British force captured Lagos in 1851. After promising to end slavery and human sacrifice, another Lagos royal ascends to power (a feature of this region). After failing to meet these criteria, Lagos became a British colony in 1861. During the century, Britain's economic and political power grew. George Goldie persuaded the British commercial firms in the Niger to consolidate in 1879 to protect the Royal Niger Company's interests. It was founded in 1893. Abolition of slaving and human sacrifice in Benin in 1897. It was the year of the British oba. In retaliation, British troops fired on Benin City. Faced with the challenges of administering Nigeria's vast and complex territory, the government decided to centralize the Royal Niger Company's upriver lands. The charter expired in 1900. Britain controls the coast to Sokoto and Bornu in the north. Despite dangerous tensions in the late 1890s between Britain and France, the colonial power in adjacent Dahomey, over Nigeria's western border, Britain readily accepted this area at the Berlin conference in 1884. It did so from 1900 to 1960.
On the other hand, Humans arrived in Madagascar about 2000 years ago. Madagascar's settlers were either Indonesians or mixed-race Indonesians. Around 800-900 A.D., Arab traders began trading along the northern coast.On his way to India, Diogo Dias, a Portuguese sea captain, was blown off course and saw Madagascar on August 10, 1500. He called it St. Lawrence. All of these nations attempted to establish trading settlements in Madagascar later in the 1500s. All failed due to hostile conditions and fierce Malagasy warrior fighting.Pirates ruled the eastern coast of Madagascar in the late 1600s, when Europeans first arrived. These pirates attacked ships returning from India to Europe from Madagascar. The French tried again in the 1700s to establish military bases on the east coast. The French could only claim the island of Sainte Marie by the early 19th century.The Sakalavas of the west coast founded Madagascar's first kingdom in the 1700s. In 1810, their rivals, the Merina, ruled most of the island. Their king, Radama I, established relations with the British and allowed English missionaries to spread Christianity and write Malagasy. During Radama's reign, the island experienced a mini-industrial revolution. The country was terrorized for 33 years by her widow, Ranavalona I, who persecuted Christians, expelled foreigners and political rivals, and revived the practice of killing babies born on unlucky days. Her death restored relations with Europe.In 1883, France invaded Madagascar, which became a French colony in 1896. Madagascar supplied France with exotic spices like vanilla. The Malagasy staged major anti-French uprisings in 1918 and 1947, but did not gain independence until June 26, 1960.Didier Ratsiraka seized power in 1975. He ruled Madagascar as a dictator until 1991, when he was deposed. Following his return to power, he ruled until a contested election in 2001. Marc Ravalomanana, the new president, promised democracy. Ravalomanana began selling yogurt on the street from the back of his bicycle and grew into Madagascar's richest man. He is still president in 2005, and the economy is improving.
While on Zimbabwe, the San people are thought to have been the first people to settle in the country, possibly as early as 200 B.C. Bantu dominance ended, and the Shona people arrived, who were then followed by the Nguni and Zulu tribes. The descendants of the Nguni and Zulu tribes, known as the Ndebele, conquered South Africa in the mid-19th century and established their own kingdom in the country. The British arrived in the country in 1850 and conquered it, establishing it as a colony. The country was given the name Rhodesia in honor of Cecil Rhodes, a British South Africa Company official. After a few years, it was renamed Southern Rhodesia, and the European settlers of the country voted in 1923 to become a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom. When the United Nations voted for independence in 1963, Northern Rhodesia (which is now Zambia) and Nyasaland (which is now Malawi) voted to do so, while Southern Rhodesia voted to remain an imperial colony. In less than two years, the white minority in Rhodesia declared the country's independence from Britain, and the country was officially recognized as a republic in 1970. The white minority in Rhodesia, led by Ian Smith, has maintained control over the government, and they have resisted the demands of the black African majority, resulting in chaos and civil conflict. Although Smith would continue to serve as the country's Prime Minister, the White Minority agreed to hand over control of government to the Black Majority in 1978.It was not until 1980 that the White Minority made the decision to hold a multi-racially representative election in order to resolve national issues. Robert Mugabe, the leader of the Black Majority, was elected president in a landslide victory, as predicted by many. On April 17, 1980, the country celebrated its independence and changed its name to Zimbabwe, marking the beginning of the modern era.
That's all that I can share to you guys, and if you are wondered why this is too long, it's because this is my answer of our activity which we will compare the Nigeria to the Zimbabwe. I hope you learned also even just a little learnings.
Thank you for reading and Keep safe all.
