ISLAMIC PENETRATION AND COLONIZATION
PENETRATION
AND COLONIZATION
Slave
trade became commercialized in the 15th century. And during this
time, large number of Africans were dehumanized and transported through the
Atlantic Ocean to what was referred to as the ‘the new found world.’ But,
following the declaration of Chief Justice Mansfield, in 1807, slave trade was
officially outlawed or abolished on the grounds that it was inhuman.
With
the presence of science, the rearing of slaves became quite expensive. But
then, the slave dealers were not ready to give up slave trade because it was a
lucrative business. The abolition of slave trade served as a preparatory ground
for the penetration and conquest of Nigeria. This is because it led to the
penetration of the interior.
There are three (3)
agents of penetration, all of whom played a vital role in preparing the ground for
the colonization of Nigeria. Which are these agents of penetration and how did
this happen?
1.Explorers:
In this category of explorers, we find Mungo Park, Hugh Clapperton, the Lander brothers
and so on. These explorers were basically commissioned as agents by the Crown
(The Queen) and the British Government to go and see the interior of Africa and
Nigeria in particular, and to bring back reports. This group of people came in
much earlier than the 19th century. Available documents aver that
most of them were used as agents for signing treaties among the Nigerian
chieves. And in this way, they prepared grounds for the eventual colonization
of Nigeria.
2.Missionaries:
The second set were the missionaries. They came in as agents of pacification
especially towards the tail end of the slave trade. Scholars often converge in
the conviction that these missionaries were sent forth to explain the evil of
slave trade to the people, as well as sell the idea and teachings of the
supreme God to the people. In fact, in some accounts, these missionaries were
sent to give a soul to the African man who was believed to be devoid of a soul
and even rational qualities.
However, available
documents and reports also argue that some of these missionaries were used to
claim lands from the people. And in this way, they paved the way for the
coercive subjugation of Nigerians by the purported superior Europeans in the
form of colonization.
3.The
Traders: This third (3rd) group were said to have
come after the missionaries especially when they were sure that the
pacification exercise of the missionaries were already yielding fruits.
Basically, this group came in search of tropical raw materials which were most
needed in the emerging industrialized Europe. Some of the items trade were:
groundnut, palm oil and palm products, rubber, cocoa among others. Scholars
have argued that although this trade took over the slave trade, it did not
favour most Nigerians. This was because, the European merchants controlled the
trade in terms dictating what, when and how to produce as well as the price the
products ought to be sold.
It was from this activity
that the so-called dichotomy between cash crop and food crop emerged. This
economy developed into what later became known as ‘economy of unequal
exchange.’ This period also witnessed the activities of different religious
bodies in different parts of Nigeria like, East- Catholicism and Anglicans,
West- Methodist and White Garment, and, North- ECWA.
On the whole, the activities of both the explorers,
missionaries and traders eventually led to the conquest and eventual
colonization of Nigeria. This is because, at least from historical accounts,
the treaties signed with local rulers strengthened the British claim to Nigeria
at the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885. It is on this note as well as others,
that it can be truthfully argued that the agents of penetration played a vital
role in preparing grounds for the colonization of Nigeria.
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