Nigeria

Abstract

The territory was at the centre of the slave trade in the 18th century. The port of Lagos was annexed by Britain in Aug. 1861. Growing British involvement in the Lagos hinterland and in the Niger Delta led to the chartering of the Royal Niger Company which established its own political administration over a wide territory. On 1 Jan. 1900 the Royal Niger Company transferred its territory to the British Crown. The ‘colony and protectorate of Nigeria’ was created in 1914. Africans were excluded from political power until the end of the Second World War. Full independence was achieved by the Federation of Nigeria on 1 Oct. 1960 and it became a republic on 1 Oct. 1963.