Created by : Natori Moore April 26, 2012

 Nigeria is one third larger than Texas.  It is located about the inner curve of the elbow on West Coast of Africa, just north of the equator and south of the Sahara Desert

 More than 200 ethnic groups currently exist in Nigeria  Each has its own language, beliefs, and culture  The top largest ethnic groups are: ◦ Protestant Yoruba in the West ◦ Catholic Igbo in the East ◦ Muslim Itausa- Fulani in the North  The diversity of these people is the result of thousands of years of history; as traders, nomads, and refugees from invaders and climatic changes came to settle with the indigenous population, and as foreign nations became of the area’s resources.

 British leaders occupied most of Nigeria in early part of the 20 th century.  The British were a major buyer of African slaves in the 17 th and 18 th centuries  In 1807, British congress outlawed slave trade within their empire.

 In 1861, British decided to occupy Lagos, a major slave trading post and capital of present day Nigeria.  Slowly and hesitantly, the British occupied the rest of Nigeria  The British start to occupy Nigeria far more of the slave trade

 The British were in competition with other Europeans for control of Wealth of West Africa  At the Berlin conference of a meeting arranged to settle rivalries among European powers  The British proclaimed Nigeria to be the territory  Since the British bought palm oil, peanuts, rubber, cotton, oil and other agricultural products. This indicates how Britain gained their relationship with Nigeria, through trade.

 In early 20 th century, British defined the collection of diverse ethnic groups as one country, Nigeria.  The British people moved into Nigeria with a combination of government control, religious mission, and economic incentives.  In the North of Nigeria, British leaders ruled indirectly with the support of local Muslim leaders, who collected taxes and administered a government on behalf of the British  In the South of Nigeria, the British had to intervene directly and forcefully to control the local population

 Community of Ahiara ◦ A real life tragedy at the community of Ahiara occurred just as it did in the novel Things Fall Apart. A white man rode his bike into the village of Ahiara and was killed by the natives. Then an expedition of British forces killed many natives in retaliation  Igbo groups ◦ The Ahiara incident led to the Bende-Onitsha Hinterland Expedition, a force created to Eliminate Igbo Opposition. ◦ The British destroyed the powerful Auka oracle, and killed all opposing Igbo groups.

 British officials operated an efficient administration system and introduced a form of British culture in Nigeria  Also, they sent many capable young Nigerians to England for education.  The experience of Nigerians who lived overseas in years proceeding, during, and after world war II gave rise t a class of young, educated nationalists who agitated for independence from Great Britain.

 The British agreed to Nigerians’ demand  In 1947, British officials instituted a 10 year economic plan towards independence  Nigeria became an independent country on October 1, 1960, and became a republic in 1963

 Now that British rule is no more in Nigeria corruption and lack of leadership continues to hamper Nigeria’s quest for the democracy.  A series of military coups and dictatorships in the 1970s 1980s and 1990s replaced the fragile democracy Nigeria enjoyed in 1960s.  1993 Nigeria held a democratic presidential election which was followed by another bloodless coup.  To this day, this political pattern continues. British Colonization of Nigeria had a great impact on Nigeria.

“About things Fall Apart.” Cliffnotes.com. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Web. 24 April 2012.