Early Regional History 11 th century: city-states and kingdoms formed  Hausa and Borno in north  Oyo and Benin in south 15 th century: Portuguese explorers land 16 th to 18 th centuries: slave trade

Colonialism Strikes In the 19th century…  European nations traded at the coastal ports  Great Britain wanted to trade further inland, up the River Niger  Got involved in local politics, took advantage of civil wars, and created a colony

Est. 1900

 Nigeria at Independence in million citizens 300 different ethnic and cultural groups

Three Largest Cultural Groups I GBO 60–70% of the southeastern residents Loosely democratic, independent communities General Assembly for all men Y ORUBA 75% of the southwestern population Monarchy H AUSA -F ULANI 65% of the residents of the north Islamic feudal system with a supreme Sultan

January 1966  Military coup against the Prime Minister and the local premiers of the Northern (Hausa) and Western (Yoruba) regions July 1966  Retaliation coup against the military September 1966  Murders of around 30,000 Igbo in the north May 1967  Igbo-dominated eastern area declares itself the Republic of Biafra and secedes from Nigeria

 Themes & Discussion Topics social classpolyphony educationnarrative back-and-forth genocidepsychological impact of war