Part 0 · 1 chapters · ~8 min

The 19th Century: Jihad, Trade and Missionaries

The Sokoto jihad and other West African reform movements, the Yoruba wars, British abolition and the West Africa Squadron, the shift to palm oil and "legitimate commerce", Niger Delta trading states and King Jaja of Opobo, Christian missions and the educated elite, explorers and the Niger, and British consuls on the coast.

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A region in transformation

The 19th century was not a timeless "before" to colonialism: it was a period of revolution in West Africa. New states, new religions, new exports and a new educated class appeared before European conquest. The educated Christian elite (Saro returnees, mission-school graduates) would later lead the first nationalist movements.

Toyin Falola and Matthew Heaton, A History of Nigeria (2008); K.O. Dike, Trade and Politics in the Niger Delta 1830-1885 (1956); J.F. Ade Ajayi, Christian Missions in Nigeria 1841-1891 (1965); Murray Last, The Sokoto Caliphate (1967).

THE 19TH CENTURY BEFORE CONQUEST
four forces reshaping the region
jihadSokoto Caliphate from 1804;Massina, Umar Tal's state in thewest.the Yoruba warsOld Oyo falls c. 1835; Ibadan,Abeokuta rise; decades of war.abolitionBritain ends its slave trade 1807;the West Africa Squadron patrols.legitimate commercePalm oil for European industryreplaces captives as the mainexport.missionariesBadagry 1842, Abeokuta 1846,Calabar 1846; schools andprinting.explorers and consulsNiger expeditions; British consulson the coast from 1849.
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jihad
In the north, Usman dan Fodio's jihad created the Sokoto Caliphate, the largest state in West Africa (West African Kingdoms P5).
the Sokoto Caliphatefrom 1804