Colonial Nigeria

Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria (1914–1954) Federation of Nigeria[1] (1954–1960)
1914–1960
Flag (1952–1960) Badge (1952–1960)
Anthem: God Save the King/Queen[2]
Nigeria (red) British possessions in Africa (pink) 1914
Status	British colony
Capital	Lagos
Common languages	Yoruba · Hausa · Igbo · English and other regional languages
Religion	Christianity · Islam · Traditional beliefs
Government	Colony and protectorate[3] (1914–1954) Federation[1] (1954–1960)
British monarch
• 1914–1936	George V
• 1936	Edward VIII
• 1936–1952	George VI
• 1952–1960	Elizabeth II
Governor
• 1914–1919	Frederick Lugard
• 1919–1925	Hugh Clifford
• 1948–1954	John Stuart Macpherson
• 1954–1960	James Wilson Robertson
Legislature	Legislative Council[4] (1946–1951) House of Representatives[5] (1951–1960)
Historical era	World War I • Interwar period • World War II • Cold War
• Established	1 January 1914
• Autonomous federation	1 October 1954
• Independence	1 October 1960
Area
1924[6]	872,050 km2 (336,700 sq mi)
1952[3]	876,953 km2 (338,593 sq mi)
Population
• 1924[6]	18,500,000
• 1952[7]	31,156,027
Currency	British West African pound (1914–1958) Nigerian pound (1958–1960)
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)
Drives on	left
Preceded by Succeeded by Northern Nigeria Protectorate Southern Nigeria Protectorate Federation of Nigeria
Today part of	Nigeria Cameroona
^a Bakassi peninsula; governed by Nigeria until 2008

Part of a series on the
History of Nigeria
Timeline
Early history pre-1500 Nok culture 1500-1 BC Pre-colonial period 1500–1800 British period 1800–1960 First Republic 1960–1979 Civil War 1967–1970 Second Republic 1979–1983 Third Republic 1993–1999 Fourth Republic 1999–present
Topics
Economic Igbo people Yoruba people Hausa people
By state
Abia Adamawa Akwa Ibom Anambra Bauchi Bayelsa Benue Borno Cross River Delta Ebonyi Edo Ekiti Enugu Gombe Imo Jigawa Kaduna Kano Katsina Kebbi Kogi Kwara Lagos Nasarawa Niger Ogun Ondo Osun Oyo Plateau Rivers Sokoto Taraba Yobe Zamfara
See also
List of years in Nigeria
Nigeria portal
v t e

Part of a series on the
History of Cameroon
Pre-colonial
Sao civilisation Kotoko kingdom Mandara Kingdom Kingdom of Bamum
Colonial
Kamerun 1884–1919 Bafut Wars 1889–1907 Neukamerun 1911–1916 French Cameroons 1918–1960 British Cameroons Southern Cameroons 1922–1961
Post-colonial
Cameroon 1961–present
Cameroon portal
v t e

Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1 October 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence.^[8] Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884. British influence in the Niger area increased gradually over the 19th century, but Britain did not effectively occupy the area until 1885. Other European powers acknowledged Britain's dominance over the area in the 1885 Berlin Conference.

From 1886 to 1899, much of the country was ruled by the Royal Niger Company, authorised by charter, and governed by George Taubman Goldie. In 1900, the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate passed from company hands to the Crown. At the urging of Governor Frederick Lugard, the two territories were amalgamated as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, while maintaining considerable regional autonomy among the three major regions (Northern protectorate, Southern protectorate and the Colony of Lagos). Progressive constitutions after World War II provided for increasing representation and electoral government by Nigerians. The colonial period proper in Nigeria lasted from 1900 to 1960, after which Nigeria gained its independence.^[8]