When this happened, ethnic minorities that had once been fragmented, especially the Igbo, now developed more concrete identities in opposition to the British. The British turned existing governments in Nigeria into puppet governments that were controlled by a British governor.
The British were present in Nigeria as early as the late 1700's during the transatlantic slave trade, but the British did not begin to establish colonial rule of Nigeria until1900. They were led by Fredrick Luggard.
The British began to assimilate native Nigerians to European culture by creating an education system where Nigerians were given a western education. Traditional languages were replaced by English, which was now the official language of Nigeria.
During the two months that the protests took place, at least 25,000 Igbo women were involved in protests against British officials. This women’s uprising is often seen as the first major challenge to British authority in Nigeria, and West Africa in general, during the colonial period.
By 1906 they had control over the entire country. When this happened, ethnic minorities that had once been fragmented, especially the Igbo, now developed more concrete identities in opposition to the British.
The British began to assimilate native Nigerians to European culture by creating an education system where Nigerians were given a western education. Traditional languages were replaced by English, which was now the official language of Nigeria.
The British turned existing governments in Nigeria into puppet governments that were controlled by a British governor. Where they couldn't control existing government, the British established new governments. The puppet governments lost all traditional authority.
The Nigerian elite began to form political parties that challenged British rule. The British began to give up rule of certain regions of Nigeria in 1959.
The puppet governments lost all traditional authority. The people of Nigeria now had no control over their own communities. This led to much unrest. While the British controlled Nigeria they made many changes to the country. They built roads and railroads and developed cities where rural villages had once been.
I found that petition writing was part of the complex power politics between the women and the colonial state. On June 5, 1885, Great Britain proclaimed Nigeria as a colony. It declared a protectorate over territories on the coast between the British Protectorate of Lagos and both banks of the Rivers Niger and Benue ( The London Gazette, June 5, ...
Although treaties were signed with rulers by 1885, actual British control of northern and southern Nigeria was not attained until 1900. Colonial rule lasted until 1960 and was resisted in various forms. In Igboland, this included warfare, protests, tax evasion and petition writing. The petitions enable us to understand the circumstances ...
On September 12, 1928, Igbo women led by Madam Chinwe petitioned the Lieutenant Governor of the Southern Provinces over the frustrations that the colonial economy placed on them. (The British National Archives (TNA), FCO 141/13669/2. Petitions and Complaints: Madam Chinwe)
One response was through petition writing as women took to the pen to articulate their concerns.