A British Sphere of Influence

Following the Napoleonic wars, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. In 1885, British claims to a sphere of influence in that area received international recognition and, in the following year, the Royal Niger Company was chartered. In 1900, the company's territory came under the control of the British Government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. In 1914, the area was formally united as the "Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria."

The United Kingdom administered northern and southern Nigeria separately, as northern leaders retained their religion-based administrative structures under an “indirect rule” arrangement with colonial authorities. Western influence and education proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with the social, cultural, and political consequences still evident today. Following World War II, Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence resulted in successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moving Nigeria toward representative self-government.