Nigeria
The most populous nation in africa with nearly 200 million people. A variety of spoken languages. including the third largest english-speaking population on Earth.
Has a long history stretching back to the oldest identified civilization in west africa known today is the nok culture.
Let’s see Nigeria History in a simple 4 mins read
Nok Culture
1500 BC – 500 AD
They were master sculptors in a variety of materials ranging from terracotta to bronze. The nok were centuries ahead of their neighbors and were smelting iron weapons by at least 550 BC and perhaps as early as 1000 BC.
This enabled the nok to hold influence over an area north east of the niger river as large as modern-day france.
Although little is known about the nok their trade routes exporting bronze and gold reached all the way to western europe. Unfortunately since the 1970s there has been a large amount of leading of nok sites.
In the 1990s some crews employed over a thousand diggers each day.
with nok sculpture showing up in europe the us and japan.
the nok disappeared as mysteriously as they arrived.
However their knowledge and sophisticated metallurgy and mining techniques would be passed down the successor civilizations the powerful
Yoruba City of Ife
1100 AD – 1350 AD
with perfect casting techniques creating realistic portraits of their nobles and leaders that have survived till today.
The sophisticated level of realism captured in metal not seen since the classical world would not be matched elsewhere until the italian renaissance.
ife was ruled by ooni. a line of divine kings said to be descended from a god the last prince of the yoruba city of ife would found the oyo kingdom.
Oyo Kingdom
1300 AD – 1896 AD
that reached its height around 1400 and maintained long-distance trading routes protected by the kingdom’s formidable cavalry force to the southwest.
Empire of Benin
1180 AD – 1897 AD
The edo people of the empire of benin would also learn metallurgy techniques from the ife and constructed one of the most impressive feats of engineering and the largest earthenware structure ever erected.
The walls of benin which enclosed an area of over 2,500 square miles in all over 9,000 miles of walls comprised this mecha structure combined with their formidable military.
It is no wonder why the kingdom of benin was incredibly stable and prosperous over such a long period of time to the north of edo.
Hausa Kingdoms
10th – 14th centuries AD
According to legend. was a kingdom ruled over by a line of female queens one of whom married an adventuring hero from baghdad in modern-day iraq.
Their sons would rule over a collection of powerful city-states over the centuries.
Hausa and would unite for short periods of time.
However squabbling and intrigue was the norm throughout this period they maintained amicable relations with the mali empire
Mali Empire
1235 AD – 1670 AD
their economic competitor to the northwest for many islamic clerics migrated from to join the courts of the islamic urban elite of the house of kingdoms.
The Igbo Kingdom of Nri
948 AD – 1911 AD
the igbo kingdom of dream was ruled by a priest king.
and expanded its territory through sending converts to spread their faith in surrounding cities and towns.
The kingdom reached his furthest extent between eleven and fourteen hundred.
encroached upon by the rise of benin and later the atlantic slave trade it appears to have maintained its authority.
Well into the 16th century and remnants of the
religious hierarchy persisted until the establishment of colonial nigeria.
Jukun and igala were two other formidable kingdoms that arose in the 14th century.
and by the 16th igala was waging war on the kingdom of benin.
Challenging their longtime supremacy and commercial trade in the region.
and what their arrival of the portuguese became involved in the inception of the transatlantic slave trade from the 1500s through 1800s.
Many of the kingdoms in this region became extremely wealthy through the trade in precious metals and slaves.
However as the abolishment of the slave trade
became widespread throughout the western
world their fortunes began to stagnate.
Sokoto Caliphate
1879-1900
In 1804 the sokoto caliphate would conquer and unite the house of kingdoms.
At its height the caliphate linked over 30 different emirates and was populated by over 10 million people.
forming the most powerful state in the region in his conquest.
it captured approximately two and a half million non-muslim slaves.
whom they put to work in large plantations and heavily incentivized to convert to a more comfortable life.
In 1851 under the pretext of ending the slave trade in the kingdom of lagos.
the british bombarded the city and installed a ruler they favored.
10 years later they annex the city in 1861 establishing the crown colony of lagos
Lagos
lagos has been a prosperous commercial center of since the royal niger company was
established in 1879 to administer the region.
And by 1900 had conquered all southern nigeria destroying much of the fabled walls of benin.
The company was disestablished that same year.
the protectorate of southern nigeria was established and the conquest of the sokoto empire began.
The Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria 1914-160
in 1900 and by 1903 all of modern-day nigeria was under british control the colony and protectorate of nigeria lasted for 46 years.
And was governed through a system called indirect rule.
The regional amir’s and local rulers were given wide authority as long as the colonial government was allowed to conduct its business and gather taxation.
In 1960 the first republic of nigeria obtained its independence from the british empire. Which was weakened after fighting the second world war
Nigeria Civil War aka The Biafra War 6 july 1967 – 15 january 1970
in 1967 the republic of biafra was declared in the southeast of nigeria fueled by the persecution of the igbo.
Living in northern nigeria and control over the lucrative oil production in the niger delta played a major role.
In fueling this conflict that’s all over a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers killed and millions.
Displaced the civil war initiated.
Nigeria History after the civil war
A series of military leaders of nigeria lasting after the civil war had ended with the united nigeria.
Following the assassination of general murtala
mohammed.
His successor initiated a process of disestablishing military rule and bringing back a republic.
This republic was short-lived lasting from 1979 to 1983.
when it was overthrown again after eight years of rule by general ibrahim.
He reestablished a democracy that lasted for less than a year which was overthrown by general sani abacha.
Abacha died mysteriously and was buried without an autopsy.
his successor again re-established a democracy that has lasted till a current day.
That is all about the Nigeria History.
What did You think we missed in This Nigeria History?
What do you love about Nigeria History?
Let us know In the comments section
That had been interesting and I hope you enjoyed that overview of nigeria history don’t forget to share
Leave a comment
You must login or register to add a new comment.