Egbado and the expansion of British power in Western Nigeria

It is now generally fashionable among Nigerian historians to see the establishment of British power in Nigeria in terms of force on the part of Britain and protest and resistance on the part of the Nigerian peoples. In spite of such events as the bombardement of Lagos (1851), the kidnapping and deportation of Jaja of Opobo (1887) etc., the conclusion of this paper is that the story was not always one of force and resistance and that in certain parts of the country in the British were readily welcomed and willingly invited. The first part of the article deals with the early, and largely tentative, phase British penetration into Egbado in the early 1860’s. The second part carries the story to the actual establishment of British rule in the area in the early 1890’s. Notes.