 |
 Lagos, where the British concentrated activities after 1851, had been founded
as a colony of Benin in about 1700. The British campaign to eradicate the slave trade and substitute for it trade in
other commodities increasingly resulted in British intervention in the internal
affairs of Lagos. During the early nineteenth century Lagos politics were complicated by a long
dynastic dispute which culminated in the deposition of Oba Akitoye in 1845 by
Kosoko, his nephew. Kosoko was a leading slave-trader, and the chances for trade
in other commodities in the area were regarded as poor by the British as long as
he remained in control. In exile, Akitoye gained the support of the British at
Badagry. He promised to stop the slave trade at Lagos if reinstated, and Kosoko
was expelled with the help of British force. Kosoko fled with his followers to
Epe, but continued to
interfere in Lagos affairs. After Akitoye's death, the British administrators
installed his son Dosunmu as ruler, but in the interests of trade they eventually came to an understanding with
Kosoko,
who was allowed back to Lagos.
With the establishment of
British consular authority over Lagos, trade with the interior increased
rapidly, as did cotton production in Abeokuta and the exports of palm oil from
Lagos. However, by 1861 the political situation in the interior had deteriorated
and trade was being increasingly interrupted. Britain was determined to halt the traffic in slaves
fed by the Yoruba wars, and responded to this frustration by annexing the port
of Lagos in 1861 and appointing a governor to allow firmer control over trade, and to protect
British interests. Thereafter, Britain gradually extended its control along the
coast. Suppression of the
slave trade and issues related to slavery remained at the forefront of British
dealings with local states and societies for the rest of the nineteenth century
and even into the twentieth century. |
