Nigeria Was a British Colony, Not French

Nigeria Was a British Colony, Not French

No. Nigeria was never a French colony. It was a British colony and protectorate from the late 19th century until independence on 1 October 1960.

Key Dates

• 1851: British bombard Lagos; annex Lagos (1861).
• 1885: Berlin Conference recognizes British sphere in Niger region.
• 1900: Royal Niger Company territories become Northern Nigeria Protectorate and Southern Nigeria Protectorate.
• 1914: Amalgamated into Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria (Lord Lugard).
• 1954: Federation; 1960: Independence within Commonwealth.

French Neighbors

France colonized Niger, Chad, Cameroon (part), Benin (Dahomey), Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), Mali (French Sudan), Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Togo (League mandate), Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon—all bordering or near Nigeria.

The linguistic legacy: Nigeria is Anglophone (official language English); its neighbors are largely Francophone.