Water Bodies and Colonization of the Niger Delta, 1800 to 1900

It is a truism that water bodies provided the gateway for the colonization of the Niger Delta. The work argues that the explorers, missionaries and traders promoted European political and economic interests in the Niger Delta hence, the Lander Brothers through their exploration opened up the Delta for commerce and used the waterway to explore the interior while providing information of their findings to Britain. The work examines the Trans-Atlantic Trade as one of the channels that led to the loss of sovereignty of the Niger Delta chiefs as most of them were deposed and sent to exile which undermined the development of the region. Agricultural produce and raw materials from the Delta were siphoned to Europe through the waterway for their selfish interests. The paper notes that water bodies paved the way for the planting of British political authority through the British Consuls the Royal Niger Company and provided the ground for British Colonial Government which formally took off in 1900. Primary, secondary sources of information and inter-disciplinary approach were explored for the reconstruction of this work. It recommends that the Niger Delta people should utilize the water bodies in their environment for the overall economic development of the region.