Scramble for Africa

Sovereignty and Subjugation: The 1884 Treaty of Protection and the British Colonization of Warri

The year 1884 serves as a pivotal watershed in the history of West Africa, marking the transition from “informal influence” to “formal colonial administration” by European powers. For the people of the Benin River and the Warri region, this transition was codified in the “Treaty of Protection.” Signed between the British Consul, Edward Hyde…