Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria

The Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria was a British dependency formed in 1906 by merging the Lagos Colony with the Southern Nigeria Protectorate, which had itself been created in 1900 from the Niger Coast Protectorate and the territories of the Royal Niger Company below Lokoja. Lagos, the former colonial capital, became the seat of government of the enlarged territory, and its harbour handled most of the export trade. The administration was headed by a high commissioner, later a governor, and was organised into provinces that brought the Niger Delta and the Yoruba hinterland under a single authority. Revenue came chiefly from palm oil, palm kernels, cocoa and customs duties, while the colonial state expanded roads, railways and courts. The territory was short-lived. In 1912 Frederick Lugard was appointed governor of both Southern and Northern Nigeria, and on 1 January 1914 the two protectorates were amalgamated to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, with Lagos as its capital.