Lagos

LAGOS, at one time a separate British colony and protectorate on the West Coast of Africa, since 1914 part of Nigeria (q.v.).

The former colony of Lagos is now the colony of Nigeria ; the protectorate, which included the Yoruba country, is divided among the provinces of Southern Nigeria. The colony consists of Lagos and Idda islands and adjacent territories on the mainland and has an area of 3,420 sq.m.; the former protectorate had an area of about 20,000 sq. miles.

In physical features, flora and fauna, the district resembles other regions of Southern Nigeria. The coast is low and marshy and all along the shore the Atlantic billows cause a dangerous surf.

Behind the coast line stretch lagoons and mangrove swamps; next comes a broad zone of dense forest, the most characteristic tree being the oil palm. Further north the land rises in undulations to the watershed (about 2,000 ft. high) between the rivers flowing to the Niger and those going direct to the Bight of Benin. The Ogun, the largest river in Yorubaland falls into the Lagos lagoon ; its current is strong enough to keep the seaward channel open. Hence the importance of the port of Lagos which lies in smooth water at the northern end of this channel.

History.

Lagos island was so named by 15th century Portu guese explorers because of the many lagoons or lakes on this part of the coast. In the 18th century Lagos lagoon became the chief resort of slavers frequenting the Bight of Benin, this portion of the Gulf of Guinea becoming known pre-eminently as the Slave Coast. British traders established themselves at Badagry, 40m. west of Lagos, where in 1851 they were attacked by Kosoko, the Yoruba king of Lagos island. As a result a British naval force seized Lagos after a sharp fight and deposed the king, placing his cousin, Akitoye, on the throne. Akitoye bound himself by treaty to put down the slave trade. This treaty was not adhered to, and in 1861 Akitoye's son and successor, King Docemo, was in duced to give up his territorial jurisdiction and accept a pension which he drew until his death in 1885. Immediately after the

proclamation of the British annexation, a steady current of immi gration from the mainland set in, and a flourishing town arose on Lagos island. Iddo island was acquired at the same time as Lagos island, and from 1862 to 5894 various additions by purchase or cession were made to the colony. In 1892 the Jebu, who acted as middlemen between the colony and the Yorubas of the hinter land, closed several trade routes which resulted in an expedition and the annexation of part of their country. An order in council issued in 1899 extended the protectorate over Yorubaland (see YORUBA).

Lagos was made a separate government in 1863; in 1866 it was placed in political dependence upon Sierra Leone; in 1874 it became (politically) an integral part of the Gold Coast Colony, whilst in 1886 it was again made a separate government. In Sir William Macgregor, M.D., formerly administrator of British New Guinea, governor 1899-1904, the colony found an enlightened ruler. He inaugurated the railway system, and drew much closer the ties between the British and the tribes of the protectorate. Meanwhile, since 1884, the whole of the Niger delta, lying im mediately east of Lagos, as well as the Hausa states and Bornu, had been acquired by Great Britain. The delta regions and Lagos were formed in 5906 into one government (see NIGERIA).

See A. B. Ellis, The Yoruba-speaking Peoples (5894) ; Lady Glover, The Life of Sir John Hawley Glover (governor 5864-66, 1871-72) (1897) ; Sir W. N. M. Geary, Nigeria under British Rule, chap. ii. and v. (1927). Consult also the works cited under NIGERIA and DAHOMEY.