The Niger Coast Protectorate was a British

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its in ...

in the Oil Rivers area of present-day

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, originally established as the Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1884 and confirmed at the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...

the following year. It was renamed on 12 May 1893, and merged with the chartered territories of the

Royal Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger C ...

on 1 January 1900 to form the

Southern Nigeria Protectorate Southern Nigeria was a British protectorate in the coastal areas of modern-day Nigeria formed in 1900 from the union of the Niger Coast Protectorate with territories chartered by the Royal Niger Company below Lokoja on the Niger River. The ...

References

* Thomas Pakenham, '' The Scramble for Africa'' (Random House, 1991), pp. 197–199
StampWorldHistory

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Former British protectorates Former Nigerian administrative divisions History of the petroleum industry History of Nigeria States and territories disestablished in 1900 Niger River Delta Former British colonies and protectorates in Africa Petroleum industry in Nigeria Colonial Nigeria 1884 establishments in the British Empire 1900 disestablishments in Nigeria {{Niger-stub