British west Africa was the name for the British possessions and "protected areas" in west Africa.

Expansion of British west Africa

British west Africa covered the areas of the today's States of Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the Gambia and Ghana (name at that time: Gold coast). The beginnings of British influencing control in this part of Africa go back in 17. Century, when the British established trading bases fastened here as for instance to Cape Coast Castle or away Metal CROSS. In different way they colonized the areas lying around these bases into the late 1780er into the 1960er years.

British west Africa was never a uniform administrative territory within the British colonial system, however there was a uniform currency, the westAfrican Pound within these areas from 1907 to 1962 (and/or up to the independence of the individual states).

Different forms of the rule practice within British west Africa

The British differentiated within British west Africa between Kronkolonien, protectorates and territories. These differentiations were far more than only administrative distinctions. They referred to different degrees of the autonomy of the areas and to possible civil rights of the inhabitants.

Kronkolonien within British west Africa were small areas approximately around the city Bathurst in the today's Gambia, over the city Freetown in today's Sierra Leone and around the city Lagos in today's Nigeria. A larger surface covered only the Kronkolonie gold coast, which consisted today's Ghana of the coastal region. Within these in 19. Century formed Kronkolonien was more direct the influencing control of the British, but there were also large Pressefreiheit and certain civil rights. E.G. the inhabitants had the right to form political combinations and native attorneys were able to prevent excrescences of the colonial regime on legal way.

The remainder of British west Africa, geographically thus the absolutely outweighing part, consisted of "protectorates" and "territories", in which to a large extent traditional structures - or which the British regarded as it - were maintained. Here it was forbidden attorneys practicing and political combinations could only camouflaged as cultural organizations form. Invented for these areas the concept of the so-called indirect rule, thus the "indirect rule" of the British, who partly accepted few over recognized traditional rulers, frequently in addition, over within the population "traditional rulers from of Great Britain grace" ran.

The "elite"

Within British west Africa it gave in the 1. Half 20. Century, a native layer formed west, the "elite" mentioned. These - completely predominantly - men knew each other usually among themselves, all the same from which part of British west Africa them originated. They moved mostly freely between the individual British areas and had - in contrast for instance to the formed layers within the French colonies - rather an westAfrican, as a Nigerian or Gambian identity.

The end of British west Africa

The end of British colonial rule in west Africa became by the 2. World war accelerates, which for a substantial economic upswing and first beginnings of industrialization in west Africa provided. Besides this war had been led under participation of some thousands westAfrican soldiers in British services on sides of the allied ones in the name by liberty and democracy. The speed of the Dekolonisierung was determined further also by different forms of civilian resistance and open rebellions in the individual colonies, e.g. the so-called Accra Riots 1947 in the gold coast.

1957 became Ghana independently, 1960 followed Nigeria, 1961 Sierra Leone and finally 1965 the Gambia.

Literature

• The Growth OF African Civilisation. The Revolutionary Years. West Africa since 1800, Longman 1984

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