History Of The British Empire

Great Britain’s colonial power in the late 1700’s literally extended around the world. The British Empire was so expansive, it was often said, “The sun never goes down on the British Empire.” (Amundson, 2012) The British Empire’s expansion began as a way to advance Britain’s economic interests around the world. The takeover of countries and capturing of land was done to support Britain’s dependence on tea, sugar, cotton, mercantile, and other resources that were located in: Canada, the East coast of America, the Caribbean, Australia, India, Fiji, and many countries in Africa, beginning with South Africa (Cody, 2000). Land that was taken over were deemed colonies of the British empire. As a result of Britain’s campaign to conquer, rape, and pillage conquer countries to impose colonial rule over many of its colonies, advocacy for an effective educational system resulted in irreparable damage to educational systems, particularly in Nigeria.

Although initially Britain’s imperialistic efforts to rule the world were fueled by the desire to engage in commerce and trade, Nigeria was conquered by Britain’s view of “the white man’s burden”, which saw inhabitants of Nigeria as “…less than human, thus requiring domination and subjection to being ruled by the British.” This inhumane and barbaric practice began the dehumanization of people around the world in many of Britain’s colonies. Further, it ushered in an era of object brutality against indigenous people globally in the name of the “British Crown.” (Cody, 2000)

The descent on Africa, previously viewed as ‘the Dark Continent’ by European countries, was a result of the discovery of vast natural resources such as minerals, gold, and an unending supply of free labor through the enslavement...

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...tions, values, customs, and history were virtually ignored with the belief that the indigenous people of Nigeria could not govern, socialize, and educate themselves. The rich natural resources of the country made it vulnerable to the will of more powerful entities. In particular, the colonization of the country created a society which divided its regions into its bifurcated current educational system. While the research shows the education system in Nigeria continues to improve since its independence from Britain, Nigeria still must overcome the “mentacide” resulting from decades of British rule. Notwithstanding Britain’s failure to advocate for an effective education system, Nigeria continues to emerge as a country with the ability to educate its own citizenry despite enduring British colonization influences in its socio economic, political and educational systems.