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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The British Occupation of the Sokoto Caliphate: The Military Dimension, 1897-1906 |
Author: | Ubah, Chinedu N. |
Year: | 1994 |
Periodical: | Paideuma |
Volume: | 40 |
Pages: | 81-97 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Nigeria Northern Nigeria Great Britain |
Subjects: | colonial conquest Sokoto polity colonial forces colonialism History and Exploration Military, Defense and Arms Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Religion and Witchcraft |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/40341677 |
Abstract: | The Sokoto Caliphate (Northern Nigeria) was occupied by British colonial forces between 1897 and 1906. To appreciate the significance of the British conquest, one must assess the quality of the army which undertook it, demonstrate the contribution of its various components - infantry, cavalry and artillery - and show how they reinforced each other to make victory certain. This paper shows that the British colonial army differed fundamentally from the forces of the Caliphate in almost every respect: command structure, personnel, training, discipline, tactics and weaponry. Together, these differences gave the colonial army such a professional and technological superiority that its victory was virtually inevitable. The conquest of the Caliphate was followed by the garrisoning of its strategic locations so that effective control could be established over the territory. The bloody nature of the conquest and the occupation army's ruthlessness in the performance of its duties during the early years of British rule were bound to provoke the hostility of the subject population. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |