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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Background to the 'Duel' between Crowther and Goldie on the Lower Niger, 1857-1885 |
Author: | Ayandele, Emmanuel A. |
Year: | 1967 |
Periodical: | Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria |
Volume: | 4 |
Issue: | 1 |
Period: | December |
Pages: | 45-63 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | history trade routes History and Exploration |
About person: | Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (1846-1925) |
Abstract: | There is a crucial aspect of the activities of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther and Sir George Taubman Goldie in Nigeria that has sofar eluded notice. This is the 'duel' which, with important consequences for the peoples of the Lower Niger, both men fought for their mutually conflicting interests. The 'duel' between the two 'makers' of modern Nigeria was not one of personalities, but the difference in their character determined to a great extent the clash of their different visions for the Lower Niger and its peoples. Crowther's faith in the Christian concept of brotherhood of all peoples impelled him to be an apostle of Free Trade on the Niger. For Goldie, free trade was opposed to his grasping material interest and imperial ambition. Crowther advocated that the best agency for the expansion of commerce was an African agency, without exclusion of other nationals. Goldie emphasized that only English nationals should undertake all the trade, with complete dislodgement of both African and non-British European competitors. Through the involvement of the C.M.S. and the Royal Niger Company, the 'duel' became a conflict of races. Notes. |