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British conquest · 26–28 December 1851

The British bombard Lagos

A Royal Navy squadron forced the Lagos bar and shelled the town for three days.

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Overview

A Royal Navy squadron forced the Lagos bar and shelled the town for three days. Oba Kosoko fled east to Epe, and the British installed his rival Akitoye, who signed a treaty against the slave trade. A decade of consular rule followed, and in 1861 Oba Dosunmu, under threat of bombardment, ceded Lagos to the Crown.[1],[2]High confidence

Who took part

What happened

  1. 26–28 December 1851 · Eko (Lagos Island)

    Lagos bombarded

    Three days of shelling and fighting; much of the town burns.

  2. 1 January 1852

    Treaty with Akitoye

    The new Oba signs a treaty abolishing the slave trade at Lagos.

  3. 6 August 1861 · Eko (Lagos Island)

    Lagos ceded

    Oba Dosunmu signs the cession: Lagos becomes a British colony, the first in what is now Nigeria.

Kingdoms involved

Sources

Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).

  1. Wikipedia contributors. Reduction of Lagos (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  2. Mann, Kristin. (2007). Slavery and the Birth of an African City: Lagos, 1760–1900. Indiana University Press (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)