The Queen's empire
Photograph of the ceremony which formally incorporated the Ewi of Ado’s kingdom in the British Lagos Protectorate, from: The Queen’s Empire: a pictorial and descriptive record: illustrated from photographs. London: Cassell and Company, 1897-99 [FCDO Historical Collection DA11 QUEThis pictorial work commemorating Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee was meant to ‘illustrate the distinctive features of the life of Her subjects in all parts of the British Empire’, to show the ‘difference’ as well as the ‘resemblance’ of the various communities within the Empire and to demonstrate ‘the work which Britain is doing throughout the world - the work of civilising, of governing, of protecting life and property and of extending the benefits of trade and commerce’, of which ‘every British subject has the right to be proud.’
The photograph shows the ceremony, which formally incorporated the Ewi of Ado’s kingdom in the British Lagos Protectorate.
Ado was one of several Yoruba kingdoms situated in what is now Nigeria.
In this exhibition
- First European encounters
- Slavery and anti-slavery
- Towards emancipation
- South Africa: early European settlement
- South Africa: diamonds, gold and bloodshed
- Interior exploration of Africa
- The scramble for Africa
- Togoland treaty
- Spheres of influence
- The partition of Africa
- The Queen's empire
- Africa under European rule
- I speak of Africa
- Select bibliography