A HISTORY OF TIN MINING AND COERCED PROLETARIANIZATION IN BEROM LAND, NORTHERN NIGERIA, 1902-1960

Abstract

Tin was an indispensable commodity in manufacturing during the industrial revolution in Europe. Tin was a major consideration for the British conquest of Berom Land which is located in Northern Nigeria. The British colonial government opened up the area for intensive and expansive tin mining activities. The people were indifferent and refused to supply the much-needed labour-force on the tin fields. The colonial government implemented some policies which forced the people to become proletariats by the supply of their labour-force to the owners of the tin fields. The primary thrust of this article is to investigate and reveal the various strategies that the British colonial government adopted to coerce the Berom people to become proletariats, who would exchange their labour for wages. It was discovered that the strategies employed by the British colonial government succeeded in compelling the people to work on the tin fields. This pioneering study in-term of an in-depth research and analysis on how the Berom people became unskilled labour-force adopted a qualitative approach to the collection and interpretation of data.