Exploitation in Nigeria

“Nigeria’s oil production reached 2. 1 million barrels per day in 2010. ” Nigeria is currently the sixth largest crude oil producer and it is the top oil producer in Africa. Similar to Bougainville Island, Nigeria is being exploited by many western countries and their multinational corporations because of their rich natural resource. Oil wasn’t the first thing that was exploited in Nigeria; in 1471 Portuguese traders landed near the Niger Delta, the southern tip of Nigeria, and started trading with the local king.
The Portuguese travellers traded “coral beads; textile imports from India; European-manufactured articles, including tools and weapons; and manillas (brass and bronze bracelets that were used as currency and also were melted down for objects d’art)” for slaves. Slavery was extremely abundant and the one the best source of income for many Nigerians. Back wealth was measure by the size of your estate and the number of slaves. Because of the large number of slaves going through the ports of Nigeria, namely Badagry, many slaves were bought by many wealthy local Nigerians.
Many slaves were also sold to America in the transatlantic slave trade where slaves were captured in Africa and sent to America to work on plantations and as servants in return for manufactured goods from developed European countries. Western countries exploited many countries in Africa, including Nigeria, for the abundant supply of slaves. These slaves were extremely useful for slave labor and as servants because of the low cost and the inhumane living conditions they could put them in.

For hundreds of years, the people of Africa, including Nigeria, were exploited for slaves. In 1938 the Nigerian government at that time granted Shell, a multinational oil company, a concession to explore and drill for oil in Nigeria. For almost two decades, Shell didn’t take any action in Nigeria but in 1938, Shell surveyed the area near the Niger Delta and eventually found lots of extremely rich and abundant crude oil deposits.