Types of British Territories

(i) Crown Colony System:

A Crown Colony System was a territory acquired by the British through settlement, cession, conquest, or purchase. In crown colonies, the British used direct rule. It established political institutions such as a legislativeThe legislative branch of government is responsible for making laws within a country. Legislatures are made up of people called legislators who, in democracies, are elected by the country’s population More council, executiveThe executive, also referred to as the executive branch or executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law and has overall responsibility... More council, and Governor to rule the people. The people of the territory were regarded as British Subjects. The crown colony system was headed by a Governor e.g. Calabar Crown Colony, and Lagos Crown Colony.

The Crown Colony System was unpopular due to:

(i) The Governor was a dictator, he exercised vetoA veto is an official power or right to refuse to accept or allow something. It can also be defined as a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In... More powers and power of certification.

(ii) The executive council and legislative councils were advisory bodies to the Governors. The Governors were not bound to take their advice.

(iii) The executive council and legislative councils until the early 1940s and 1920s respectively were dominated by Europeans.

(iv) Educated elites were excluded from the administration of the Crown Colony.

(v) Africans in the legislative councils were nominated not elected.

(vi) Traditional rulers were used as unofficial members of the legislative councils.

(ii) Protectorate System:

British Protectorate was an area British offered their protection through treaties. In these territories, the British government exercised limited control. These territories had their traditional rulers with whom the British government signed treaties recognizing their status. There were two ProtectoratesA protectorate is a state or country that's protected by a larger, stronger one. Protectorate is another word for “protected state.” A country defends its protectorate, but it doesn't own it,... More: the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria and the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, each headed by a High Commissioner who was appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

In the Protectorate, traditional rulers ruled their people while the European officials supervised them. They ruled the people through the native authority system. Each Protectorate was divided into Provinces with a Resident officer as the head; Each Province was further divided into districts headed by District Officers. District Officers exercised executive and judicial powers over their districts.