Postcards, areas reserved by the British colonial government for Europeans and for "natives" in Port Harcourt. Segregation was part of the British system of indirect rule, indigenous people were kept as far away as possible with exception to servants and those invited.
Many British-African cities (Enugu, Harare, etc.) were segregated as such with well planned and built-up European areas and 'native' settlements usually growing as slums as people moved to the new urban areas to work. Photo: European Hospital, Port Harcourt (postcard).
European court, Old Calabar, Southern Nigeria; uniformed Africans sitting behind a table and Europeans behind them; two banners bearing Union Jack flags with "NEW PROVIDENCE | OLD CALABAR" on them, 1894-1908. Photo: W J Sawyer.
Echoes of segregation linger on; European reservations were usually central and better built with important administrative buildings nearby, independence turned them into GRAs (Government Reserved Areas) which are usually still among the wealthier parts of Nigerian cities today.
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