Foreign Influences and Actors of Change: Heritage Architecture in Nigeria’s Niger Delta (1860 – 1960)

Abstract

Nigeria like most African countries was colonized by a foreign culture and evidence of colonial influences can be seen in some of its heritage buildings. This paper discusses the different actors of change and their influences on residential architectural styles in the cartographic Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Using the Case study method, it stems from a much larger study that examines architectural traits of buildings, structures and monuments of special interest in the study location, built from between 1860 to 1960. The study further employs the use of oral history and secondary data in analyzing these architectural built forms and their origins of influence. Past studies presuppose the existence of just one major foreign influence in this region but this study investigates and discovers other little known foreign influences that came via the more subtle actors of change