Edmund Dene Morel was a British activist and later Labour politician notable for establishing the Congo Reform Association, an organisation that aimed to bring to public attention the atrocities committed by Belgium in the Congo Free State.

This book, published in 1911 and dedicated to the anthropologist Mary Kingsley (1862-1900), concerns the then British colony of Nigeria. In it, Morel describes his travels in the country, its history and the treatment of the Black majority by British colonial officials. Morel advocated greater Nigerian involvement in government and better education for Nigerians, arguing that the current policies practised by Britain in the country ‘must produce unhappiness and unrest’.

Despite his advocacy for greater Nigerian self-government, Morel’s ideas were closely connected to early-twentieth-century notions of empire that were based on racial prejudice. Following the Second World War and in response to African nationalist movements, Britain pursued a policy of decolonisation and in 1960, Nigeria gained its independence.