This can be categorized into three: Crown Colony, Protectorate and Trust Territory.
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- CROWN COLONY: Is an area or territory directly administered by the British government and in which the inhabitants of such territory are regarded as British subjects.
- PROTECTORATE: This was a system adopted by the British imperialist in providing adequate security for her territory against any incursion by other rival colonialists.
- TRUST TERRITORY: These were territories owned and controlled by Germany before their defeat in the first world war in 1914 – 1918. These territories were administered as trust territory for the League of Nations until the people gained their independence.
Note that Britain had four colonized territories in West Africa namely Nigeria, Gold Coast (now Ghana), Sierra Leone and the Gambia.