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In West Africa the impact of British rule was more dramatic. The British had been heavily involved in the West African slave trade in the 1700s. The trade was abolished in the early 1800s and the British put a lot of effort into trying to wipe out slavery and the slave trade in all of Africa. This changed Britain's relations with West Africa. British merchants and traders developed close links with the rulers of the many different nations on the West Coast of Africa, such as the rulers of Benin, Dahomey and Asante. These nations provided Britain with gold, luxury foods and many other goods.Throughout the 1800s British traders and politicians became increasingly involved with the leaders of these nations. They made alliances and helped out some nations in their wars with others. By the 1880s West Africa was dominated by Britain. Local chieftains ruled their own peoples using their own customs. However, they paid taxes to Britain.As in Egypt, the families of chieftains often gained from British rule. They adopted the English language and British clothes. They were educated in Britain. They took up some posts in the civil service in West Africa, although the senior posts were always taken by British officials. For ordinary West Africans, British rule brought major changes to their everyday lives. The British brought in a system of owning, buying and selling land, which meant many Africans had to pay rent. This meant that instead of growing crops for food, they had to grow crops to sell (to pay the rent). These were usually crops like rubber or cocoa. They also found that their traditional crafts were sometimes destroyed by competition from goods produced in British factories.
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