Government 2007 JAMB Past Questions - Question 30: Which of the following made the earliest contact with the Nigerian society?

Correct Answer

A

Explanation

The Portuguese made the earliest contact withthe Nigerian society. They were the first foreigners definitely known to havevisited West Africa by sea. Inthe fifteenth century A.D. the Europeans made their first recorded visit to West Africaincluding Nigeria with immediate and important results. As far as one man wasresponsible for this event, the credit must eventually go to Prince Henry ofPortugal, who later became known as Henry the Navigator. According to C.R. Niven in hisbook titled A Short History Of Nigeria(1962), "the King of Portugal made a contract in the middle of thefifteeth century with one Fernao Gomez, where by the later agreed to exploreone hundred leagues every year starting from Sierra Leone and working towardsalong the coast. Ruy de Sequeira who was in command of one of his expeditions,reached Lagos in the year 1472''