The Economic history of Nigeria falls into three periods. They are the: pre-colonial, the colonial and the post-colonial or independence periods. The pre-colonial period covers the longest the part of Nigerian history. The colonial period covers a period of 60 years,1900-1960 while the independence period dates from October 1, 1960. Colonialism Colonialism is a period or time where one superior country takes over the political control of another country with the intention of profiting economically from the resources of the weaker country and having dominion over the colonised nation. Colonialism can also be defined as a practice where one country dominates another country through subjugation of the weaker people over the stronger people. Colonialism is a major feature of the economic history of Nigeria. Britain eventually gained control of the Nigerian administrators covering the period . After independence, the Nigerian economy seemed very promising. Many saw Nigeria, with 15% of Africa's population, as an emerging economy. However, this potential never materialized. A series of unfortunate political and economic events have stalled Nigerian growth. The country still plays an important economic role in the world, especially as a producer of fossil fuels. Nigeria during the Atlantic slave trade In the Fifteenth century, Europe started direct trade. The Portuguese had explored the coasts to avoid Saharan intermediaries in the trade of West African gold to Europe and that was a way to India. The Portuguese built coastal bases and introduced the Atlantic slave trade when they bought captives from the kingdom of Benin (nowadays Nigeria) and sold them to African tradesmen on the coast (nowadays Ghana). The period from 1680 to 1800 was dominated by a boom of the Atlantic slave trade because of the growth of the Atlantic plantation system. The effects on peaceful production and trade were terrible since slave trade was a cause of conflicts. However, the Atlantic trade still brought advantages. Especially, the currencies that West African tradesmen adopted were more efficient than earlier commodity currencies. This helped to reduce the cost of doing business. History of tax in Nigeria In the mid-17th century to the mid-18th century, the European was on the quest to establish more trade posts for a wider competition in trade and empire in the Atlantic. The British, like other newcomers to the slave trade, found they could compete with the Dutch in West Africa only by forming national trading companies. The first such