Royal Niger Company
The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the United African Company and renamed to National African Company in 1881 and to Royal Niger Company in 1886. In 1929, the company became part of the United Africa Company,[1] which came under the control of Unilever during the 1930s and continued to exist as a subsidiary of Unilever until 1987, when it was absorbed into the parent company.[2]
The company existed for a comparatively short time (1879–1900) but was instrumental in the formation of
United African Company
Richard Lander first explored the area of Nigeria as the servant of Hugh Clapperton. In 1830, he returned to the river with his brother John; in 1832, he returned again (without his brother) to establish a trading post for the African Steamship Company"[3] at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers. The expedition failed, with 40 of the 49 members dying of fever or wounds from native attacks. One of the survivors, Macgregor Laird, subsequently remained in Britain but directed and funded expeditions to the country until his death in 1861. He opposed the failed Niger expedition of 1841 but the success of the Pleiad's first mission in 1854 led to annual trips under Baikie and the 1857 foundation of Lokoja at the Niger–Benue confluence.
There were no voyages for the three years following Laird's death, but the establishment of the West African Company was soon followed by several other firms. The competition reduced prices to the point that profits were minimal. Arriving in the region in 1877,
Almost immediately, the firm saw renewed competition as two
National African Company
Goldie first began addressing the administration's concerns by increasing the company's capitalization to £100 000. He then managed to corral
This
Despite treaties extending British control over the tribes of the
The scruples of the
Niger Company
It was, however, evidently impossible for a chartered company to hold its own against the state-supported protectorates of France and
The company changed its name to The Niger Company Ltd and in 1929 became part of the United Africa Company.[1] The United Africa Company came under the control of Unilever in the 1930s and continued to exist as a subsidiary of Unilever until 1987, when it was absorbed into the parent company.[2]
See also
- Alhassan Dantata
- Royal Niger Company’s Medal
- Postage stamps and postal history of the Niger Territories
- Sokoto
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1860640148.
- ^ a b Tayo, Ayomide O. (26 July 2019). "How Nigeria transformed from a business into a country". Pulse NG. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ Baynes, T. S., ed. (1902). "Niger (river)". Encyclopædia Britannica (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
- ^ a b Máthé-Shires, László. "Lagos Colony and Oil Rivers Protectorate" in the Encyclopedia of African History, Vol. 3, pp. 791–792. Accessed 5 April 2014.
- ^ a b c Geary, Sir William N.M. (1927), pp. 174 ff.
- ^ a b c d McPhee, Allan. The Economic Revolution in British West Africa, pp. 75 ff. Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. (Abingdon), 1926 and reprinted 1971. Accessed 4 April 2014.
- ^ "Chartered Companies" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 10th ed.
- ^ a b Geary, Sir William Nevill Montgomerie. Nigeria under British Rule, p. 95. Frank Cass & Co, 1927. Accessed 5 April 2014.
- ^ a b public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911a). "Goldie, Sir George Dashwood Taubman". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 211–212. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ISBN 978-0521681575.
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 677–684. .
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 115–116. .