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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Commercial Development of the North: Company and Government Relations, 1900-1906
Author:Swindell, KennethISNI
Year:1994
Periodical:Paideuma
Volume:40
Pages:149-162
Language:English
Geographic terms:Nigeria
Northern Nigeria
Great Britain
Subjects:colonialism
multinational enterprises
mercantile history
Development and Technology
Economics and Trade
History and Exploration
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/40341681
Abstract:The creation of Northern Nigeria in 1900 was brought about by the revocation of the Royal Niger Company Charter. The company was reconstituted as a private firm, while the British established a protectorate over the larger part of the Sokoto Caliphate. This article examines the subsequent relations between the British administration and the reconstituted Niger Company, focusing on the commercial development of the area. It shows that the monopoly position of the Niger Company inhibited competition, and the interests of the company frequently clashed with those of the administration. European merchant capital and government intervention had only limited impact in transforming the commerce of the protectorate, at least until the railway opened to Kano in 1912. Disagreements over the mobilization of labour and the mode of payment affected relations between the company and the government. The controversy over the use of salt and cloth in payment for produce and labour was especially important, as the introduction of British coinage was essential to the taxation system of the protectorate's high commissioner, Frederick Lugard. The long-term interests of local producers tended to be increasingly overridden, although neither government nor commerce were ever able to dominate the recruitment of labour totally. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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