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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Before 'Star': The Import Substitution of Western-Style Alcohol in Nigeria, 1870-1970
Author:Heap, SimonISNI
Year:1996
Periodical:African Economic History
Volume:24
Pages:69-89
Language:English
Geographic terms:Nigeria
Great Britain
Subjects:colonialism
alcoholic beverages
Economics and Trade
History and Exploration
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3601845
Abstract:On 14 July 1949, the Nigerian Brewery Limited manufactured its first bottle of 'Star' lager beer in Lagos. The era of manufacturing Western-style alcohol in Nigeria had begun, at least according to the history books. This paper, however, challenges such conventional wisdom in the light of historical research going back over the preceding three-quarters of a century. It examines the successful and unsuccessful attempts at brewing and distilling carried out in the period by industrial entrepreneurs, both Nigerian and foreign, paying special attention to the pioneering efforts of Messrs Gros and Dupuy at establishing an alcohol manufacturing business in the first decade of the 20th century, and the attempts by the West African Brewery Syndicate and the United Africa Industries and Investment Company Limited to build breweries in Nigeria in the interwar period. These industrial efforts at import substitution are analysed within the context of general colonial policy towards such enterprises. The battle of 'control versus revenue' forms the article's underlying theme for analysing alcohol as an aspect of the political economy of colonialism. Industrializing trends which started under colonial rule continued during Nigeria's First Republic when domestic alcohol production reached the stage of virtual import substitution. Notes, ref.
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