Commercial Activities of the Niger Company and John Holt in Igalaland: Central Nigeria, 1860-1939

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Periodical article

Title:	Commercial Activities of the Niger Company and John Holt in Igalaland: Central Nigeria, 1860-1939
Author:	Abdulkadir, M.S.
Year:	1996
Periodical:	Transafrican Journal of History
Volume:	25
Pages:	84-99
Language:	English
Notes:	biblio. refs., maps
Geographic terms:	Nigeria West Africa
Subjects:	foreign enterprises mercantile history History and Exploration Economics and Trade History, Archaeology economic history Niger Company Holt, John Igarra (Nigeria) trade
Abstract:	The two major British firms operating in Igalaland, central Nigeria, at the turn of the twentieth century were the Niger Company, variously known as the United Africa Company (UAC), the National African Company (NAC) and the Royal Niger Company (RNC), and John Holt. This articles describes the commercial activities of these two firms in Igalaland, from the economic depression of the 1860s to the eve of World War II in 1939, focusing specifically on how the firms actually operated, how they saw their limitations and problems, and how they attempted to proceed profitably. On the whole, the two firms concentrated their efforts on intervening in the accumulation cycle and ensuring the transfer of surplus and export of wealth from the domestic economy to their headquarters. They did not invest their own capital or profits in Igalaland. The firms, especially the Niger Company, also laid the foundation for future British colonial rule in Northern Nigeria. Notes, ref., sum.