Nigeria has always been a land filled with milk and honey. However, one of its states also has palm oil in abundance. 19th-century Britain valued palm oil as an industrial lubricant.
As the first industrialized country in history, Britain's industries were dependent on resources like palm oil. The tropical plant endemic to the Niger Delta is the source of palm oil.
By 1870, Niger Delta (ex-Slave Coast) traded palm oil, not slaves, as Malaysia rose in palm production. The palm oil trade was initially unorganized, with locals selling to whoever could provide the greatest prices. Palm oil trade enriched ex-slave Jaja of Opobo, boosting his authority.
Europeans competed with one another, nonetheless, for first dibs on this lucrative commerce. George Goldie founded the United African Company (UAC) in 1879, taking inspiration from the defunct East India Company.
By 1884, Goldie had established thirty trading terminals along the Lower Niger River, essentially seizing control of the river. The Berlin Conference (1884) saw Britain leverage its palm oil monopoly for advantage over France & Germany.
The region where the UAC operated became part of Britain's sphere of influence after the meeting. The British started talks with African leaders after obtaining advantageous conditions from other European countries.
Despite prior agreements to limit operations to coastal areas, Goldie expanded the company's power inland within two years of 1886 when it negotiated contracts with tribal leaders along the Benue and Niger Rivers.
After receiving a royal charter in 1886, the firm changed its name to "The National Africa Company" and was permitted to manage the Niger Delta and the territory bordering the Benue and Niger Rivers. Later on, it changed its name to the "Royal Niger Company," and in the end, it became Unilever.
Masquerading as free trade, Royal Niger Company secured one-sided contracts with chiefs. The British administration ensured compliance with these contracts, often signed by local leaders in English.
For example, Jaja of Opobo was banished for "obstructing commerce" when he attempted to export palm oil on his own, and he died under dubious circumstances later on.
Jaja's fall sparked caution among other leaders, like King Koko Mingi VIII, who re-evaluated deals with the Royal Niger Company.
After serving as a Christian schoolteacher and ascending to the throne in 1889, King Koko fought the company's advances and pursued advantageous commercial conditions, especially with the Germans in Kamerun. Royal Niger Company choked Indian trade by 1894, restricting access to markets and partners.
King Koko gave up on Christianity towards the end of 1894 and tried to ally with Bonny and Okpoma to fight the Royal Niger Company and take back control of the trade. Bonny, on the other hand, declined to join Okpoma, demonstrating the success of the "divide and rule" tactic.
King Koko launched an attack on the Royal Niger Company's headquarters in Akassa, Bayelsa state, on January 29, 1895.
The assault, involving over a thousand troops, resulted in the capture of the base. King Koko took 60 white prisoners, supplies, ammo, and a Maxim rifle, even though he lost 40 of his troops.
Forty hostages were executed as a result of his attempts to negotiate with the British for the release of the hostages in return for independence in selecting commercial partners.
However, the British refused to budge. Then, on February 20, 1895, the Royal Navy, led by Admiral Bedford, struck Brass, killing a large number of Nembe people and inflicting further losses from smallpox.
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King Koko evaded capture, and by April 1895, trade restarted under British-imposed restrictions.
The British fined Brass £500, or £26,825 in today's money, and restored the stolen weapons to the survivors. Following a parliamentary inquiry, King Koko was declared an outlaw and had a £200 reward put on his head when he refused settlement conditions provided by the British. In exile in 1898, he committed suicide.
The overthrow of the Oba of Benin, a further testament to the Lower Niger's ongoing pacification, occurred concurrently.
Public outcry over the Brass Oil War (1899) led to the Royal Niger Company's charter revocation. After that, the business paid £865,000 to the British government for its interests, opening the door for Nigeria to become a British colony.
Thus, this was considered the first transaction between the Whites and Nigerians making Nigerians the goods being sold.
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