Merchant Capital and Economic Decolonization

The United Africa Company, formed in 1929, was the largest single commercial organization in West and Equatorial Africa. This is a comprehensive and detailed account of its history based on unrestricted access to the archives. It is the first published history of the company and fills a serious gap in modern African economic history.
The United Africa Company (UAC), formed in 1929 by the fusion of the Niger Company and the African and Eastern Corporation, was by far the largest single commercial organization in West and Equatorial Africa, and thus central to modern African economic history. This is the first detailed account to be published and one which fills a serious gap in the literature. It was not commissioned by the company (now reabsorbed into Unilever) but the author had full access to
all confidential material in the UAC and Unilever archives and complete freedom in what he wrote. The book is not intended to be primarily a company history but uses the UAC as a focal point for detailed study of how the role of foreign merchant capital changed in response to economic and political
developments in Black Africa during this critical half century.