ABSTRACT
The value of the import and export trade of Lagos in the period from 1892 to 1914 was substantial, representing on average some 60 per cent of Nigeria’s total trade. From 1893 to 1901 the total value of Lagos trade stagnated, being £1,430,651 in the former year and £1,484,402 in the latter. From 1905 rapid growth ensued, the trade increasing from £1,886,636 in 19057 to £4,045,609 in 1910.8 As early as the last date it was observed that ‘Immediately on landing at the wharf the stranger who visits Lagos for the first time becomes forcibly conscious of being in the midst of the commercial activities of the country .’9 As Lagos provided the only natural doorway to the hinterland for over 100 miles of the south-western Nigerian coastline the colonial government decided to develop the port to make it play the leading role in the conduct of Nigeria’s maritime trade. This article examines the development of the port in the context of Nigerian economic development. It highlights the dialogue between expatriate business interests and the colonial state in the formulation of port policy, 10 the problems of port working such as slow shipping turn-round and the character of shipping in relation to port development. It sheds light on some aspects of the economic history of Lagos in the first half of this century. For the economic fortunes of the city and the hinterland have varied with the character and volume of the shipping and maritime trade of the port — which were determined to a great extent by physical conditions in the port during this period.
