SS1 First Term Commerce Lesson Note – History of Commerce

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WEEK 2

SUBJECT: COMMERCE

CLASS: SS1

TOPIC: HISTORY OF COMMERCE

CONTENT:

• Historical background of Commerce
• Factors affecting the growth of commerce in West Africa.
• The barter system

SUB-TOPIC1: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In the olden days, people engaged in subsistence production. This means they were producing goods for themselves and their family. Later they started interacting with one another because it was difficult for them to meet their entire daily requirement. The system of exchanging goods for goods, called trade by barter then came into existence. This is the genesis of exchange and perhaps the beginning of commercial activities the world over. Trading activities were however limited to internal trade only.

The first form of foreign trade in Nigeria was the Trans Sahara trade in which camels were used as means of transportation. The development of caravan routes across the desert linked Nigeria with the North African Traders. The Arab merchants brought goods like salt, cowries, copper, cloth, books, etc which were exchanged for kola nuts, slaves, gold, hides, etc. Important town like Kano, Borno, Zaria, Kastina played crucial role during this period.

Afterwards, another contact was made with the Europeans and that actually boosted commercial activities in Nigeria. This started in the 15^th century when the missionary came to Africa. The European traders brought weapons, books, cloths etc and exchanged them for slaves and palm oil. The initial commercial towns that served as important trading routes to the sea were Badagry, Bonny, Opobo and calabar. King Jaja of Opobo played a great role in the development of commerce in Nigeria.

After the abolition of slave trade by the British Government, the first breakthrough in commercial activities in Nigeria was the establishment of United African Company (UAC) and Royal Niger Company. By 1960, Nigeria had become a force to be reckoned with in the export of palm oil, cocoa, groundnut and later crude oil.

Also, in 1960 the exploration of crude oil brought businessmen from all over the world to Nigeria. The process of exploration changed the face of commercial activities in Nigeria. Huge revenue was

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