British Capitalists in German Africa: John Holt’s Divided Loyalties

Beginning in the 1860s, the Liverpool firm John Holt & Co. developed a large import/export business along the west and central African coasts. Their holdings included factories, plantations, and shops in Cameroon, a territory that fell to the Germans after 1884. While initially the company feared that German rivals would gain special privileges under the new administration, Holt & Co. flourished, receiving considerable support from the German government over the next three decades.

Building on colonial economic literature as well as a range of corporate, government, and private letters, this paper explores how Holt employees effectively harnessed political networks to persuade the German government of their commitment to the colony’s development under German rule. It also examines how the company dealt with local partners as trust, credit, and other practices changed under the new administration. The paper then turns to the negative impact of the strategy of cooperation, arguing that Holt employees often remained silent or even supported political, social and economic policies that discriminated against Africans. Considering the Chairman, John Holt, had been a founding member of the Congo Reform Association and was a vocal advocate of African land and labour rights in Africa, the silence in Cameroon is notable. Company officials only expressed significant concerns about German treatment of the peoples of Cameroon on the eve of the allied invasion in 1914, and provided intelligence that proved instrumental to the German defeat.

In exploring Holt & Co. in Cameroon, the paper addresses the complex and competing loyalties of business people in colonial systems - to shareholders, governments, employees, and African partners - and demonstrates the ways in which company histories can be used to explore the development of colonial practices more broadly during the era of High Imperialism.