"The Fate of Austro-hungarian and German Businessmen and Firms in Nigeria During WWI "

Upon the start of WWI, Austrian-Hungarian and German firms were flourishing in Southern Nigeria, as their products were well appreciated by the indigenous population and they proposed favourable payment facilities vs. their British and French competitors. Prior to the British colonisation, the Reichsmark and the Thaler were favoured to the detriment of the British Sterling.
At the eve of WWI, Germany was an important trading partner of Nigeria. Germany became an enemy to Great Britain and all its colonies overseas and the German and Austrian businesses became “enemy companies”. Many of these businesses were forcibly sold at a loss in 1916 or personal and business assets of these nationals were seized and confiscated. In that respect, the Allied Powers cooperated to block any trade and business transactions from and into the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany. After WWI, some businessmen resumed their activities in Nigeria thanks to the retrocession of their lost properties or returned to the nations of birth.
By using historical sources found in Germany, Nigeria and in the UK such as colonial archives, official government documents and local newspapers written in English from Nigeria and the UK, and in German from Austria and Germany, this paper proposes to understand the fate of Austro-Hungarian and German businessmen, citizens and firms during WWI in Nigeria. First, we will discover why the German presence was so important in Nigeria ante bellum on the back of an auspicious operating environment. Second, we will analyse the process of business and property loss by German and Austro-Hungarian subjects as soon as the United Kingdom declared war to Germany and the Austrian Empire and if these business activities of these firms in Nigeria were replaced by the English and the Allies. Lastly, we will discover what happened post bellum to these firms and citizens.