Architecture, Empire, and Trade
This open access book tells a new and untold history of the architecture of West Africa in the colonial era, as revealed for the first time through the archives of the United Africa Company (UAC). From the imperial Royal Niger Company’s charter in the 1890s through to its suave African department st...
Sábháilte in:
| Príomhchruthaitheoirí: | , , , , |
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| Formáid: | Online |
| Teanga: | Béarla |
| Foilsithe / Cruthaithe: |
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK)
2026
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| Ábhair: | |
| Rochtain ar líne: | ONIX_20260621T103019_9781350411326_124 |
| Clibeanna: |
Níl clibeanna ann, Bí ar an gcéad duine le clib a chur leis an taifead seo!
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| _version_ | 1869524939102486528 |
|---|---|
| author | Jackson, Iain Harrison, Ewan Tenzon, Michele Woudstra, Rixt Tunstall, Claire |
| author_browse | Harrison, Ewan Jackson, Iain Tenzon, Michele Tunstall, Claire Woudstra, Rixt |
| author_facet | Jackson, Iain Harrison, Ewan Tenzon, Michele Woudstra, Rixt Tunstall, Claire |
| author_sort | Jackson, Iain |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | This open access book tells a new and untold history of the architecture of West Africa in the colonial era, as revealed for the first time through the archives of the United Africa Company (UAC). From the imperial Royal Niger Company’s charter in the 1890s through to its suave African department stores of the 1960s, the UAC – a British company firmly embedded in the economies of colonialism, extraction, and exploitation – became the largest commercial firm in West Africa, involved in almost every commercial enterprise and sector, and responsible for procuring architecture, infrastructure, and city real-estate across a vast region. Based on unprecedented access to the UAC archives, this book pieces together a new architectural history of West Africa from the high colonial period through to independence. It reproduces an extraordinary array of newly-uncovered material – from photographs of streetscapes, buildings, and West African everyday life to civic reports and city plans – and presents these alongside critical and theoretical discussions to reveal an alternative account of the architecture of the region which stands in contrast to more conventional state-focused histories. The book explores technological, aesthetic, and political shifts through an architectural lens, and brings to the fore an awareness of the violence and appropriation which underlie each architectural episode, showing how the UAC, as a case-study, presents a unique opportunity to investigate how architecture manifests power, culture, and identity in colonial and post-colonial contexts. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the University of Liverpool. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-177792 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) |
| publisherStr | Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1777922026-06-22T05:11:37Z Architecture, Empire, and Trade Jackson, Iain Harrison, Ewan Tenzon, Michele Woudstra, Rixt Tunstall, Claire Gambia Ghana Sierra Leone Nigeria Congo Landownership Land West Africa Capitalism Transnational Post-colonial 20th century Archive Plantations Settlements Modernity Royal Niger Company River Benue River Niger Lever Brothers Unilever Mercantile Decolonisation Global South Corporations thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture::AMX History of architecture thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHH African history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTQ Colonialism and imperialism thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies::JBSL1 Ethnic groups and multicultural studies This open access book tells a new and untold history of the architecture of West Africa in the colonial era, as revealed for the first time through the archives of the United Africa Company (UAC). From the imperial Royal Niger Company’s charter in the 1890s through to its suave African department stores of the 1960s, the UAC – a British company firmly embedded in the economies of colonialism, extraction, and exploitation – became the largest commercial firm in West Africa, involved in almost every commercial enterprise and sector, and responsible for procuring architecture, infrastructure, and city real-estate across a vast region. Based on unprecedented access to the UAC archives, this book pieces together a new architectural history of West Africa from the high colonial period through to independence. It reproduces an extraordinary array of newly-uncovered material – from photographs of streetscapes, buildings, and West African everyday life to civic reports and city plans – and presents these alongside critical and theoretical discussions to reveal an alternative account of the architecture of the region which stands in contrast to more conventional state-focused histories. The book explores technological, aesthetic, and political shifts through an architectural lens, and brings to the fore an awareness of the violence and appropriation which underlie each architectural episode, showing how the UAC, as a case-study, presents a unique opportunity to investigate how architecture manifests power, culture, and identity in colonial and post-colonial contexts. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the University of Liverpool. 2026-06-22T05:11:34Z 2026-06-22T05:11:34Z 2026-06-21T09:20:14Z 2025 book book ONIX_20260621T103019_9781350411326_124 https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350411340?locatt=label:secondary_bloomsburyCollections https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/114251 9781350411326 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/177792 eng open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/114251/1/9781350411326.pdf Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Bloomsbury Visual Arts b7fec79e-c133-4cb3-9544-88060a4d4e06 9781350411326 Bloomsbury Visual Arts 520 London open access |
| spellingShingle | Gambia Ghana Sierra Leone Nigeria Congo Landownership Land West Africa Capitalism Transnational Post-colonial 20th century Archive Plantations Settlements Modernity Royal Niger Company River Benue River Niger Lever Brothers Unilever Mercantile Decolonisation Global South Corporations thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture::AMX History of architecture thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHH African history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTQ Colonialism and imperialism thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies::JBSL1 Ethnic groups and multicultural studies Jackson, Iain Harrison, Ewan Tenzon, Michele Woudstra, Rixt Tunstall, Claire Architecture, Empire, and Trade |
| title | Architecture, Empire, and Trade |
| title_full | Architecture, Empire, and Trade |
| title_fullStr | Architecture, Empire, and Trade |
| title_full_unstemmed | Architecture, Empire, and Trade |
| title_short | Architecture, Empire, and Trade |
| title_sort | architecture empire and trade |
| topic | Gambia Ghana Sierra Leone Nigeria Congo Landownership Land West Africa Capitalism Transnational Post-colonial 20th century Archive Plantations Settlements Modernity Royal Niger Company River Benue River Niger Lever Brothers Unilever Mercantile Decolonisation Global South Corporations thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture::AMX History of architecture thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHH African history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTQ Colonialism and imperialism thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies::JBSL1 Ethnic groups and multicultural studies |
| topic_facet | Gambia Ghana Sierra Leone Nigeria Congo Landownership Land West Africa Capitalism Transnational Post-colonial 20th century Archive Plantations Settlements Modernity Royal Niger Company River Benue River Niger Lever Brothers Unilever Mercantile Decolonisation Global South Corporations thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture::AMX History of architecture thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHH African history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTQ Colonialism and imperialism thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AM Architecture thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies::JBSL1 Ethnic groups and multicultural studies |
| url | ONIX_20260621T103019_9781350411326_124 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jacksoniain architectureempireandtrade AT harrisonewan architectureempireandtrade AT tenzonmichele architectureempireandtrade AT woudstrarixt architectureempireandtrade AT tunstallclaire architectureempireandtrade |