In the late nineteenth century Lagos was a thriving West African port shaped by commerce, migration and the constant movement of ships that connected the city to Brazil, Europe and neighbouring coastal communities. By 1878 the harbour was already known for its mixture of sailing vessels, steamships, surf boats and the multicultural workforce that kept trade flowing. Among the newspapers circulating in this lively environment was The African Times, which recorded the rhythms of port life, the activities of merchants and the stories that captured the imagination of readers. One such report, published in May of that year, described an unusual incident involving a keg of money, a clerk and a coastal steamer. Though part of the everyday news cycle of the period, the report offers a vivid portrait of Lagos at a moment when the city was emerging as a major centre of Atlantic trade.
Merchant houses and the Afro Brazilian community
Throughout the nineteenth century many people of Yoruba and Central West African origin returned from Brazil and Cuba to settle in Lagos. These Afro Brazilian inhabitants, known locally as Aguda, brought with them commercial knowledge, architectural styles and cosmopolitan habits shaped by their lives across the Atlantic. Their trading houses became an important feature of Lagos’s economy. They dealt in cloth, timber, building materials, machinery, tobacco and silver coin that often arrived from Brazil or from ports linked to the British shipping lines. Streets such as Kakawa and Campos Square became known for these merchant houses and the commercial networks they maintained.
The arrival of foreign vessels carrying coin was therefore a familiar sight. Large sums of hard specie circulated regularly, secured in kegs or chests and distributed to merchants who relied on them for business transactions. The bustle of Lagos harbour, combined with the trust placed in clerks and carriers, made the movement of money a routine part of commercial life.
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Surf boat labour and the significance of Kru seafarers
Before the construction of modern ports, ships anchoring off Lagos relied on surf boat crews to transport passengers and cargo ashore. Among the most skilled and respected of these crews were the Kru seafarers from present day Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. Renowned for their maritime expertise, they worked as surf boat men, sailors and harbour hands throughout West Africa. Their presence in Lagos was constant and indispensable.
The movement of goods from ship to shore often began with the shout of orders in multiple languages, the steady rhythm of oars cutting through the surf and the careful balancing of cargo in hand built wooden boats. These crews braved strong currents, shallow waters and unpredictable waves, providing an essential service at a time when the shape of the coastline made harbour entry hazardous for large vessels. The report of a keg collected from an offshore vessel reflects the everyday reliance on this labour.
The world of steamships and coastal travel
By the 1870s steamships had become the backbone of communication and transport along the West African coast. Companies linked Lagos to Liverpool and to ports such as Bathurst, Freetown, Cape Coast, Accra, Porto Novo and Whydah. These mail steamers carried letters, trade goods, gold, silver, machinery and passengers who travelled between coastal towns for business, family or administrative duties. A steamer arriving in Lagos was a familiar sight with its tall plume of smoke, its iron hull and its crew shouting instructions as smaller boats ferried cargo and travellers to and from shore.
Telegraphic communication had not yet reached Lagos in 1878. Messages travelled at the speed of a ship’s departure and arrival. This meant that the early morning lifting of anchor or the unexpected appearance of a steamer on the horizon could shape the course of business, partnerships and personal affairs. When a coastal steamer left Lagos it joined a well established route that connected dozens of communities along the Bight of Benin.
The newspaper report of the keg of dollars
The report published in May described a clerk who had been tasked with receiving a keg of money from a visiting ship. Instead of delivering it to the merchant who awaited it, the clerk placed the keg aboard a departing steamer. The disappearance of the money prompted swift action and a vessel in Lagos was secured to pursue the ship along the coastline. The movements of ships were well known to readers of the time and the idea of a steamer travelling from Lagos to another port along the Bight of Benin would have been immediately recognisable. The report described the recovery of the keg and the arrest of the clerk after an eventful coastal pursuit.
To readers in 1878, the story combined familiar elements of port life. It involved the trusted but sometimes precarious relationship between merchants and clerks, the reliance on coastal vessels for travel and communication and the challenge of safeguarding valuable cargo in a bustling harbour.
Lagos as a maritime crossroads
Beyond the incident itself, the report offers a lens into Lagos as a growing maritime crossroads. The harbour was crowded with groups who shaped its daily activity. Afro Brazilian merchants arranged consignments from Brazil. Yoruba and Hausa traders moved goods inland. Kru seafarers transported cargo from ship to shore. European captains supervised steamers that linked West Africa to the wider Atlantic. Colonial administrators managed customs, policing and harbour regulations. Together these groups formed an intricate network of exchange and movement.
The city was defined by constant arrival and departure. Steam whistles sounded before dawn. Surf boats carried baskets of produce, crates of imported goods and barrels of palm oil. Clerks with notebooks and ledgers counted and weighed consignments. The movement of silver coin, such as the keg mentioned in the report, was part of this larger circulation of wealth and goods that shaped commercial life.
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Continuing significance of the 1878 report
The keg of dollars story endures because it captures the atmosphere of a Lagos in transition. It reflects a port shaped by trust, enterprise and the challenges of handling wealth in a world where communication depended on the sea. It also highlights the skills of the seafarers who worked the coastline and the maritime infrastructure that connected Lagos to a wider world. As the city continued to grow in the late nineteenth century, stories like this came to symbolise the energy, opportunities and risks present in a rising Atlantic port.
Author’s Note
This article highlights a memorable nineteenth century newspaper report that reflects the character of Lagos during a period of rapid commercial growth. It offers insight into the merchant houses that shaped the city, the surf boat labour that kept the harbour active and the steamships that linked Lagos to distant ports. The story serves as a reminder of how people, goods and opportunity flowed through the city, and how even a single event could illuminate the rhythms of trade and trust in a vibrant coastal centre.
References
The African Times, Lagos News Report, first of May 1878
Kennedy, The History of Steam Navigation
Amos, The Yoruba in Brazil
Mann, Slavery and the Birth of an African City
Brooks, Kru Mariners
