Category: British Central Africa

The Imperial Tobacco Company

The Imperial Tobacco Company

Limbe

The Imperial Tobacco Company was created in 1901 through the amalgamation of 13 British tobacco and cigarette companies: W.D. & H.O. Wills (the leading manufacturer of tobacco products at that time), John Player & Sons, and 11 other independent family businesses, which were in competition with companies from the United States by the American Tobacco Company.

In 1902, the Imperial Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company agreed to form a joint venture: the British-American Tobacco Company Ltd. The parent companies agreed not to trade in each other’s domestic territory and to assign trademarks, export businesses, and overseas subsidiaries to the joint venture.

In the same year, Sharrer’s landholdings in Cholo district were sold to the British Central Africa Company Ltd. For the first two decades of the 20th century, the area remained undeveloped and relatively under-populated. With the construction of the Shire Highlands Railway from Port Herald to Blantyre, the estates began to grow Flue-cured tobacco, and The British Central Africa Company Ltd was able to interest the Imperial Tobacco Company in Nyasaland tobacco.

The Imperial Tobacco Company imported good quality seed and brought in experts, at first aiming to produce cigar leaf, but later concentrating on flue-cured leaf for cigarettes. By 1907, the British Central Africa Company had 14 barns for flue-curing tobacco, out of a total of 119 such barns in the protectorate. In 1908, the Imperial Tobacco Company opened a buying and packing station at Limbe.

At the end of the First World War, the company started a scheme for settling ex-servicemen on its undeveloped land as tobacco growers. About 50 men took up farms, usually of 1,000 acres. The largest tobacco farm was owned by I. Conforzi (Tea and Tobacco) Ltd.

Between 1920 to 1924, many servicemen failed as none had a farming background or any farming training. Some survived until a drastic fall in prices for flue-cured tobacco after 1927, but then took up whatever employment they could find. After 1927, the production of dark-fired tobacco by African farmers, either estate tenants or on Crown lands, overtook that of flue-cured tobacco, and the British Central Africa Company, which already had a scheme for its tenants to grow tobacco under supervision, became mostly a broker for the tobacco those tenants produced.

In 1973, the Imperial Tobacco Company, having become increasingly diversified by acquisition of (amongst others) restaurant chains, food services and distribution businesses, changed its name to Imperial Group.

Contributor
  • James Gavin
  • Walter Herdzik

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Hut Tax

Hut Tax

 

The hut tax was a type of taxation introduced by British colonialists in Africa on a per hut or household basis. It was variously payable in money, labour, grain or stock and benefited the colonial authorities in four related ways: it raised money; it supported the currency; it broadened the cash economy, aiding further development; and it forced Africans to labour in the colonial economy.

Households which had survived on, and stored their wealth in cattle ranching now sent members to work for the colonialists in order to raise cash with which to pay the tax. The colonial economy depended upon African labour to build new towns and railways, and in southern Africa to work in the rapidly developing mines.

Regions

References

Contributors
  • Spencer Ross Rowley

British Central Africa: Native Tax

British Central Africa

Native Tax

 

In 1891, Administrator Harry Johnston was dependent on Cecil Rhodes to fund British Central Africa. Johnston believed that if the Africans were to receive protection from the Administration, they would need to contribute something to support this.

Initially, he sought to collect revenue through a Poll Tax of 6/- which was moderate compared to the 14/- per hut which was the rate in Bechuanaland. This was still a heavy burden on most and in practice as little as 1/- per head was collected and often in produce.

Eventually, it was set at 3/- per hut as per the 1893 Hut Tax. The tax was only compulsory in those areas the Administration could enforce its authority (such as the Shire valley and Highlands). In the Northerly part of the protectorate, it remained optional.

British Central Africa

Postcards: Real Photo Cards – Type IIC

Real Photo Cards

Type IIC

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Postcards: Sallo Epstein & Co. – No.s 1640-1649

Sallo Epstein & Co.

No.s 1640-1649

No.sDescriptionEarliest PMK Date
1640
1641Albert Falls - Natal
1642
1643Joubert's Park, Johannesburg
1644Tramway Bridge, Sunnyside, Pretoria
1645
1646Young and Frolicsome.20/10/1906
1647Tillers of the soil, South Africa
1648The Station, Winburg
1649Blantyre - British Central Africa19/04/1910

Seventh-Day Adventist Church: Plainfield Mission

Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Plainfield Mission

Plainfield Mission was established in Southern Cholo, by The Seventh Day Baptist Church of Plainfield, United States. On 30th January, 1899, Joseph Booth, who after long interviews with the Seventh-Day Baptists, incorporated the Sabbath Evangelizing and Industrial Association with a capital of $20,000. On 19th April, 1899, Booth and his family left New York to establish a mission in Africa that was to be of an industrial nature.

Between May and September of 1900, the American Seventh-Day Baptists purchased 2,000 acres of land from a German coffee planter. the mission station had been established. The coffee-growing industrial mission was not economically viable for a variety of reasons, one of which was a precipitous drop in coffee prices, and soon failed.

Booth soon returned to the United States and became a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA). In 1902, the General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists purchased Plainfield Mission from the Seventh-Day Baptists. The SDA sponsored Booth’s return to British Central Africa and to work at the Plainfield Mission.

With Booth, the SDA also sent Thomas H. Branch (an African American). His daughter Mabel became the first SDA teacher in British Central Africa. Branch had difficulties with the British Colonials due to the colour of his skin and the impact of ‘Independent Africans’ on the local Africans. By February, 1903 the relationship between Booth and Branch had broken down. Booth left for South Africa and never returned.

Branch and his daughter opened a school in 1903, with Mabel as its only teacher.  So popular was the school that in 1904 it had 66 students, 24 of them borders. By 1904, the mission was surrounded by five or six villages. Branch excelled in agriculture and the mission was successfully harvesting maize, cotton, cattle and poultry – manual labor on the farm was required of all students.

In 1907, J. C. Rogers was sent to the mission and it’s name was changed to Malamulo Mission. ‘Malamulo’ originates from the Chichewa word for “laws” or “the commandments.”  This was in contrast to when Booth and Branch arrived and the Africans had been influenced by ‘no law’ or ‘changed law’ by other missionaries.

References

Contributors
  • Mark Loomis
  • James Gavin

Malamulo Mission: Malamulo Mission Hospital

Malamulo Mission

Malamulo Mission Hospital

Medical work at Malamulo Mission began in 1915 with the opening of a medical clinic by Irene Fourie, a hydro therapist from the United States. The level of medical service significantly increased in 1925 with the arrival of Dr. Carl Birkenstock from South Africa and construction of new buildings.  One of Dr. Birkenstock’s largest contributions was in the treatment of lepers.  In response to the increasing number of leper patients, a separate facility (“leper colony” or leprosarium) was built on the mission site.  By 1962, the leprosarium was treating 300 in-patients and 250 outpatients.  The facility was closed in 1979.

The lack of trained medical staff led to the founding of what is now the Malamulo Medical School (Malamulo College of Health Sciences).  A 3-year hospital assistant course was opened in 1935.  A 4-year medical assistants program and training for nurses and midwifery were later added.

Malamulo Hospital today is a 200-bed facility providing preventative health care services and specialized services in women’s and child’s health, infectious diseases, chronic disease and general surgery.  Typical cases include pneumonia, malaria, TB, HIV complications, dehydration and meningitis.  The hospital is managed by Adventist Health International and hosts the Loma Linda University Field Station.  The hospital also has a 5-year surgical training program accredited through the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS).

References

Contributors
  • James Gavin

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Seventh-Day Adventist Church: Malamulo Mission

Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Malamulo Mission

Malamulo Mission originally started as Plainfield Mission in 1899. Located 40 miles South of Blantyre in Makwasa, Southern Thyolo District of Malawi (formerly Nyasaland), Malamulo has served as an important base from which SDA missionary efforts have expanded to other parts of Malawi and surrounding countries.

Administration of Plainfield Mission and school passed to Joel C. Rodgers in 1907 and the mission changed its name in to “Malamulo” from the Chichewa word for “laws” or “the commandments.” Thomas Branch, who was fundamental in establishing the workings of Plainfield Mission, returned to the United States in 1908 due to his wife’s ill health. By 1910, the farm had expanded to 2000 acres with a heard of cattle.  There were 12 “out-schools” with a total enrollment of over 400 students. A teacher-training course was introduced in 1925.

In 1947-48, secondary education and a 2-year ministerial training program were begun.  As a consequence of these developments, the school became known as the Malamulo Training Institute, later Malamulo College.  The training and ministerial schools were closed in 1972 for lack of funds.  The school’s name was changed to “Malamulo Secondary School” in 1991.

Malamulo Press was established in 1926 by printing tracts and other materials on a small hand press.  In the 1930’s the press moved to a larger building and operations were expanded to include commercial printing.  The name changed in 1965 to Malamulo Publishing house.

The other, and perhaps most significant, contribution of Malamulo has been the development of the Malamulo Hospital, which began as a clinic in 1915.

References

Contributors
  • Mark Loomis

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