The 1938 Gold Coast Cocoa Crisis: British Business and the Colonial Office

Abstract

In recent years considerable attention has been focused upon the impact of interest groups on British governmental processes. The political activities of British businesses, including their contacts within the administrative structure, however, has escaped detailed scrutiny. This article, 1 drawn from a larger study now in preparation, concentrates upon the relations which existed between the Colonial Office and three British firms operating in West Africa: the United Africa Company (UAC); Cadbury Brothers Limited (Cadburys); and John Holt and Company, Liverpool (Holts). These concerns were actively involved in buying cocoa just prior to the 1937 Cocoa Hold-Up in the Gold Coast. A discussion about the events surrounding the firms' Agreement in 1937 and about its reception both in London and in the Gold Coast will be followed by a review of the subsequent activities of the three firms, especially in relation