(Redirected from British East Africa Company)The 'Imperial British East Africa Company' (IBEAC) was the administrator of
British East Africa, which was the forerunner of the
East Africa Protectorate, later
Kenya. The IBEAC was a commercial association founded to develop African trade in the areas controlled by the British colonial power. Created after the
Berlin Treaty of 1885, it was led by
William Mackinnon and built upon his company's trading activities in the region, with the encouragement of the British government.
Mombasa and its harbour were central to its operations, with an administrative office about 80km south in
Shimoni. The company was incorporated in London on 18 April 1888, and granted a royal charter by
Queen Victoria on 6 September 1888.
The IBEAC oversaw an area of approximately 246,800 mi² (639,209 km²) situated along the eastern coast of Africa, its centre being at about 39° East
longitude and 0°
latitude, and from 1890 also administered
Uganda. The administration of
British East Africa was transferred to the
Foreign Office on 1 July
1895, and in 1896 so was control of
Uganda.
Sources
★
Sir William Mackinnon
★ ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''
★
''London Gazette'', 7 September 1888
See also
★
Colonial Heads of Kenya
★
German East Africa
Further reading
★ John S. Galbraith, ''Mackinnon and East Africa 1878-1895'' (Cambridge 1972)
★
The partition of East Africa (1856 - 1891)
★
1911 Encyclopedia