Richard Beale Blaize (November 22, 1845 – September 21, 1904) was a Nigerian-Sierra Leonean businessman, newspaper publisher, financier, and black nationalist of

Sierra Leonean Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

and

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

heritage.

Early life

Richard Olamilege Blaize was born in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

, Sierra Leone, to a Creole family of

emancipated Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

of Yoruba origin. His parents were Ojelabi Olapajuokun (who later took the name John Blaize) and Maria Blaize. At an early age, he attended a mission school and was nurtured in the Christian way. He started work as an apprentice for a printer in Freetown but soon left the country for the

Lagos Colony Lagos Colony was a British colonial possession centred on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was annexed on 6 August 1861 under the threat of force by Commander Beddingfield of HMS Prometheus who was accompanied by the Ac ...

in 1862.

Career in business and political activism

Business

After arriving Lagos in 1862, Blaize worked as a printer for Robert Campbell, editor of Anglo-American. He then left printing for

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more i ...

trading and importation. In trading, the participants were numerous, especially those from Lagos; most of the traders mainly dealt with exchanging goods with exporters and a few delved into exportation.Ayodeji Olukoju. "Anatomy of Business-Government Relations: Fiscal Policy and Mercantile Pressure Group Activity in Nigeria, 1916–1933", ''African Studies Review'', Vol. 38, No. 1, April 1995, p. 24. A number of traders owned steamers, which were used to navigate the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

to buy goods from groups across river, and some even boasted they showed the imperialists how to move across the river. Blaize was among a few of the Lagos merchants to be very successful in trading; he was an importer and was also involved with trade across the Niger. Though the ruinous approach of competitors led to many indigenous enterprises foundling not the least helped with the dominance of

sole proprietorships A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. A sole ...

, Blaize thrived in the midst of strong competition and became one of the wealthiest West Africans of his time.Mark R. Lipschutz, R. Kent Rasmussen. ''Dictionary of African Historical Biography'', Aldine Pub. Co., 1978, p. 32. . He was included in the European Lagos Chamber of Commerce constituted in 1888 and was on the 1898 Commission on Trade in Lagos.

Political activism

He was a prominent member of the

Royal African Society The Royal African Society (RAS) of the United Kingdom was founded in 1901 to promote relations between the United Kingdom and countries in Africa. The RAS is a not-for-profit membership organisation based in London. In addition to producing its jour ...

during the second half of the nineteenth century. He was also at various times, a

newspaper publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. He entered the

newsprint Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has an ...

business in 1880, with the launch of ''The Lagos Times and Gold Coast Colony Advertiser''. The paper brought on Mr Mojola Agbebi, who later became prominent and known for his views on cultural Nationalism.Boniface I. Obichere. ''Studies in Southern Nigerian History'', Routledge, 1982, p. 106, . However, the life of the newspaper was short, it folded in 1883. He was thereafter approached by

John Payne Jackson John Payne Jackson (25 March 1848 – 1 August 1915) was an Americo-Liberian journalist, born in Liberia who was influential in Lagos, Nigeria around the turn of the 20th century. He edited and published the ''Lagos Weekly Record'' from 1891 until ...

, a Liberian emigrant who wanted to re-invent the Times. After much prodding, Blaize agreed to publish a new rag: the ''Lagos Weekly Times''. Through his newspapers, he took an active part in demanding more education, better representation for Africans in Lagos, self-government, and pushed for a separation of Lagos Colony from the Gold Coast Colony which was later separated in 1886. Blaize's political clout in

was demonstrated in 1901 during the contest for the Lagos Throne. After Governor

William MacGregor Sir William MacGregor, (20 October 1846 – 3 July 1919)R. B. Joyce,', ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 158–160. Retrieved 29 September 2009 was a Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guine ...

refused to accept any of the rival candidates (Oduntan and Ajose Dawudu) for the Obaship, one of the king-makers (Yesufu Omo-Oba) introduced

Eshugbayi Eleko Oba Eshugbayi Eleko (died 1932), alias ''"Eleko of Eko"'', was the Oba of Lagos from 1901 to 1925, and from 1931 to 1932. His father was Oba Dosunmu. Eleko's struggles and legal victory over the British colonial government symbolized the struggle ...

to Blaize, and Blaize, in turn, introduced Eshugbayi Eleko to Governor MacGregor, who recognized Eleko as Oba of Lagos.

Private life

Blaize married Emily Cole in 1871 and the couple had 6 children including Charlotte Olajumoke, who in 1902, married Dr. Orisadipe Obasa. Emily Cole died in 1895.

Death, legacy and philanthropy

In the 1890s Blaize's financial worth was estimated to be about £150,000. Blaize donated £500 in memory of

Mary Kingsley Mary Henrietta Kingsley (13 October 1862 – 3 June 1900) was an English ethnographer, scientific writer, and explorer whose travels throughout West Africa and resulting work helped shape European perceptions of both African cultures and ...

to the

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) is a higher education institution with degree awarding powers and registered charity located in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Established in 1898, it was the first institution in the world dedicated ...

. When he died in 1904, he bequeathed £3,000 for the foundation of the Blaize Memorial Institute in Abeokuta, which opened in 1909 and functioned well into the 1970s. Blaize kept his connection with Freetown, his place of birth, bequeathing £500 to the Princess Christian Hospital there. Blaize left an estate valued at £60,000 to his children. One of his descendants is Nigerian make-up artist Lola Maja.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaize, Richard Beale Nigerian businesspeople 1845 births 1904 deaths Yoruba businesspeople People from Freetown Sierra Leone Creole people 19th-century Nigerian businesspeople Sierra Leonean people of Yoruba descent Sierra Leonean people of Nigerian descent People educated in Freetown, Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean emigrants to Nigeria Nigerian newspaper publishers (people) History of Lagos Nigerian commodities traders Yoruba philanthropists People from colonial Nigeria Saro people Nigerian financiers