Benjamin Campbell (1802? – 1859) was a British merchant who served as the first

Consular Agent A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

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 ...

. Campbell originally settled in the Colony of Sierra Leone and traded in the

Nunez River Nunez River or Rio Nuñez (Kakandé) is a river in Guinea with its source in the Futa Jallon highlands. It is also known as the Tinguilinta River, after a village along its upper course. Geography Lying between the to the north and the Pongo ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

. There he was a Member of His Majesty's Colonial Council of Sierra Leone and was thus accorded the title of 'Honorable'. In 1841 papers were found aboard the ''

Segunda Rosario ''Segunda Rosario'' was a schooner involved in the slave trade which was captured in 1841. In 1840 ''Segunda Rosario'' set sail for West Africa from Havana laden with tobacco and "ready made clothes". After arriving at the Pongo River, the ship ...

'', a ship engaged in the slave trade condemned at the Havana

Mixed Commission Court A Mixed Commission Court was a joint court set up by the British government with Dutch, Spanish or Portuguese representation following treaties agreed in 1817 and 1818. By 1820 there were 6 courts: This occurred during a period often referred to as ...

. This raised concerns that Campbell was involved in the

slave trade 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 ...

. When Campbell was subsequently investigated, he replied that he had been engaged in trade with

Niara Bely Niara Bely (c. 1790 – 1879), also known as Elizabeth Bailey Gomez, was a Luso-African queen who became a prominent businesswoman in nineteenth century Guinea. She was active in the slave trade in Farenya, Guinea. Biography Niara Bely was the ...

(aka Isabela Lightbourn) for sixteen years but only as regards legitimate commodities such as ivory, hides, wax, gold and coffee. Although Mrs Lightbourn also herself engaged in the slave trade, Campbell denied any personal involvement, and indeed claimed that he had suffered personal losses following the destruction of his property on the Nunez River, owing to his opposition to the slave trade. He was appointed as Consul in Lagos on 21 July 1853 and served in this capacity until his death on 17 April 1859.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Benjamin History of Nigeria History of Lagos People of colonial Nigeria 1800s births Year of birth uncertain 1859 deaths 19th-century British businesspeople