Samuel Herbert Pearse, F.R.C.I. (born November 20, 1865) was a pioneer

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 ...

shipper and produce exporter of

Sierra Leone Creole The Sierra Leone Creole people ( kri, Krio people) are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African slaves who settled in t ...

and

Egba Egba may refer to: *Egba people, a clan of the Yoruba people living in western Nigeria * EGBA, the European Gaming and Betting Association *Egba United Government The Egba United Government (EUG) was a political entity in the late 19th century in ...

heritage. He established the first Hotel in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

in 1907. He was also a member and secretary of the Lagos branch of the

Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protection Society Anti-Slavery International, founded as the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1839, is an international non-governmental organisation, registered charity and advocacy group, based in the United Kingdom. It is the world's oldest interna ...

Life and career

He was born on November 20, 1865, to the family of Reverend Samuel Pearse of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

. He attended

C.M.S. Grammar School, Lagos The CMS Grammar School in Bariga, a suburb of Lagos in Lagos State, is the oldest secondary school in Nigeria, founded on 6 June 1859 by the Church Missionary Society. For decades it was the main source of African clergymen and administrators ...

for secondary education and started work as an apprentice in 1883. In 1888, he teamed up with Sierra Leonean businessman, I. Thompson and the two began trading in Lagos and London. However, both men parted ways in 1894. Pearse soon started his own trading account in Calabar and Lagos and also became an agent for the African and Gold Coast Trading Company.Walter H Wills, R J Barrett. The Anglo-African Who's who and Biographical Sketchbook, G. Routledge & sons, 1905. p 127. He made extensive wealth trading in palm produce from the Old

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and ...

province as one of the pioneer Nigerian exporters of goods. He acquired a large steamship prior to World War I, and succeeded in the lucrative shipping market dominated regionally by the

Elder Dempster Elder Dempster Lines was a UK shipping company that traded from 1932 to 2000, but had its origins in the mid-19th century. Founders Alexander Elder Alexander Elder was born in Glasgow in 1834. He was the son of David Elder, who for many ye ...

company. He later delved into the rubber business in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

and focused more on importing goods.Tom G. Forrest. The Advance of African Capital: The Growth of Nigerian Private Enterprise, University of Virginia Press, 1994. p 14. .

Descendants

Counted amongst Mr. Pearse's descendants is the award-winning

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

actress

Joke Silva Joke Silva , MFR is a Nigerian actress, director, and businesswoman. In 1998 she had a major role, starring opposite Colin Firth and Nia Long in the British-Canadian film ''The Secret Laughter of Women''. In 2006, she won " Best Actress in ...

, his great-granddaughter.

References

Year of death missing Businesspeople from Lagos 1865 births Yoruba businesspeople CMS Grammar School, Lagos alumni 19th-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian abolitionists History of Lagos Nigerian commodities traders Saro people People from Lagos Colony {{Lagos-stub