Earthwork Structures and Wooden Barrels along the Niger River

During this period, the company maintained a monopoly on the salt trade, importing bulk salt to exchange for local produce. Infrastructure at primary depots, such as Akassa, typically featured salt stores and these puncheons along the riverbanks. This trade environment was marked by volatility, exemplified by the 1895 Akassa Raid where local Brass people burned the company's oil and salt stores.

Palm oil was the original oil driving commerce along the Niger River long before crude oil took over. The Royal Niger Company built its monopoly by controlling this exact trade. The wooden barrels in the photograph are puncheons. Shippers used them to transport millions of gallons of palm oil and kernels to Europe. Overseas factories relied on this oil to make soap and grease heavy machinery during the Industrial Revolution.