History of West Africa more states. Early human settlers arrived in West Africa around 12,000 BCE. In the fifth millennium, as the ancestors of modern West Africans began entering the area, the development of sedentary farming began to take place in West Africa. The Iron industry, in both smelting and forging for tools and weapons, appeared in Sub-Saharan Africa by 1200 BCE, and by 400 BCE, contact had been made with the Mediterranean civilizations, and a regular trade included exporting gold, cotton, metal, and leather in exchange for copper, horses, salt, textiles, and beads. Culture developed further with the Nok culture (1000 BCE to
United Africa Company of Nigeria foreign markets. The firm had a fleet of river crafts operating within the internal water ways of the country, an operation that was managed out of UAC's office at Burutu. In addition, the firm helped to introduce new machinery for many pioneer oil mills in Eastern Nigeria. The company, whose name was changed to United Africa Company Ltd in 1943, retained the name until 1955 when it became The United Africa Company of Nigeria Ltd and started acquiring, over a period of five years, a large part of the business of UAC International. In 1960 C.W.A. Holdings Ltd, England also