Nigerian History & Culture

Slave Trade 1400’s – 1807 Africans sell other Africans Trade for alcohol, weapons & goods Many Igbo get rich

Strategy Change Inter-African slave trade abolished in 1807 Europeans change strategy Use Africa for natural resources Carve continent up into colonies The Berlin Conference in 1885

Strategy Change Great Britain claims area around Niger River

“Civilizing” Africa Many Europeans see “civilizing” the Africans as a duty. Claim they are bringing religion and the modern way to justify the greed.

3-Prong Attack Missionaries Trade Government Convert outcasts Convert women Trade British trade palm oil in exchange for goods Government Bring in District Commissioners Set up own police and courts

Igbo People Ethic Group from Southeast Nigeria Speak Igbo dialects and Nigerian English Various Igbo subgroups were organized by clan, lineage, village affiliation, and dialect.

Igbo Culture Agricultural community Yams = men Cassava, beans, other crops = women

Family Units Patriarchal Society Multiple wives Each family has own compound Patriarchal Society Men have power & women are property Wife-beating is common

Democratic Government Ruled by elders (ndichie) and men chosen to receive titles Decisions made by clansmen Gods Animist: recognize a number of gods that embody the forces of nature Oracles: priestesses whose job it is to speak for a god

Ancestors Though dead, they have voices Egwugwu: men disguised by mask and costumes that embody the spirits of the ancestors

Modern Nigeria Nigeria gained independence from Great Britain on October 1st, 1960. The Nigerian Civil War began as the Nigerian (Western and Northern) side attacked Biafra (South-eastern) on July 6th, 1967 and ended in January 1970. Nigeria gained a democratic government in 1999 when it elected Olusegun Obasanjo as the new President of Nigeria, ending almost 33 years of military rule (from 1966 until 1999.)

Things Fall Apart Things Fall Apart was written by Chinua Achebe in 1958, exposing the culture clash of 19th century colonialism in Nigeria. Chinua Achebe, born in Nigeria, lived in the U.S.A after the Nigerian Civil War and wrote his novels in English. Achebe served as a professor at Brown University till his death in 2013.