The Igbos, who were located in West Africa, did not develop a new type of government similar to the Yoruba and Bini. They had begun to grow small states and urban centers, but the Igbo who had a dense population and extensive trading networks declined to follow. Igbo deliberately rejected the kingship and state-building efforts of their neighbors. The Igbos did not have no kings and they relied on institutions to maintain order beyond the village. They traded among themselves and with the large African kingdom of Songhai for cotton cloth, fish, copper and iron goods, and decorative objects.
This chapter addresses the central argument that African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed. For example, the author underlines that approximately 50,000 African captives were taken to the Dutch Caribbean while 1,600,000 were sent to the French Caribbean. In addition, Painter provides excerpts from the memoirs of ex-slaves, Equiano and Ayuba in which they recount their personal experience as slaves. This is important because the author carefully presents the topic of slaves as not just numbers, but as individual people. In contrast, in my high school’s world history class, I can profoundly recall reading an excerpt from a European man in the early colonialism period which described his experience when he first encountered the African people.
The definition of treating people who live there fairly is “Equality is about making sure people are treated fairly and given fair chances.” The Igbo culture treats people fairly by giving every man a chance to earn titles and the more titles you have, the more respect you get. This is supported by the quote “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife. To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars.” The more titles and wives you have, the more respected you are because it shows that you are
So Europe invaded Africa, took possession of Africa, and divided Africa into colonies of Europe. The period of invasion, lasting some twenty years, was more or less completed by 1900. There followed a longer period, between sixty and ninety years, of direct European rule, called colonial rule. This was a time of profound upheaval for all of Africa’s peoples. It brought irreversible changes” (4).
Being an immigrant from Nigeria was initially a challenge when I first moved to America. I generally speak quite fast, but I soon realize that some Americans could not understand my English and might misinterpret me. I had to talk slower in order to pass the right messages across. Below are two examples of situations when I misinterpreted a message and when my message was misinterpreted.
Many stereotypes of African culture have emerged due to western literature and media and first hand accounts of explorers. Things Fall Apart offers a view into the truth and reality of African cultures, which are often misconceptualized by these stereotypes. Acebe shows how African society functions well without assistance from foreign travelers. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe counters the imperialist stereotypes of Africa by keeping certain words in the Igbo language, as opposed to translating them into English, to fight back against the spreading western culture and to embrace their own way of life. He also counters the imperialist stereotypes of Africa by using Igbo proverbs to show how their culture values many of the same things that western
The novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, defines an important literary example of the historical conflict of European colonialism in Nigeria during the
The Igbos, on the other hand, was governed more democratically. They were living in almost six hundred autonomous villages headed by a figure monarch who was mostly passive. Every Igbo man was allowed to participate in the general assembly, they were highly active in the decision making processes and using the political apparatus in order to attain their specific material goals. Contrary to other ethnic groups, they were adopting a more participant political culture since they were highly aware of the inputs and outputs of their political system. In addition to these differences in political settings and customs, the North predominantly consisted of Muslims, while the Yoruba and the Igbo people were mainly Christians.
We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” In which achebe’s purpose was to condemn the white colonists for altering the Igbo culture, religion, "Igbo." - Introduction, Location,
The tripartite novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, published in 1958 focuses on the changes taking place in Nigeria, as a result of colonization during the 20th century. Chinua Achebe’s pragmatics when writing the novel focused on changing the perspective of Western readers with regard to African society. He mainly wanted to falsify the assertions in books such as “Heart of Darkness” which he claimed gave people of African descent a dull personality. Social status is one of the novels’ main themes. Chinua Achebe successfully incorporates the importance of social status, giving readers the impression that for the Ibo society, social structure consists mainly of a hierarchy of both skill and strength.
A struggle for power between any two or more groups of people in a society can lead to more damage and sever relations between people. Moreover, it can lead to tragic endings, much like the way Okonkwo’s relationship with Nwoye was lost forever. The concept of men being superior and women being inferior and weak is seen in many cultures, including Igbo society. Because gender roles have both advantages and disadvantages, gender-specific stereotypes are integrated in many different societies, similar to the ones prevalent in
Through the way that The Headstrong Historian portrays the topic of assimilation and the creation of the “Nigerian middle-class”, we are shown the historical accuracy of The Headstrong Historian. The British assimilated many Nigerians through education. Because of the many benefits to be gained from a European education, by the late 19th century, more and more Nigerians were taking
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s coming-of-age novel Purple Hibiscus narrates the story of Kambili, a girl in Nigeria, who deals with religious hypocrisy and abuse of her father, a product of the British colonization. She and her brother, Jaja, visit their aunt and receive a different perspective on their family’s lives. This novel takes place in the Igbo region of Nigeria, after the Nigerian Civil War that ended in 1970 and colonialism of the 1900’s. In Purple Hibiscus, Adichie conveys her views of the Nigerian Civil War to the reader by using the setting, specific events reciprocated in history, and contrasting characters within the novel. Purple Hibiscus is set in post-colonial Nigeria- where incidentally Adichie grew up- in a time of government, economic, and social struggle, after the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War.
p.12). According to Ola (2015) one of the main effect of colonial rule in Nigeria remains the “distortions of natural boundaries without due recourse to antecedent institutions and cultures. The western civilization submerged and dismantled indigenous institutions and, in its place, a foreign rule was established" (p.71) Ola (2015) went further to assert that after dismantling the ‘indigenous institutions’ came the initiation of Western democracy disregarding how these natives were living their lives prior their arrival of the
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the positive and negative impacts of colonialism. Key words: - Colonialism, Religion, Culture, Civilization, Conflict INTRODUCTION Things Fall Apart was published in 1958 just two years before Nigeria’s independence from the British’s rule in 1960. Achebe, who was born in 1930, had experienced colonialism in his country. The novel depicts the pre-colonial and early colonial Nigerian society.
