nigerian history & culture
DESCRIPTION
Nigerian History & Culture. Slave Trade. 1400’s – 1807 Africans sell other Africans Trade for alcohol, weapons & goods Many Igbo get rich. Strategy Change. Slave trade abolished in 1807 Europeans change strategy Use Africa for natural resources Carve continent up into colonies - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Nigerian History & Culture
Slave Trade
• 1400’s – 1807
• Africans sell other Africans
• Trade for alcohol, weapons & goods
• Many Igbo get rich
Strategy Change
• Slave trade abolished in 1807
• Europeans change strategy
• Use Africa for natural resources
• Carve continent up into colonies– The Berlin Conference
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– Convert outcasts (osu)– Convert women
• Trade– British trade palm oil in exchange for goods
• Government– Bring in District Commissioners– Set up own police and courts
Igbo Culture
• Agricultural community– Yams = men
– Cassava, beans, other crops = women
• Family Units– 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