ISBN:
9781552382684
Language:
English
Pages:
Online-Ressource (392 p)
Series Statement:
Africa: Missing Voices
Series Statement:
Africa : missing voices series
Parallel Title:
Print version Land Has Changed : History, Society and Gender in Colonial Eastern Nigeria
DDC:
306.34909669
Keywords:
Igbo (African people) ; Agriculture ; History
;
Women, Igbo ; Social conditions
;
Igbo (African people) ; History
;
Igbo (African people) ; Economic conditions
;
Igbo (African people) ; Social conditions
;
Agriculture ; Nigeria, Eastern ; History
;
Agriculture ; Social aspects ; Nigeria, Eastern ; History
;
Agriculture and state ; Nigeria, Eastern ; History
;
Great Britain ; Colonies ; Africa
;
Electronic books
;
Electronic books
Abstract:
"A century ago, agriculture was the dominant economic sector in much of Africa. By the 1990s, however, African farmers had declining incomes and were worse off, on average, than those who did not farm. Colonial policies, subsequent 'top-down' statism, and globalization are usually cited as primary causes of this long-term decline. In this unprecedented study of the Igbo region of southeastern Nigeria, author Chima Korieh points the way to a more complex and inclusive approach to this issue. Using agricultural change as a lens through which to view socio-economic and cultural change, political struggle, and colonial hegemony, Korieh shows that regional dynamics and local responses also played vital roles in this era of transformation. British attempts to modernize the densely populated Igbo region were focused largely on intensive production of palm oil as a cash crop for export and on the assumption of male dominance within a conventional western hierarchy. This colonial agenda, however, collided with a traditional culture in which females played important social and political roles and male status was closely tied to yam cultivation. Drawing on an astonishing array of sources, including oral interviews, newspapers, private journals, and especially letters of petition from local farmers and traders, Korieh puts the reader in direct contact with ordinary people, evoking a feeling of what it was like to live through the era. As such, the book reveals colonial interactions as negotiated encounters between officials and natives and challenges simplistic notions of a hegemonic colonial state and a compliant native population."--P. [4] of cover.
Abstract:
Introduction : perspectives, setting, sources -- "We Have Always Been Farmers" : society and economy at the close of the nineteenth century -- Pax Britannica and the development of agriculture -- Gender and colonial agricultural policy -- Peasants, depression, and rural revolts -- The Second World War, the rural economy, and Africans -- The African elite, agrarian revolution, and sociopolitical change, 1954-80 -- On the brink : agricultural crisis and rural survival.
Description / Table of Contents:
""Front Cover""; ""Africa: Missing Voices Series Information""; ""Title Page""; ""Bibliographic Information""; ""Dedication""; ""Table of Contents""; ""List of Illustrations""; ""List of Tables""; ""Foreword""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction: Perspectives, Setting, Sources""; ""1. “We Have Always Been Farmers�: Society and Economyat the Close of the Nineteenth Century""; ""2. Pax Britannica and the Development of Agriculture""; ""3. Gender and Colonial Agricultural Policy""; ""4. Peasants, Depression, and Rural Revolts""; ""5. The Second World War, the Rural Economy, and Africans""
Description / Table of Contents:
""6. The African Elite, Agrarian Revolution, and SociopoliticalChange, 1954�80""""7. On the Brink: Agricultural Crisis and Rural Survival""; ""Conclusion""; ""Notes""; ""Bibliography""; ""Index""; ""Back Cover""
Note:
Description based upon print version of record
URL:
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