The reading we will be observing this week is the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe. The novel is about the life of Okonkwo, the leader of an Igbo community. He is ultimately banished for seven years for killing a clansman. During his banishment he realized a problem steadily rising. The intrusion of white missionaries and the colonial government into the Igbo tribe.
March 25, 1807, The Beginning of Colonialism in Nigeria
After the British government obtained control of the Royal Niger Company territories they first made their statement by renaming the territories. The northern areas were renamed the “Protectorate of Northern Nigeria” and the lower regions were renamed “Protectorate of Southern Nigeria”. Zungeru was the new capital of the north and Lagos remained the capital in the south. On January 1, 1914, a British colonial administrator named Frederick Lugard recommended that the two protectorates become one under one governor. Lugard set out new principles known as the “indirect rule”. This meant that the local government was empowered by the traditional chiefs but they were susceptible to the guidance of European officers.
The changes did not stop after this. Christianity, Western education, and the English language spread over the nation. New things were developed such as money, communication and transportation. The Nigerian economy became based on the export of crops and many people in different parts of the country had to move elsewhere for work. Some of them moved to work as tenant farmers while others used other skills to find jobs such as traders, artisans, etc. The British also took preemptive measures to prevent any united opposition. They did this by instilling a rule called divide-and-rule policy where they kept Nigerian groups separated from one another.
In the novel “Things Fall Apart”, Okonkwo saw this coming to the Igbo tribe and the people of Nigeria. The British came in with a plan to colonize Nigeria and they were successful. This ultimately led people of Nigeria confused, scared and unsure what their next move was going to be.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Penguin Publishing Group, 1958.
Britannica. “Nigeria as a Colony.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/place/Nigeria/Nigeria-as-a-colony.
Stragalinos, Amaiya. “Colonialism in Nigeria Timeline.” Timetoast Timelines, 25 Mar. 1807, https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/colonialism-in-nigeria–2.
Hi! You did a great job establishing historical context in this post. I like how you not only explained where the speaker stands, but also the rest of the world at the time. I was not sure what “indirect rule” implied, so your post taught me about the power imbalances we will read about. Additionally, incorporating the economic focuses at the time really sets up daily life and I think it is important to the reading. I could not imagine what it would be like to live in Nigeria at the time as an average citizen.
I found the image you showed to be very interesting. The renaming of the territories was enlightening. I feel that losing the power to determine one’s own name, or the name of one’s homeland takes a lot of cultural influence away from the native groups and gives it to the colonizers. Also, I feel the utilization of local leaders as tools to serve the ruling class is extremely depressing, but an effective way to take over a nation. The division of Nigeria shattered their culture, which eases the process of subordination. While the British could have fought a war on the Nigerian people, they chose to use both physical and cultural forces. I feel these cultural wars are equally as dangerous to the native populations.
Hello! Your context presentation was very detailed and well written. I found it very informative, and I am glad I read it before I started the novel, because now I can start the book with a basic understanding of the political context. I think it is going to be very enlightening to read and I am excited to read my classmates thoughts on it. This post was very helpful to me, knowing the history of colonialism in Nigeria and what this book is dealing with. Great job on this presentation post.
I find your post to be very fascinating! It Is interesting to see the power dynamic between the different territories and how resources could have impacted many aspects of each territory’s well being, despite being under the same government. It is also interesting how you discussed the constant changes that were made throughout the nation. I feel as though while change can be good, it can also cause inconveniences such as having to move and devoting one’s life to a whole new trade.
“Thing Fall Apart” is a hard read and honestly a bit confusing as far as context and setting goes. You did an excellent job explaining what was going on during the time that “Things Fall Apart” was set and what the main challenges Okonkwo faced during the novel.
I really enjoyed reading your context presentation, while also viewing the picture you presented. Your presentation was very informative and it was interesting to read about how the amount and quality of supplies truly had an effect on each territory. Even though each territory was under the same government, the amount of supplies was still different. I feel your presentation truly explains what is happening during “Things Fall Apart.” Great post!
Your post provide many background information about how British government colonized Nigeria. The British people combined religion (some cultural things) and some economic methods to make people there changed. They first may adopt British people, but them they were separated in different groups, finally British people just successfully colonized all the people.
Thank you for some historical context on this week’s reading. I like how you mapped out the changes that British made as they invaded Nigeria. I think it’s horrible how they came in and made so many changes to an already established culture. I appreciated having this background going into the story.
I thought your context presentation was very clear you showed how the white missionaries took over step by step. The image helped give more emotion and allowed for me to put an image to everything. I thought you picked the most important details to talk about such as how they put in a policy that separated the Nigerian groups from one another. This detail shows the power the white missionaries had over them.
Hi! This is a wonderful post. I really enjoyed reading the information you provided in the post. The background of the book you illustrated might appeal me more to read the whole book in detail. Nigeria officially became a British colony in 1914. On October 1, 1960, it declared independence and became a member of the Commonwealth. The Federal Republic of Nigeria was established on October 1, 1963. The picture is also helpful. Very nice post!
Great post, I appreciate the the background information that you brought up. I struggled a little bit with the reading whether that be because I am sleep deprived or it was difficult but this definitely helped.
You have a great presentation of how Niger fall apart and why Niger fall apart. In the beginning, I was curious about why Niger is divided into parts but you solve my puzzle and I learned more about the background information. Additionally, the title “Things fall apart” looks terrible but it may be good from a different angle. For example, occupations became diversified, instead of most civilians working in agriculture.
I really enjoyed reading the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe. This was a hard novel to comprehend for me personally, but the way you presented it was amazing. I also loved the image you provided and how you relate the book to the current events in the worlds.
I really enjoyed your post because you added a lot of historical background which provided me with a better understanding of the reading. It was interesting to have more context regarding Nigeria and the British government. It is clear to see that the Nigerian people were viewed as the “Other” in this situation, and had many of their freedoms stripped from them as they became a British Colony.
I think that this was a fantastic post. It clarified the start of the story with significant amounts of background information. I never knew about some details of your post, like the European influence surging in at this specific time.
Thanks for sharing, your post made me think about the instillation of Western Ideas in Nigeria. It must have been hard for a people that was already used to one way of life, to adapt to a brand new one for a seemingly unknown reason. I also think it is worth mentioning that these Western Ideas are still very much alive and well in the US, but I feel like I have not heard much about individual cultures like Nigeria. Why are Western Ideas continually pushed onto other cultures, but other cultures’ influences not accepted into Western culture?
Thanks for shedding light on the history of colonialism in Nigeria. The information you provided helped me understand the story’s course of events and the behavior of the British as well as the clans. It is interesting when you pointed out how the colonizers did not want people to unify, because that would be a threat to colonization. This can be today in many parts of the world.
This was very helpful and insightful for me! I no idea until reading this and the novel that the British set out to colonize Nigeria. I also did not know that they first separated the country north and south. Your writing also provided much needed context for me!
Hi, your presentation was very informative. I was not very knowledgeable on British colonialism in Nigeria so the information you provided was very helpful to understand the reading for this week. As you mentioned, Britain brought changes to Nigeria, such as the introduction of Christianity, money, and the English language. This proves how colonialism still affects the country to present day. Although these changes aren’t necessarily harmful, it can make one wonder what changes Britain made that still negatively impact the country today.
I really enjoyed this presentation. It gave me a lot of context to “Things Fall Apart” by giving me background information on the setting and time period. I was not familiar with the colonization of Nigeria by the British. Fleshing out this part of history makes my understanding of the entire piece that much greater.