things fall apart an introduction to colonialism and igbo culture
TRANSCRIPT
Things Fall Apart
An Introduction to Colonialism and Igbo Culture
Colonialism
• Colonialism: the control or governing influence of a nation over a dependent country, territory, or people.
• Slave trade ended 1805, replaced by other trade including trade of raw materials
• European powers engaged in a “Scramble for Africa” starting in the 1870s. By 1890,most of Africa came under European control.
IndustrialRevolutionIndustrialRevolution
Source forRaw
Materials
Source forRaw
Materials
Markets forFinishedGoods
Markets forFinishedGoods
EuropeanNationalismEuropean
Nationalism
MissionaryActivity
MissionaryActivity
Military& NavalBases
Military& NavalBases
EuropeanMotives
For Colonization
EuropeanMotives
For Colonization
Places toDump
Unwanted/Excess Popul.
Places toDump
Unwanted/Excess Popul.
Soc. & Eco.Opportunities
Soc. & Eco.Opportunities
Ideology of African Colonialism
• Bringing civilization to “savages”• Benefiting natives• Taught superiority of European way of life,
backwardness of African• Christian missionaries arrived in Nigeria in
the mid-1800s, and by the end of the century had begun a strong conversion campaign. They wanted the African people to embrace Christianity.
The major European powers to acquire African territories were Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, and Italy.
King Leopold, the kingof Belgium, ruled
the Congo like his ownprivate estate. Natives
that did not supply enough rubber had
their hands cut off. Whilethe king profited, the people of the Belgian
Congo suffered greatly.
The Britishestablished
coloniesin West Africaand along the
length ofmost of EastAfrica fromEgypt to
South Africa.
Things Fall Apart is set during a period of British colonial rule of Nigeria in the late 1800s.
Nigeria did not gain their independence from the UK until October 1960.
Nigeria became a British colony in 1886.
Europeans divided Africa and ignoredthe tribal, ethnic, and cultural boundaries
of the African people. This has led totribal conflicts in many African nations
that continue to this day.
Igbo people, land, and culture
You will see a variety of pictures. On your paper take notes of what you
see and create one or two questions about what you want to know based
on what you see.
Igbo Village
An Igbo village was part of a clan network made up of about five thousand people that were led by a council of men that made decisions democratically and shared a common market and meeting place
Igbo Wedding and Marriage• In the Igbo society,
polygyny is not merely tolerated, it is encouraged and accepted, still monogamous marriages very greatly outnumber polygynous ones. The normal age for marriage is 25-28 for the man and from 14 to 18 for the girl.
Yams
The Igbo were subsistence farmers, which means they grew crops to survive.
Men grew the important
yam crop. Women grew other crops.
Sacred Statue
• The ikenga statue is found in sacred shrines of the Igbo-speaking people of southeastern Nigeria. The ikenga is believed to possess a protective spirit and provides success and achievement. The word "ikenga" translates to "man's life force" or "place of strength."