History of West Africa Since 1800

400 Pages·1977·23.088 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Isichei

HISTORY OF
'WESTAFRICA
SINCE 1800
Elizabeth Isichei
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HISTORY OF WEST AFRICA
SINCE 1800
Elizabeth Isichei
The noted African historian, Elizabeth
Isichei, has written a history of modern
West Africa, encompassing the most re¬
cent research and suitable for use in intro¬
ductory courses at both high school and
college levels. It is well illustrated with
photographs and maps, and quotations
from original sources add life to the nar¬
rative. The author begins with the geo¬
graphic and economic state of Africa in
1800 and an examination of the impor¬
tance of the slave trade. As the century
progressed, certain societies—Gobir, Mas-
sina, and Senegambia among them—began
to build new societies on the Islamic model.
Others such as Liberia and Sierra Leone
adopted western models.
With the end of the slave trade, the ex¬
ploitation of mineral and agricultural re¬
sources by the European powers began.
Isichei discusses the growth of trade and
imperialism, the Christian missionary pres¬
ence, and the gradual European political
encroachment. Two chapters on the colo¬
nial experience are followed by one on
nationalism before 1939. The individual
struggles for independence are carefully
delineated and a commentary on what the
West African states can expect in the
future is provided. Several case studies
complete the narrative.
This informative and balanced account
of the unified region of West Africa should
become a standard text in introductory
African history courses, as well as a refer¬
ence for more advanced students and
scholars interested in the most recent re¬
search and interpretation in the area.
continued on back flap
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2019 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/historyofwestafrOOOOisic

History of West Africa
since 1800
Elizabeth Isichei, M.A. D. Phil.
Professor of History, University of Jos
V.\BRARt
Africana Publishing Company
New York
First published in the United States of America 1977
by Africana Publishing Company
a division of
Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc.
101 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10003
Copyright © Elizabeth Isichei, 1977
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Isichei, Elizabeth Alio.
History of West Africa since 1800.
Includes index.
1. Africa, West—History. I. Title.
DT476.2.184 1977 966 77-4393
ISBN 0-8419-0311-5
ISBN 0-8419-0312-3 pbk.
Printed in Hong Kong by
Wing King Tong Co Ltd
Contents
West Africa and a Wider World in 1800
The natural setting X
Economic life and external trade 2
Rich and poor, slave and free 9
The spread of the world religions
13
Building New Societies: The Islamic Model
Introduction 18
The jihad in Gobir
19
The jihad spreads beyond Gobir
25
The jihad in Massina 29
Renewal without jihad: Borao 34
The jihad in the Bambara Kingdoms 40
The Senegambia 48
3 Innovation and Reform in the States of Guinea
Asante 58
Fante 67
The Yoruba 69
The Fon Kingdom of Dahomey 80
Benin 89
Small-scale states 99
The Igbo 101
The Niger Delta 114
Building New Societies: Western Models
The Creoles of Sierra Leone 125
Liberia 136
The Egba United Board of Management 147
Patterns of External Change
The decline of the slave trade 149
The growth of legitimate trade 151
The Christian missionary presence 155
European exploration 159
European political encroachment 162
Reasons for imperialism 172
iii
6 Resistance to Alien Conquest
Why European conquest was possible 176
Fighting empires: 1. Samori 181
Fighting empires: 2. Rabih 191
Resistance in small-scale societies: 1. Ivory Coast 194
Resistance in small-scale societies: 2. Bai Bureh 195
The unconquered heart 199
7 The Colonial Experience I
Patterns of colonial government 201
Central government 209
Social and economic change 216
Government and society 225
The colonial economy 232
8 The Colonial Experience II
Civil war in the mind 244
The spread of Islam 246
The spread of Christianity 250
Western education 255
Alien wars 258
A colonial balance sheet 263
9 Nationalism before 1939
Early forms of nationalism 266
English-speaking West Africa 268
French-speaking West Africa 273
10 Nationalism Triumphant
The forces of change 278
English-speaking West Africa 281
French-speaking West Africa 288
Guinea-Bissau 294
11 Independence Regained
Themes 300
The form of government 302
The anatomy of underdevelopment 308
International relations 3x9
The artist as critic of society 320
IV
i Case Studies
Nigeria
323
Ghana
331
Ivory Coast
336
Guinea
339
Mali
344
Epilogue: looking forward
347
Independent West Africa (Time Chart) 348
Questions
35i
Reading Guide 356
Index
377
V
List of Maps
1 Principal ethnic groups of West Africa xii
2 The natural setting 2
3 Places mentioned in Chapter 1 15
4 Hausaland before the jihad 20
5 Hausaland after the jihad 26
6 Massina 3°
7 Bomo 36
8 The Western Sudan on the eve of Al Hajj Umar’s jihad 43
9 The Western Sudan at the death of Al Hajj Umar 47
10 The Senegambia in the mid-nineteenth century 49
11 Fante and Asante 59
12 The Oyo Empire and its neighbours 70
13 The Successor States of Yorubaland 76
14 Dahomey in the nineteenth century 81
15 The Benin Empire 93
16 Igboland 100
17 The Niger Delta 114
18 Sierra Leone 129
19 Liberia’s changing boundaries 145
20 Origins of West Africans enslaved in nineteenth century 150
21 The Atlantic export economy in the nineteenth century 153
22 European explorers of West Africa 161
23 Areas under European rule, 1879 163
24 European expansion in West Africa 172
25 Samori’s Empires 188
26 The Central Sudan in the nineteenth century 191
27 Colonial West Africa 209
28 West African railways 231
29 The Atlantic export economy in the mid-twentieth century 235
30 Patterns of labour migration 236
31 Nigeria in 1976 ' 330
vi