The Land Has Changed: History, Society and Gender in Colonial Eastern Nigeria
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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository University of Calgary Press University of Calgary Press Open Access Books 2010 The land has changed: history, society and gender in colonial Eastern Nigeria Korieh, Chima J. University of Calgary Press Chima J. Korieh. "The land has changed: history, society and gender in colonial Eastern Nigeria". Series: Africa, missing voices series 6, University of Calgary Press, Calgary, Alberta, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/48254 book http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 3.0 Unported Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca University of Calgary Press www.uofcpress.com THE LAND HAS CHANGED History, Society and Gender in Colonial Eastern Nigeria Chima J. Korieh ISBN 978-1-55238-545-6 THIS BOOK IS AN OPEN ACCESS E-BOOK. 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Acknowledgement: We acknowledge the wording around open access used by Australian publisher, re.press, and thank them for giving us permission to adapt their wording to our policy http://www.re-press.org/content/view/17/33/ T H E L A N D H A S C H A N G E D History, Society and Gender in Colonial Eastern Nigeria C H I M A J . K O R I E H T h e L a n d h a s C h a n g e d aFRICa: MIssIng VOICes seRIes Donald I. R ay, gener al editor ISSN 1703-1826 University of Calgary Press has a long history of publishing academic works on Africa. Africa: Missing Voices illuminates issues and topics concerning Africa that have been ig- nored or are missing from current global debates. This series will fill a gap in African scholarship by addressing concerns that have been long overlooked in political, social, and historical discussions about this continent. No. 1 · Grassroots Governance?: Chiefs in Africa and the Afro-Caribbean Edited by D.I. Ray and P.S. Reddy · Copublished with the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA) No. 2 · The African Diaspora in Canada: Negotiating Identity and Belonging Edited by Wisdom Tettey and Korbla Puplampu No. 3 · A Common Hunger: Land Rights in Canada and South Africa by Joan G. Fairweather No. 4 · New Directions in African Education: Challenges and Possibilities Edited by S. Nombuso Dlamini No. 5 · Shrines in Africa: History, Politics, and Society Edited by Allan Charles Dawson No. 6 · The Land Has Changed: History, Society and Gender in Colonial Eastern Nigeria by Chima J. Korieh T h e L a n d h a s C h a n g e d History, Society and Gender in Colonial Eastern Nigeria C h i m a J . K o r i e h © 2010 Chima J. Korieh University of Calgary Press 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, Alberta Canada T2N 1N4 www.uofcpress.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a license from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free 1-800-893-5777. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Korieh, Chima J. (Chima Jacob), 1962- The land has changed : history, society and gender in colonial Eastern Nigeria / Chima J. Korieh. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55238-268-4 Issued also in electronic format: ISBN 978-1-55238-545-6 ISBN 978-1-55238-496-1 1. Igbo (African people)–Agriculture–Nigeria, Eastern–History. 2. Agriculture–Nigeria, Eastern– History. 3. Agriculture–Social aspects–Nigeria, Eastern–History. 4. Agriculture and state–Nigeria, Eastern–History. 5. Igbo (African people)–Nigeria, Eastern–Social conditions. 6. Women, Igbo– Nigeria, Eastern–Social conditions. 7. Igbo (African people)–Nigeria, Eastern–History. 8. Great Britain–Colonies–Nigeria. I. Title. HD1021.K67 2009 306.3’490966946 C2009-906542-8 The University of Calgary Press acknowledges the support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for our publications. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities. We acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. Printed and bound in Canada by Marquis This book is printed on FSC Silva Edition paper Cover Photo: “Sorting the Palm Nuts for Making Oil” Photographer: Jeanne Tabachnick Cover design by Melina Cusano Page design and typesetting by Melina Cusano In memory of my father, Linus Onyegbule Korieh � For my daughter, Akunna Chinaza Korieh � Table of ConTenTs � List of Illustrations ix List of Tables x Foreword xi Acknowledgments xvii Introduction: Perspectives, Setting, Sources 1 1 � “We Have Always Been Farmers”: Society and Economy at the Close of the Nineteenth Century 27 2 � Pax Britannica and the Development of Agriculture 59 3 � Gender and Colonial Agricultural Policy 97 4 � Peasants, Depression, and Rural Revolts 123 5 � The Second World War, the Rural Economy, and Africans 163 6 � The African Elite, Agrarian Revolution, and Socio- political Change, 1954–80 197 7 � On the Brink: Agricultural Crisis and Rural Survival 243 Conclusion 271 Notes 283 Bibliography 331 Index 363 vii lisT of illusTraTions � Map of Igboland xx � 1 An early method of commercial palm oil production. 53 � 2 A colonial assistant district officer hearing complaints. 70 � 3 Chiefs sitting in court with a district officer. 73 � 4 Rural Education Course for Teacher’s School Farm Program, Umuahia, 1946. 102 � 5 Felix Dibia feeding corn to his chickens. 106 � 6 Mr. Mark Nwadike with his yams grown with composting. 106 7 Girls making pottery products at a Catholic Community Development Center. 109 � 8 A sketch of the areas affected by the Women’s Revolt. 127 � 9 A court-house destroyed during the Women’s Revolt. 144 � 10 Villagers gather at a court-house destroyed during the Women’s Revolt. 144 � 11 Group of villagers standing near a court-house during the revolt. 145 � 12 Colonial troops used to suppress the revolt. 145 � 13 Dr. M. I. Okpara: The architect of the agricultural revolution. 201 � 14 Onitsha Agricultural Show, c. 1962. 204 � 15 Tractor laying plastic water pipe at the Umudike Agricultural Research Station, 1963. 204 � 16 Prospective settlers being interviewed for admission to a farm settlement. 209 � 17 Starving Biafran children. 222 � 18 Biafran refugees returning from northern Nigeria. 223 � 19 Col. Chukuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. 226 � 20 An abandoned oil palm mill at Owerrinta, Abia State. 233 � 21 Women preparing gari at a Government Agricultural Development Center, c. 1960s. 251 � ix lisT of Tables 2.1 Exports of palm oil and kernels; five-yearly averages. 83 4.1 Collective fines on Nguru area, Owerri Division. 149 4.2 Statement of deposits taken from towns. 150 4.3 Obowo Court Area reasons for detailed statements of deposits. 152 5.1 Palm produce export data, 1939–46. 167 5.2 Imported foodstuffs for the year 1938 for African consumption. 173 5.3 Imported foodstuffs for the year 1938 (mainly for European consumption). 173 5.4 Quantities of food items railed from Aba Station in 1942 and 1943. 177 5.5 Price control of foodstuffs at Enugu Market, 16 February 1942 to 25 August 1942.