Very well presented. So much tragedy to so many enslaved people! Imagine a slave girl sold or traded for the purpose of "concubinage." I'm reminded of the power of rich men in present-day America who seem to get away with something similar. Someone involved in the commerce today is given lighter prison accommodation in exchange for possibly revealing damaging testimony. But this went on for over a century in Africa.
I want to read the upcoming parts but for now it makes total sense to me why despite being poorer the northerners control nigeria politically: longer state tradition, longer class division, religious tradition for state management (even if the caliphate was at the tail of the pre-colonial period it was still a great legacy), ideological conformity under the sharia and the jihad. Simply put, the average member of the northern elites has a larger tradition of ruling and trade that is embedded in his habitus than his southern counterpart. Sure history is not linear and who knows if Nigeria reaches 2100 as a single state, however as sheer accumulation of state formation, the hausa and the fulani are at the top.
It’s fascinating that the Igbo sign for a king/leader is exactly like the early versions of the Chinese character Wáng王, “king”. Apparently it’s a human universal to recognise the dude in the really big hat as In Charge.
When I read Things Fall Apart, one thing I noticed is that while the characters had never heard of Europeans, they did have firearms and tobacco. So I assume that there was significant trade over a long distance with people on the coast, who bought these things from Europeans.
Very well presented. So much tragedy to so many enslaved people! Imagine a slave girl sold or traded for the purpose of "concubinage." I'm reminded of the power of rich men in present-day America who seem to get away with something similar. Someone involved in the commerce today is given lighter prison accommodation in exchange for possibly revealing damaging testimony. But this went on for over a century in Africa.
I want to read the upcoming parts but for now it makes total sense to me why despite being poorer the northerners control nigeria politically: longer state tradition, longer class division, religious tradition for state management (even if the caliphate was at the tail of the pre-colonial period it was still a great legacy), ideological conformity under the sharia and the jihad. Simply put, the average member of the northern elites has a larger tradition of ruling and trade that is embedded in his habitus than his southern counterpart. Sure history is not linear and who knows if Nigeria reaches 2100 as a single state, however as sheer accumulation of state formation, the hausa and the fulani are at the top.
You get it!!
It’s fascinating that the Igbo sign for a king/leader is exactly like the early versions of the Chinese character Wáng王, “king”. Apparently it’s a human universal to recognise the dude in the really big hat as In Charge.
Interesting!
Nice and detailed article.
The Manila currency for the Igbos was labelled as paper currency
When I read Things Fall Apart, one thing I noticed is that while the characters had never heard of Europeans, they did have firearms and tobacco. So I assume that there was significant trade over a long distance with people on the coast, who bought these things from Europeans.