Diasporas and Ethnic Identities in Africa

Diasporas and Ethnic Identities in Africa
Author: Uyilawa Usuanlele
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2024-05-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1666943320

Despite the enormous work on diasporas relating to Africa, the majority of this work focuses on trade diasporas located in West African groups, only mentioning the pre-colonial period in passing. Therefore, there is a need to redirect research on diasporas from within Africa to include non-economic diasporas during this time period. Diasporas and Ethnic Identity in Africa: The Edo ne Ekue among the Northeast Yoruba, 1485–1995 fills a gap by discussing the existence of diasporas in pre-colonial Africa that have been neglected by African scholars. Using the Edo ne Ekue as a case study, Uyilawa Usuanlele examines Edo people by shedding light on their political institutions, trading networks, and associations as autonomous and distinct within the Benin Kingdom. This book also discusses how the Edo ne Ekue simultaneously linked their institutions with the royal court of the Benin Kingdom at the expense of the local rulers of their host communities. Throughout this study, Usuanlele provides a better understanding of ethnic identity, state by state relations and their members outside their territorial boundaries to discover the dynamics of political, economic, and social changes within and between communities during and after pre-colonial times.

The Benin Plaques

The Benin Plaques
Author: Kathryn Wysocki Gunsch
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2017-12-15
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1351254596

The 16th century bronze plaques from the kingdom of Benin are among the most recognized masterpieces of African art, and yet many details of their commission and installation in the palace in Benin City, Nigeria, are little understood. The Benin Plaques, A 16th Century Imperial Monument is a detailed analysis of a corpus of nearly 850 bronze plaques that were installed in the court of the Benin kingdom at the moment of its greatest political power and geographic reach. By examining European accounts, Benin oral histories, and the physical evidence of the extant plaques, Gunsch is the first to propose an installation pattern for the series.

Entrepreneurship in Africa

Entrepreneurship in Africa
Author: Moses E. Ochonu
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2018-02-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0253032628

A tapestry of innovation, ideas, and commerce, Africa and its entrepreneurial hubs are deeply connected to those of the past. Moses E. Ochonu and an international group of contributors explores the lived experiences of African innovators who have created value for themselves and their communities. Profiles of vendors, farmers, craftspeople, healers, spiritual consultants, warriors, musicians, technological innovators, political mobilizers, and laborers featured in this volume show African models of entrepreneurship in action. As a whole, the essays consider the history of entrepreneurship in Africa, illustrating its multiple origins and showing how it differs from the Western capitalist experience. As they establish historical patterns of business creativity, these explorations open new avenues for understanding indigenous enterprise and homegrown commerce and their relationship to social, economic, and political debates in Africa today.

Politics, Economy, and Society in Twentieth-Century Nigeria

Politics, Economy, and Society in Twentieth-Century Nigeria
Author: Ayodeji Olukoju
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2023-09-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1666929972

Politics, Economy, and Society in Twentieth-Century Nigeria, by Ayodeji Olukoju and Tokunbo A. Ayoola, examines key social, political, and economic issues in Nigeria since the colonial period. This book brings together writings on colonial, postcolonial, and contemporary history of Nigeria that provide a panoramic view of diversity, bridge gaps in Nigerian history, and engage with pioneering scholarship in railway and social history in Nigeria by James Olawale Oyemakinde. Some of the themes and perspectives discussed throughout this collection include: contemporary challenges of poverty, unemployment, leadership and governance deficit, entrepreneurship, urbanization, and the underdevelopment of the agricultural and transport systems. Politics, Economy, and Society in Twentieth-Century Nigeria demonstrates that understanding the past helps to develop appropriate policies for contemporary challenges. As highlighted in this volume, it is important to appreciate the significance of context in historical explanation and in the application and adaptation of ideas across space and time.

The Horse in West African History

The Horse in West African History
Author: Robin Law
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2018-08-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0429954557

Originally published in 1980 and here re-issued with an updated preface, this book deals with the role of the horse in the societies of West Africa during the pre-colonial period. It traces the history of its introduction and its diffusion within West Africa, and examines the problems of maintaining horses in such a harsh environment. The use of horses in warfare in analysed but the non-military aspects of the West African horse culture are also discussed, principally the use of horses as tokens of status and wealth. The book includes a review of the decline of the West African horse culture in the 20th century, reflecting the passing of a political system based on warfare and slavery.

Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400–1800

Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400–1800
Author: John Thornton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 483
Release: 1998-04-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 113964338X

This book explores Africa's involvement in the Atlantic world from the fifteenth century to the eighteenth century. It focuses especially on the causes and consequences of the slave trade, in Africa, in Europe, and in the New World. African institutions, political events, and economic structures shaped Africa's voluntary involvement in the Atlantic arena before 1680. Africa's economic and military strength gave African elites the capacity to determine how trade with Europe developed. Thornton examines the dynamics of colonization which made slaves so necessary to European colonizers, and he explains why African slaves were placed in roles of central significance. Estate structure and demography affected the capacity of slaves to form a self-sustaining society and behave as cultural actors, transferring and transforming African culture in the New World.

Once Upon a Kingdom

Once Upon a Kingdom
Author: Isidore Okpewho
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 274
Release: 1998
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780253211897

Using stories he collected from narrators from the old West African kingdom of Benin, the author shows how the present mirrors the past in both folklore and political reality, suggesting that African states fail to create a level playing field for the plural identities within their borders, leaving marginalized peoples uncertain of their place in an uneven socio-political landscape.