The innermost bay of the gulf of guinea, it is bounded by southeastern nigeria, cameroon. Chapter two places aro history in the context of the traf. The inhabitants were mostly the igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various peoples of nigeria. Memoir and history are brought together by a master storyteller, writes noo sarowiwa. It was made up of the states in the eastern region of nigeria biafra s declaration of independence from nigeria resulted in civil war between biafra and nigeria. The country, biafra, is an almost rhomboid shaped territory which is demarcated to the west by the lower reaches of the river niger and its delta, to the east by the obudu plateau and the highlands of oban and ikom, to the south by the bight of biafra and to the north by an administrative boundary following, approximately, the 7 deg. Candido on nwokeji, the slave trade and culture in the bight of. Struggle for control of the hinterland of the bight of. The nigerian civil war of the late 1960s was one of the first occasions when western consciences were awakened and deeply affronted by the level of the suffering. The country, which took its name from the bight of biafra an arm of the atlantic ocean, was established by igbos who felt they could. San francisco, june 15, thewill the lawmaker representing bayelsa east senatorial district, ben murraybruce, has regretted that nigeria does not address the issues that divide or unite citizens of the country, disclosing that the bight of biafra was removed from the nigerian map because the then military government did not want anything that would call to mind the biafra war. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. Rejoinder the significance of igbo in the bight of biafra slave. Senator representing bayelsa west constituency, sen.
This book tells the story of the people of igbo land at the middle of the nineteenth century, when. Biafra, republic of, secessionist state of w africa, in existence from may 30, 1967, to jan. Bight of biafra, also called bight of bonny, bay of the atlantic ocean on the western coast of africa, extending east, then south, for 370 miles 600 km from the nun outlet of the niger river nigeria to cape lopez gabon. The origin of biafra there was a biafra before 1967which lost its sovereignty to colonial powers. Long touted as the key to west africa, it is the largest west african island and the last to enter the world economy. This has become evident in page twenty nine of subsequent editions of same collins longman atlas produced by. It extends approximately from the niger river delta, in s nigeria, to n gabon. Download citation the slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra. The result is the first study to link the structure and trajectory of the slave trade in a major exporting region to the expansion of a specific african merchant group among other fresh insights into atlantic africas involvement in the trade and the most comprehensive treatment of.
The bight of biafra is a region identified by europeans and subsequent historians to describe the part of the western african coast between the niger river and cape lopez. It is the biafra story, and it is told from the biafran standpoint. Open sourcing the colonial archive a digital montage of. An african society in the atlantic world 9780521883474. Though the region was marked by stateless societies, aro organization did in fact have characteristics of a state.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra. By showing that the rise of the aro merchant group was the key factor in trade expansion, g. Struggle for control of the hinterland of the bight of biafra. Nwokejis key ambition in this book is to interweave the history of an african region with the history of the atlantic slave trade. At the outset biafra comprised, roughly, the eastcentral, southeastern, and rivers states of the federation of nigeria, where the igbo people predominated. The interior of the bight of biafra and the african diaspora, edited by carolyn a. He was pulled from nigeria and reassigned to london when he reported this viewpoint. The bight gave its name to the secessionist republic of biafra in e nigeria. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. Ben murray bruce has questioned why the bight of biafra was removed from the map of nigeria. Furious, he resigned and returned to nigeria as a freelance reporter, eventually writing the biafra story and later, emeka, a biography of the rebel leader chukwuemeka odumegwuojukwu.
Biafra was formally recognised by gabon, haiti, ivory coast, tanzania and zambia. The paperback of the struggle for control of the hinterland of the bight of biafra. Read the slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra an african society in the atlantic world by g. Ugo nwokeji reinterprets why and how such largescale commerce developed in the. Biafra project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra by g. The making of an african legend and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle. The bight of biafra and fernando po in the era of abolition, 18271930 ibrahim k. David eltis, emory university nwokeji has written a muchneeded and masterful account of the intricacies of human trafficking as they pertain to the bight of biafra. The bight of benin is a bight on the western african coast that extends eastward for about 400 miles 640 km from cape st. Slaves from the bight of benin vs the bight of biafra. The untold story of the british military expedition to igbo land 18301930 ihekwaba, frank nwabueze on. An african society in the atlantic world, which is being released in september 2010 by cambridge university press cup.
Project muse the slave trade and culture in the bight of. Illustration omitted i would like to introduce to you my latest book, the slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra. The abolition of the slave trade in southeastern nigeria, 1885. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra dissects and explains the structure, dramatic expansion, and manifold. The bight of biafra is that part of the gulf of guinea renamed the bight of bonny by nigeria in 1975, possibly in an effort to snuff biafra out of memory.
Despite the obvious relevance of the region to broader currents in atlantic history, the bight of biafra remains perhaps the leaststudied and leastunderstood region of atlantic africa during the era of the slave trade. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra ebook. Early modern maps of africa from the 15th19th centuries, drawn by european cartographers from accounts written by explorers and travellers, reveal that the original word used by the european travellers was not biafra but biafara, biafar and sometimes also biafares. Ugo nwokeji reinterprets why and how such largescale commerce developed in the absence of largescale centralized states. Nwokeji shows that aro history makes sense only in the context of regional. A comparative perspective of the old and contemporary struggle. Biafra, officially the republic of biafra, was a secessionist state in southeastern nigeria that existed from 30 may 1967 to 15 january 1970, taking its name from the bight of biafra the atlantic bay to its south.
The bite of biafra the name, biafra has been around as the name of a bight far longer than the brief moment during which eastern nigeria took it on. A history of slavery in africa african studies paul e. Read struggle for control of the hinterland of the bight of biafra the untold story of the british military expedition to igbo land 18301930 by frank nwabueze ihekwaba available from rakuten kobo. Buy a cheap copy of the biafra story book by frederick forsyth. Introduction fifty years ago in the bight of biafra, the anger and love that created rivulets of blood that coloured the landscape of igboland crimson and changed the concept of nigeria as a. A comparative history of commercial transition in three west african slave. Confronted by both african resistance and ecological barriers, early british and spanish imperialism foundered there. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra the slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra dissects and explains the structure, dramatic expansion, and manifold effects of the slave trade in the bight of biafra.
In some important respects, aspects of the abolition of the slave trade in the hinterland of the bight of biafra can be. This region encompasses the coasts of several modern african nations, including eastern nigeria, cameroon, equatorial guinea, and northern gabon. While the history books said very little about the war, even when they managed to do so, mention of the name biafra was almost always. Refreshing and innovative, his work breaks new ground. The untold story of the british military expedition to igbo land 18301930. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra dissects and explains the structure, dramatic expansion, and manifold effects of the slave trade in the bight of biafra. The bight of biafra, centered on the niger delta and the cross river, became a significant exporter of slaves from the 1700s and dominated the transatlantic slave trade along with neighboring bight of benin until the midnineteenth century. Rochester studies in african history and the diaspora.
One major region was the bight of biafra, from where some 1. The senator who said this during a presentation on. An african society in the atlantic world kindle edition by nwokeji, g. Despite the obvious relevance of the region to broader currents in atlantic history, the bight of biafra remains perhaps the leaststudied and least. Another strategy to obliterate biafra from history books. The innermost bay of the gulf of guinea, it is bounded by southeastern. The indigenous people of biafra ipob has written to schools in south east to commence the use of geography text books with the bight of biafra to teach history.
To the east it is continued by the bight of bonny formerly bight of biafra. As he learned more about the conflict, he became sympathetic to the rebel cause. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra. Ipob directs schools to begin teaching of biafra history. Ugo nwokejis study draws on a wide range of sourcesoral traditions, lexicostatistics, genealogies, and archival data. The republic of benin and this bight were both named after the benin empire. Gustafsson 2005 further historical evidence on the active use of witch trials and. The book is organized in eight chapters that explore the transformations that the bight. Bight of biafra king greets european visitors, cape lopez gabon, late 16th cent. By showing that the rise of the aro merchant group was. Immediately after the civil war, the bight of biafra was changed to mean bight of bonny. The untold story of the british military expedition to igbo land.
The bight of biafra and fernando po in the era of abolition, 18271930 hardcover june 15 1996. The rediscovery of the virginia igbo link alone in academia is outpacing any newage african adoptions. Fernando po, home to the bantuspeaking bubi people, has an unusually complex history. Ugo nwokeji 2014, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
The bight of biafra extends east of the bight of biafra from the river delta of the niger in the north until it reaches cape lopez in gabon. The map of nigeria in 1940 is adapted from a tenyear plan of development and welfare. This is a major contribution to both atlantic and african history and is a compelling read. It will be a must in studies about late slavery, contract labor, and creoledom. Not until the late nineteenth century did foreign settlement take hold. The bight of biafra officially bight of bonny is a bight off the west african coast, in the easternmost part of the gulf of guinea. The work is original and the scholarship impressive. Murraybruce reveals why bight of biafra was removed from. Our full catalogue of academic african history books and ebooks covering history, politics, economics, and. Biafra, officially the republic of biafra, was a state in west africa that existed from may 1967 to january 1970. All this is to say that if scrutinised, igbobight of biafra culture is more relevant to african american culture than bight of benin ancestry is, also to anglo caribbean culture. Why did nigeria erase bight of biafra from the map. Besides the niger river, other rivers reaching the bay are the cross river, calabar river, ndian, wouri, sanaga, nyong river, ntem, mbia, mbini, muni and komo river.
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