THE EMERGENCE OF NATIONALISM IN BRITISH WEST AFRICA, 1912-1940.
Item
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Title
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THE EMERGENCE OF NATIONALISM IN BRITISH WEST AFRICA, 1912-1940.
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Identifier
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AAI8015402
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identifier
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8015402
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Creator
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OKONKWO, RINA LEE.
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Contributor
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Robert W. July
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Date
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1980
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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History, African
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Abstract
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The study focuses on British West African thinkers of the period 1912 to 1940. Four West African thinkers have been studied: Mojola Agbebi (1860-1917) of Nigeria, Orishatukeh Faduma (1857-1946) of Sierra Leone, Adelaide Casely Hayford (1868-1960) of Sierra Leone, and Kobina Sekyi (1892-1956) of Ghana. The author also looked at West African Garveyites in a chapter on the Garvey Movement in British West Africa and the Saro in a chapter on the Lagos Auxiliary of the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protection Society Land Tenure Deputation of 1913.;The period 1912 to 1940 marked the transition to political nationalism. The West African thinkers studied seemed to have been cultural nationalists, disciples of Edward Wilmot Blyden, who later embraced the need for independence. Cultural autonomy would only be possible through the attainment of political autonomy.;Changes in historical conditions in British West Africa in the period 1912 to 1940 influenced the development of political nationalism. Some of the changes were the adoption of the policy of indirect rule which undercut the position of the educated elite as spokesmen for the uneducated Africans, as well as the paternalism of Edmund Morel and his proposals for new legislation on West African land tenure. World War I was another factor in raising hopes for a greater role in government among the educated Africans. The Constitutions of the 1920s gave Africans some elected representatives in the Legislative Councils.;The period 1912 to 1940 marked a change from racial nationalism to territorial nationalism. Pan-African ventures had decreasing appeal in this period, as the new constitutions focused attention on the individual nations. The long-run impact of the Garvey Movement in British West Africa was not its appeal to racial solidary, but its anti-colonialism.;The West African thinkers of the interwar years tried to bridge the gap between cultural nationalism, which emphasized the language group as the unit of the ethnic nation, and territorial nationalism, which was contiguous with the boundaries of the colony. Tribalism is still a large problem to modern African nations, and the writings of these early nationalists may aid in the fashioning of a broader national cultural identity.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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History
