Warriors, Raids, and Resistance: Igboland Against the Slave Trade

In the thick forests and open markets of Igboland, life was defined by vigilance. The booming sound of the Ikoro drum was not just music; it was an alarm of danger, a call to unity, and sometimes, the last sound villagers heard before attackers descended. From the Abam warriors to the Aro slave…

ByChinemerem Okwuchukwu16 hours ago0Comments

Photo: Carlo Zappa, Società Missions Africane.

Historical Studies

The 1898 British Punitive Expedition and the Catholic Mission in Western Igboland (Anioma)

In 1893, Fr. Carlo Zappa, an Italian priest of the Society of African Missions (SMA), established a Catholic mission in Issele-Ukwu, a significant town in western Igboland. His efforts, however, were met with resistance from the local population, who resented the missionaries, their converts, and the Royal Niger Company (RNC), a British colonial enterprise enforcing economic and political control.…

ByIdenze EzemeJune 25, 20250Comments

Historical Studies

The Killing of Dr. Stewart and the Brutal Ahiara Expedition of 1905

The story of a white man dragged off his bicycle and killed while riding through Igbo territory has been told in different versions, including in Chinua Achebe’s famous novel Things Fall Apart . Cropped photograph of Sir Hugh Trenchard. In 1905, Dr. Stewart , a British medical officer attached to the colonial Southern Nigeria Military…

ByIdenze EzemeJune 22, 20250Comments

Historical Studies

Documenting Resistance: Igbo Fugitives in Colonial Jamaica

University of Florida Digital An 18th-century Jamaican newspaper advertisement offers a reward for capturing escaped enslaved people, preserved in a historical compilation of such notices (Rucker, 2013). This document lists over 100 individuals identified as Igbo (recorded as "Eboe"), providing valuable evidence of resistance among enslaved communities, especially that of the Igbo. University of Florida Digital The…

ByIdenze EzemeJune 20, 20250Comments

Historical Studies

The Igbo People in Haiti: Their Influence and Struggles

The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria. During the transatlantic slave trade, many Igbo people were taken from their homeland and sold into slavery in the Americas, including Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). Their arrival in Haiti left a deep mark on the island’s culture, religion, and history. …

ByIdenze EzemeMarch 16, 20250Comments

Photos

Ekumeku Movement Dagger, 1910 – Resistance to British Rule

A dagger from the Ekumeku movement, which resisted British imperial rule in the western Igbo region for over two decades (1880s–1910s). Taken from Ogwashi-Ukwu, a key centre of Ekumeku activity, in 1910. Now housed in the British Museum.

ByChuka OdikeJanuary 24, 20250Comments

Ethnohistory Historical Studies

Bussa’s Rebellion of 1816: The Largest Uprising Against Slavery in Barbados

The Bussa Rebellion, which began on April 14, 1816, stands as the largest slave revolt in Barbadian history and a significant event in the broader resistance to slavery in the Caribbean. Named after Bussa, an enslaved man of Igbo origin, the rebellion was a coordinated and determined effort by African-descended enslaved people to resist the…

ByChuka OdikeJanuary 9, 20250Comments