prestige and status by accumulating wealth, which was used to purchase titles. Titleholding leaders influenced the village assembly, came to decisions through consensus, made new laws, and administered justice.

Early on, the Igbo people developed relationships with European traders and missionaries. In 1472, the Portuguese arrived in Igboland in an attempt to discover a sea route to India; in 1508, the Portuguese transported the first West African slaves to the West Indies. The slave trade flourished for three centuries; however, the Igbo also traded copper rods, iron bars, and cowrie shells with the Portuguese and the Dutch over the next two centuries. The slave trade was abolished in 1807, and the Igbo began to trade palm oil with the British. The Anglican Church Missionary Society established a mission in Onitsha in 1857; later, the Roman Catholic Holy Ghost Fathers and Society of African Missions set up stations east and west of the Niger River.

Friendly relations with Britain crumbled after 1875. Although Igboland had functioned as a British trade colony for decades, it was not formally declared a British Protectorate until 1900. In order to “pacify” Eastern Nigeria, the British destroyed much of Igboland and launched extensive military expeditions in 1914. Despite resistance, by 1928, Igbo men were forced to pay taxes and British colonialism took hold.

During the colonial era, British officials sought to govern hundreds of decentralized Igbo villages clustered in various political constructs through a system of indirect rule. Igbo institutions were replaced with a native court system that was administered by appointed warrant chiefs, district officers, court clerks, and messengers who held no traditional status in the village. The Igbo resisted the corruption of the native court system, the destruction of indigenous political life, and increased taxation. The resistance culminated in the Women’s War of 1929–1930. Women throughout Nigeria demanded social reforms, respect for Igbo customs, and women’s rights. In the final analysis, their action forced the British to restructure Eastern Nigeria to comply more closely with traditional village organization.

In 1952, a regional government was set up that paved the way for independence. After decades of resistance, Nigeria finally gained independence from Britain in 1960. However, the new nation contained many ethnic groups, including the Hausa and the Yoruba people. The eastern region of Nigeria was inhabited by the Igbo. This area, which was later known as Biafra, unsuccessfully sought independence from Nigeria during the devastating civil war of 1966–1969.

Things Fall Apart depicts the tensions within traditional Igbo society at the end of the nineteenth century and the cataclysmic changes introduced by colonialism and Christianity in the twentieth century. Chinua Achebe writes in English; however, in order to recreate the cultural milieu of the Igbo people, he “Africanizes” the language of the novel. Specific Igbo words and complicated names are used freely. Profound philosophical concepts such as chi and ogbanje are explained in the text or glossary and are fundamental to the story. The use of idioms and proverbs also clarifies the conflict, expresses different points of view, and instructs the characters as well as the reader. Things Fall Apart has been translated into thirty languages and has sold 8 million copies. The novel is internationally acclaimed, has become a classic of African literature, and has served as a seminal text for postcolonial literature around the world.

Tribal Society

Things Fall Apart, published in 1958 just before Nigeria gained independence, portrays precolonial Africa. Achebe aimed to depict Nigerians authentically, rather than offering a superficial portrayal as other authors had done. The narrative unfolds in the typical tribal village of Umuofia, where the residents, referred to as the Ibo (also known as the Igbo), engage in rituals rooted in their native traditions.

The Igbo worshipped deities who protected, guided, and disciplined them, represented by priests and priestesses within the community. For instance, in the novel, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves provides wisdom and knowledge to those courageous enough to seek him out. The Oracle is seen only by his priestess, an Igbo woman endowed with special powers. The gods not only advised the Igbo on communal matters but also directed individuals. Each person had a personal god, or chi, that influenced their actions. A strong chi signified a strong individual, while a weak chi elicited pity. Every man maintained a separate hut, or shrine, where he kept symbols of his personal god and ancestral spirits.

The Igbo, a hunting and gathering society, primarily subsisted on vegetables, with yams as their staple crop. Yams held such significance that the Igbo celebrated the Feast of the New Yam each new year to honor Ani, the earth goddess and source of all fertility. The preparation for this festival took days, and the celebration spanned two days. Yams also influenced a man's status within the tribe—the more yams he possessed, the higher his standing. Trade with other villages was conducted using cowries, small seashells that served as currency.

Within the village, families were organized with the eldest man holding the most authority. On village-wide matters, an assembly of adult men would debate possible actions, and men could sway these assemblies by purchasing “titles” from the tribal elders. This system promoted hard work and the distribution of wealth. Those who violated village laws and customs faced the egwugwu, a group of tribesmen masked as spirits, who resolved disputes and administered punishment. Individual villages also held varying degrees of political status. In the novel, other tribes both respect and fear Umuofia, believing in the potency of its magic and its formidable war-medicine, or agadi-nwayi. Neighboring clans preferred to resolve conflicts peacefully with Umuofia to avoid warfare.

Christianity and Colonization

Although Christianity began to spread across North and South Africa as early as the late fifteenth century, its most significant expansion occurred when the majority of missionaries arrived in the late 1800s. After centuries of extracting slaves from Africa, Britain had outlawed the slave trade and now viewed the continent as ripe for colonization. Missionaries sent to convert the local population were often the first settlers.

Initially, Africans were wary of European Christians and took advantage of the education provided by the missionaries without converting. However, individuals who lacked power under the existing tribal structure soon converted. In the novel, the missionaries who come to Umuofia convert only the weaker tribesmen, referred to as efulefu. Missionaries persuaded these tribesmen that their tribe worshipped false gods that could not punish them if they joined the mission. When the mission and its converts accepted even the outcasts of the clan, the missionaries’ numbers grew. Eventually, some of the more influential tribesmen converted. As the mission expanded, the clan became divided, discontent grew, and conflicts emerged.

English Bureaucrats and Colonization

Following the arrival of the British, when conflicts arose between villages, the white government would intervene rather than allowing villagers to resolve them independently. In the novel, a white District Commissioner brings court messengers whose duty is to apprehend those who break the white man’s law. These messengers, nicknamed “Ashy-Buttocks” for their ash-colored shorts, are despised for their arrogant attitudes. Often, these messengers and interpreters were African Christian converts who looked down on tribesmen adhering to traditional customs. If any violence involved white missionaries or bureaucrats, British soldiers would frequently massacre entire villages instead of seeking and punishing the guilty individuals. The British enacted an ordinance in 1912 that legalized this practice, and during an uprising in 1915, British troops killed more than forty natives in retaliation for one dead and one wounded British soldier.

One of the most significant consequences of Europe’s colonization of Africa was the division of Africa into at least fifty nation-states. Rather than belonging to a society united by common language and livelihood, Africans lived according to political boundaries. These divisions often split ethnic groups, leading to tension and sometimes violence. The unity of traditional society was lost.

Nigerian Independence

British colonial rule in Nigeria spanned only fifty-seven years, from 1903 to 1960. While Nigerians had long demanded self-governance, it wasn't until the conclusion of World War II that England began to seriously consider these demands. The Richards Constitution of 1946 marked the initial effort to provide some form of native governance by uniting the diverse peoples of Nigeria under a single representative government. This constitution brought the three regions—northern, southern, and western—under the oversight of one legislative council consisting of twenty-eight Nigerians and seventeen British officers. Despite this, regional councils maintained a degree of independence from the national council, creating a connection between local authorities, such as tribal chiefs, and the national government. Nigeria was home to three major tribes—the Hausa, the Yoruba, and the Igbo—along with more than eight smaller ones, making the formation of a unified Nigeria complex. Between 1946 and 1960, Nigeria experimented with several constitutions, each striving to balance power between regional and national government bodies.

On October 1, 1960, Nigeria achieved full sovereignty and became a member of the British Commonwealth. However, under the 1960 Constitution, the Queen of England remained the head of state and the commander-in-chief of Nigeria’s armed forces, with the Nigerian navy operating as part of Britain’s Royal Navy. This arrangement caused frustration among Nigerians, who resented being subjects of a monarch located over 4,000 miles away. In 1963, five years after the publication of Achebe’s novel, a new constitution was adopted, replacing the British monarch with a Nigerian president as the head of state.

Literary Traditions

Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart just before Nigeria gained its independence. His goal was to present an accurate depiction of precolonial Africa to audiences outside the continent, particularly those unfamiliar with traditional African societies. With Nigeria’s newfound independence, the educational system aimed to foster national pride through the study of Nigerian heritage. Consequently, Achebe’s book became a required text in high schools across English-speaking African countries. The book received widespread acclaim, and Chinua Achebe has been hailed as “the most original African novelist writing in English,” according to Charles Larson in The Emergence of African Fiction. Critics around the globe have celebrated Things Fall Apart as the first African English-language classic.

1800s: Before colonization, African societies were distinguished by common languages and geographic regions. There were six main types of societies: hunting and gathering, cattle-herding, forest dwellers, fishermen, grain-raising, and urban societies. The geographic environment shaped their way of life.

Colonial Africa: During the colonial era, Africa was divided into more than fifty nation-states without considering the existing groups that shared common languages and livelihoods.

Today: Modern societies are less distinct. People now have greater access to education, better employment opportunities, and improved communication and transportation. Intermarriage between different societies is common, leading to more mixed communities. However, ethnic conflicts still result in violence.

1800s: Although religious practices varied among societies, most Africans shared certain beliefs and customs. They believed in a supreme creator god or spirit, with lesser gods manifesting through community ancestors.

Colonial Africa: Missionaries introduced Christianity during the colonial period, and many Africans converted to the new faith.

Today: Today, over twenty-five percent of Africans identify as Christian, but traditional African religions and Islam, a monotheistic faith related to Judaism and Christianity, are still practiced.

1800s: Before colonization, Africans had distinct identities and cultures and were not focused on engaging with the modern world.

Colonial Africa: Post-colonization, African children were educated in European history and literature to prepare them for the modern world, often at the expense of their own cultural heritage.

Today: Africans continue to pursue the independence that began in the 1950s and 1960s. There is also a growing interest in cultural heritage, with traditional customs being taught to the younger generation.