![]() It argues that the use of the majoritarian principle by the colonial government created a recipe for ethnic entrepreneurism and identity politics in the colony and postcolony. This chapter explores the history of constitutional development and its impact on identity formation and politics in colonial and postcolonial Sierra Leone, particularly Freetown. Its primary goal is to nudge Igbo historiography in new and challenging directions and inspire historians interested in Igbo studies to adopt a historiographical approach that emphasizes currency, relevance, and usability. It suggests important neglected themes that require further historical investigations. The essay makes a spirited critique of areas of overemphasis and the conceptual and methodological issues. In three parts, the essay examines the origin, dispersal, and settlement of the people sociopolitical institutions and organization economic systems, including slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, and the colonial economy Igbo religion, Islam, Christianity, and Western education colonial encounter the Igbo in precolonial and modern Nigeria with focus on intergroup relations, ethnicity, and the Nigeria–Biafra War and Igbo intellectual history. The main objective of this essay is to demonstrate the vitality and diversity of Igbo historical studies and provide informative and thoughtful interpretations of its strengths and weaknesses. Igbo historiography has advanced since the publication of the epic narrative of Olaudah Equiano in 1789 and its different versions, especially that of Paul Edwards, a British literary historian in 1969. ![]() She presents these theses in the light of the historical record and competing interpretations in historical discourse. She develops two main theses: the constitution (a) is an “African” contribution to educational policymaking, which (b) accords “modern” schooling a crucial role in state-building. The author embeds the sections concerning education in an analysis of the specific historical situation of the Fante people in West Africa before the establishment of formal British colonial rule on the Gold Coast. The author of this article argues that the Fante Constitution in fact represents a unique early African attempt to construct a modern nation-state based on a written constitution, and that the sections which stipulate and regulate formal schooling are central to its vision. While the whole idea of a written constitution which includes the aspect of formal schooling may seem rather “European” or “Western” at a first glance, it is remarkable in that one would not expect it to have occurred in West Africa at that time. The constitution under discussion originated in Fanteland, a coastal region of the Gold Coast (modern-day southern Ghana), and was the main achievement of a historical movement which sought to unite several smaller kingdoms and communities into a Fante Confederation (1868–1873). This article highlights the stipulation of the provision of formal schooling in a regional constitution drafted in West Africa in 1871, almost 150 years ago.
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