Innovation and conflict: Cloth dyers and the interwar depression in Abeokuta, Nigeria

Journal of African History

Volumn 38, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 77-99

  Byfield, Judith ^a  

^a DARTMOUTH COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEPRESSION; ECONOMIC CRISIS; HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY; INDUSTRIAL DECLINE; TEXTILE TRADE; WOMEN;

NIGERIA;

EID: 0031391511     PISSN: 00218537     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0021853796006883     Document Type: Article

References (130)

1. See B. A. Agiri, 'Kola in western Nigeria, 1850-1950: a history of the cultivation of Cola Nitida in Egba-Owode, Ijebu-Remo, Iwo and Ota Areas' (Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1972), and Sara Berry, Cocoa, Custom and Socio-Economic Change in Rural Western Nigeria (Oxford, 1975).
2. See B. A. Agiri, 'Kola in western Nigeria, 1850-1950: a history of the cultivation of Cola Nitida in Egba-Owode, Ijebu-Remo, Iwo and Ota Areas' (Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1972), and Sara Berry, Cocoa, Custom and Socio-Economic Change in Rural Western Nigeria (Oxford, 1975).
3. Ian Brown (ed.), The Economies of Africa and Asia in the Interwar Depression (London, 1989), 1.
4. Susan Martin's work on the Ngwa region of eastern Nigeria is an important exception to this trend. See Susan Martin, Palm Oil and Protest : an Economic History of the Ngwa Region, South-Eastern Nigeria, 1800-1980 (Cambridge, 1988), and 'Gender and innovation: farming, cooking and palm processing in the Ngwa Region, South Eastern Nigeria, 1900-1930', J. Afr. Hist., XXV (1984), 411-27.
5. Susan Martin's work on the Ngwa region of eastern Nigeria is an important exception to this trend. See Susan Martin, Palm Oil and Protest : an Economic History of the Ngwa Region, South-Eastern Nigeria, 1800-1980 (Cambridge, 1988), and 'Gender and innovation: farming, cooking and palm processing in the Ngwa Region, South Eastern Nigeria, 1900-1930', J. Afr. Hist., XXV (1984), 411-27.
6. In 1898, the Lagos governor helped restructure the Egba political system and centralized power in the Alake, one of the town's four senior kings. The Alake in theory ruled in consultation with a Council comprised of the other senior kings, military and non-military titled men. This structure was largely retained when Abeokuta lost its independence in 1914. See Agneta Pallinder-Law, 'Government in Abeokuta 1830-1914: with special reference to the Egba United Government, 1898-1914' (Ph.D. thesis, Goteborgs University, 1973). For more on the pre-colonial Egba political structure see S. O. Biobaku, 'An historical sketch of Egba traditional authorities', Africa, XXII (1952), 35-49 , and The Egba and Their Neighbours, 1842-1872 (Oxford, 1957).
7. In 1898, the Lagos governor helped restructure the Egba political system and centralized power in the Alake, one of the town's four senior kings. The Alake in theory ruled in consultation with a Council comprised of the other senior kings, military and non-military titled men. This structure was largely retained when Abeokuta lost its independence in 1914. See Agneta Pallinder-Law, 'Government in Abeokuta 1830-1914: with special reference to the Egba United Government, 1898-1914' (Ph.D. thesis, Goteborgs University, 1973). For more on the pre-colonial Egba political structure see S. O. Biobaku, 'An historical sketch of Egba traditional authorities', Africa, XXII (1952), 35-49 , and The Egba and Their Neighbours, 1842-1872 (Oxford, 1957).
8. In 1898, the Lagos governor helped restructure the Egba political system and centralized power in the Alake, one of the town's four senior kings. The Alake in theory ruled in consultation with a Council comprised of the other senior kings, military and non-military titled men. This structure was largely retained when Abeokuta lost its independence in 1914. See Agneta Pallinder-Law, 'Government in Abeokuta 1830-1914: with special reference to the Egba United Government, 1898-1914' (Ph.D. thesis, Goteborgs University, 1973). For more on the pre-colonial Egba political structure see S. O. Biobaku, 'An historical sketch of Egba traditional authorities', Africa, XXII (1952), 35-49 , and The Egba and Their Neighbours, 1842-1872 (Oxford, 1957).
9. Dutch traders purchased indigo dyed cloth from Ijebu and Benin traders in the seventeenth century. See A. F. C. Ryder 'Dutch trade on the Nigerian coast during the seventeenth century', J. Hist. Soc. Nigeria, III (1965), 195-210; Venice Lamb and Judy Holmes, Nigerian Weaving (Roxford, 1980), 18; and Carolyn Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change in Southwestern Nigeria, 1841-1991' (Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1993), ch. 1.
10. Dutch traders purchased indigo dyed cloth from Ijebu and Benin traders in the seventeenth century. See A. F. C. Ryder 'Dutch trade on the Nigerian coast during the seventeenth century', J. Hist. Soc. Nigeria, III (1965), 195-210; Venice Lamb and Judy Holmes, Nigerian Weaving (Roxford, 1980), 18; and Carolyn Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change in Southwestern Nigeria, 1841-1991' (Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1993), ch. 1.
11. Dutch traders purchased indigo dyed cloth from Ijebu and Benin traders in the seventeenth century. See A. F. C. Ryder 'Dutch trade on the Nigerian coast during the seventeenth century', J. Hist. Soc. Nigeria, III (1965), 195-210; Venice Lamb and Judy Holmes, Nigerian Weaving (Roxford, 1980), 18; and Carolyn Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change in Southwestern Nigeria, 1841-1991' (Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1993), ch. 1.
12. Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change', 90.
13. Susan Wenger and Ulli Beier, 'Adire-Yoruba pattern dyeing', Nigeria Magazine, LIV (1957), 212.
14. Samuel Johnson, The History of the Yorubas from the earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate (6th ed., London, 1973), 123.
15. Jennifer Bray, 'The organization of traditional weaving in Iseyin, Nigeria', Africa, XXXVIII (1968), 272.
16. Ojo argued that before European contact, every woman, assisted by her daughters, ginned, carded and spun cotton into thread. Women were expected to contribute a definite length of yarn each market day. In addition, he suggests, that dyeing was originally the business of almost every woman, but due to the intricacies of the process, specialists developed. See G. J. A. Ojo, Yoruba Culture, A Geographical Analysis (London, 1966), 85.
17. Johnson, History of the Yorubas, 124.
18. Ojo, Yoruba Culture, 87-8. Women weavers predominated in Akoko, Owo, and Ekiti, while male weavers predominated in Ondo, Oshogbo, Ibadan, Oyo and Ilorin.
19. This correlation between gender and type of loom is not fixed. Renne found that recent developments in Ekiti have encouraged women to begin weaving with the narrow looms. Elisha Renne, 'The decline and resurgence of women's weaving in Ekiti, Nigeria' (Paper presented at the conference, 'Artisans, cloth and the world economy: textiles, manufacturing and marketing in South Asia and Africa', Darmouth College, 23-5 Apr. (1993).
20. Many writers suggested that only women dyed. See for example, Johnson, History of the Yorubas, 124; Robert Campbell, A Pilgrimage to my Motherland - an Account of a Journey among the Egbas and Yorubas of Central Africa in 1859-60 (London, 1860), 51; and, Ojo, Yoruba Culture, 88. But Lander reported that 'male and female dyers were numerous in Yariba'. Recently, Carolyn Keyes also suggested that both men and women dyed, but by 1850 there were more women dyers. More detailed local studies of textile production in specific Yoruba towns are necessary in order refine our understanding of the division of labor historically. See Richard Lander, Records of Captain Clapperton's last Expendition to Africa, (London, 1830), ii, 211; and, Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change', 220.
21. Many writers suggested that only women dyed. See for example, Johnson, History of the Yorubas, 124; Robert Campbell, A Pilgrimage to my Motherland - an Account of a Journey among the Egbas and Yorubas of Central Africa in 1859-60 (London, 1860), 51; and, Ojo, Yoruba Culture, 88. But Lander reported that 'male and female dyers were numerous in Yariba'. Recently, Carolyn Keyes also suggested that both men and women dyed, but by 1850 there were more women dyers. More detailed local studies of textile production in specific Yoruba towns are necessary in order refine our understanding of the division of labor historically. See Richard Lander, Records of Captain Clapperton's last Expendition to Africa, (London, 1830), ii, 211; and, Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change', 220.
22. Many writers suggested that only women dyed. See for example, Johnson, History of the Yorubas, 124; Robert Campbell, A Pilgrimage to my Motherland - an Account of a Journey among the Egbas and Yorubas of Central Africa in 1859-60 (London, 1860), 51; and, Ojo, Yoruba Culture, 88. But Lander reported that 'male and female dyers were numerous in Yariba'. Recently, Carolyn Keyes also suggested that both men and women dyed, but by 1850 there were more women dyers. More detailed local studies of textile production in specific Yoruba towns are necessary in order refine our understanding of the division of labor historically. See Richard Lander, Records of Captain Clapperton's last Expendition to Africa, (London, 1830), ii, 211; and, Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change', 220.
23. Many writers suggested that only women dyed. See for example, Johnson, History of the Yorubas, 124; Robert Campbell, A Pilgrimage to my Motherland - an Account of a Journey among the Egbas and Yorubas of Central Africa in 1859-60 (London, 1860), 51; and, Ojo, Yoruba Culture, 88. But Lander reported that 'male and female dyers were numerous in Yariba'. Recently, Carolyn Keyes also suggested that both men and women dyed, but by 1850 there were more women dyers. More detailed local studies of textile production in specific Yoruba towns are necessary in order refine our understanding of the division of labor historically. See Richard Lander, Records of Captain Clapperton's last Expendition to Africa, (London, 1830), ii, 211; and, Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change', 220.
24. Toyin Oguntona, Basic Textiles : Design Concept and Methods (Zaria, 1986), 98.
25. Adesola Afolabi, 'The origin, development and impact of "Adire" dyeing industry in Abeokuta' (B. A. Honors Essay, University of Ibadan, 1981), 25; and Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change', 90-1.
26. Adesola Afolabi, 'The origin, development and impact of "Adire" dyeing industry in Abeokuta' (B. A. Honors Essay, University of Ibadan, 1981), 25; and Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change', 90-1.
27. The report provided a breakdown of occupations in each township and in each of the four quarters in Abeokuta. In order to obtain this data, forms were distributed to each compound head who had to fill in the names and occupations of each adult man and woman in the compound. To discourage false reporting, police visited some compounds to verify the data. In cases where information was withheld, compound heads were fined 5 to 10 shillings. National Archives, Ibadan [hereafter NAI], CSO 26/19855, F. C. Royce, Assistant District Officer, Report of the Re-Assessment of Abeokuta Town, 1926, paras. 42-5.
28. The category of adire-makers is somewhat ambiguous. It could include men and women who specialized in creating patterns on the cloth as well as dyers who combined tying and dyeing. The report does not specify how this category was defined.
29. Some dyeing also occurred in the rural areas especially in the larger villages, but the greatest concentration of dyers lived in the town. NAI, CSO 26/24873, Assessment Report, Owode District 1929, Egba Division, Abeokuta Province, 25-6.
30. A 1944 report on weaving noted that hand-spun yarn was still produced in Abeokuta for the weaving community which had declined to about 200 weavers. But, it did not offer any estimates of the number of spinners. NAI, CSO 26:39264/S.8, Letter from P. H. Balmer, Resident Abeokuta Province to Secretary Western Province, 9 Oct. 1944.
31. Susan Martin, 'The long Depression: West African producers and the world economy, 1914-45', in Brown (ed.), The Economies of Africa and Asia in the Inter-War Depression, 77.
32. Report of the Re-Assessment of Abeokuta Town, 1926, Principal Traders, Owu, Gbagura, Oke Ona, Egba Alake, Appendix I.
33. NAI, CSO 21/N309, Annual Report Abeokuta Province, 1920/21, 38. Also NAI, CSO 26/1-09234, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1923, 13.
34. Martin, 'The long Depression', 79.
35. Ibid. 78. Although cocoa and groundnut prices fell, their markets expanded. Palm oil markets, on the other hand, did not expand. As a result, the incomes of cocoa and groundnut producers remained relatively high in the 1920s compared to palm oil producers.
36. S. M. Jacob, Report on the Taxation and Economics of Nigeria 1934 (London, 1934), 88.
37. Further research will be needed to confirm these figures. But the Resident in 1933, A. E. Murray, who had questioned Captain Royce's estimate in the 1926 Assessment - £200,000 representing 80 per cent of the cloth trade - was reassured by UAC that the figure was not an overestimation. Besides buying cloth from the firms in Abeokuta, a considerable amount of undyed cloth was purchased in Ibadan and Lagos and brought to Abeokuta to be dyed. NAI, CSO 28400, vol. I, Letter from the Resident to the Secretary, Southern Provinces, Enugu, 6 June 1933.
38. By 1932, cloth imports from Japan were adversely affecting English cottons because they were cheaper. NAI, CSO 26/2/22875, vol. IX, Annual Report of Nigeria, 1932, 79.
39. NAI, CSO 26/2 11875, vol. V, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1927, 27; NAI, CSO 26/2 11875, vol. VI, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1928, 24.
40. NAI, CSO 26/2 11875, vol. V, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1927, 27; NAI, CSO 26/2 11875, vol. VI, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1928, 24.
41. NAI, CSO 26/2 11875, vol. VIII, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1930, 27.
42. Abeokuta News and Notes, Daily Times (Nigeria), 15 Feb. 1930.
43. Daily Times, 5 Mar. 1930.
44. NAI, CSO 26/2/11875, vol. VIII, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1931, 40-1.
45. Personal communication, Mohamed Mbodj. 'Lagos cloth' referred specifically to cloth made in Nigeria.
46. NAI, Abe Prof. 4-029, Proceeding of the Adire Cloth Committee, July 1936, 20.
47. The Egba National Harper, Sept. 1926, 3-4. In 1900, Governor MacGregor forced the Egba United Government to allow the Railway Commissioner to live within the town wall. His residence was established at Ibara which was within Abeokuta's town walls but some distance from the center of the town. When European firms first opened shops in Abeokuta in 1901, they were allowed to lease property only in Ibara. It appears that they remained concentrated there and in Lafenwa, a railway terminus, until this period. Also see A. K. Ajisafe, History of Abeokuta (3rd ed., Lagos, 1948), 95
48. The Egba National Harper, Sept. 1926, 3-4. In 1900, Governor MacGregor forced the Egba United Government to allow the Railway Commissioner to live within the town wall. His residence was established at Ibara which was within Abeokuta's town walls but some distance from the center of the town. When European firms first opened shops in Abeokuta in 1901, they were allowed to lease property only in Ibara. It appears that they remained concentrated there and in Lafenwa, a railway terminus, until this period. Also see A. K. Ajisafe, History of Abeokuta (3rd ed., Lagos, 1948), 95
49. NAI, CSO 26/2-11875, vol. III, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1925, 23-4.
50. The Resident noted that this 'demoralizing' system of credit also occurred in produce buying. NAI, CSO 26/2/11875, vol. V, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province 1927, 22-3.
51. NAI, CSO 26/2/11875, vol. VI, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1928, 25.
52. Martin, 'The long Depression', 79.
53. NAI, ECR 1/1/42 Adire Trade 1928-32, vol. I, Egba Native Authority [hereafter ENA] Minutes of Council Meeting, 20 Sept. 1928, 6.
54. NAI, ECR 1/1/37, Annual Report, Egba Division, 1926.
55. See NAI, APP 8/1, Egba Government Gazette, 27 Jan. 1913. A native of Egbaland was defined as 'any person with both parents Egba or of Egba descent; a slave in Egbaland who redeemed himself and intends to reside permanently in Egbaland; or all persons of Yorubaland and not of Egba descent who have shown intention of permanently residing in Egbaland'. Also see Adebesin Folarin, The Laws and Customs of Egbaland (Abeokuta, 1928), 15-16.
56. See NAI, APP 8/1, Egba Government Gazette, 27 Jan. 1913. A native of Egbaland was defined as 'any person with both parents Egba or of Egba descent; a slave in Egbaland who redeemed himself and intends to reside permanently in Egbaland; or all persons of Yorubaland and not of Egba descent who have shown intention of permanently residing in Egbaland'. Also see Adebesin Folarin, The Laws and Customs of Egbaland (Abeokuta, 1928), 15-16.
57. NAI, APP 5/1/1, Correspondence Book, 1900-4, Egba United Government Notice, 29 May 1903. All the components of this bill were later incorporated into the 1913 Sale of Land Order which extended the ruling by stipulating the number of years that land and buildings could be leased - thirty years in the case of agricultural land and twenty-one years in the case of building land.
58. NAI, Abe Prof. 6/4-ABP 11/22B, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 14 Aug. 1922, 1-12; ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 16 Oct. 1922, 1-7.
59. NAI, Abe Prof. 6/4-ABP 11/22B, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 14 Aug. 1922, 1-12; ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 16 Oct. 1922, 1-7.
60. Public Records Office (London), CO 520/128, no. 2176, Lugard to Harcourt, 17 Nov. 1913.
61. Also NAI, Abe Prof. 6/4 - ABP 6/22B, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 14 Aug. 1922, 1-12. Houses were dismantled and the parts sold in order to raise money. Members told of houses valued at £400 being dismantled and the parts sold for £60 in order to pay debts as low as £10.
62. NAI, Abe Prof. 6/4 - ABP 11/22B, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 14 Aug. 1922, 4-5.
63. Abeokuta Public Library, Ake [hereafter Abeokuta], ECR 1/1/33, vol. I, ENA Minutes of Egba council Meeting, 3 Feb. 1927. The debate led to a major study of Yoruba land tenure in 1932 by H. Ward-Price.
64. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/33, vol. II, Speech by Sir H. Clifford reported in ENA Council Minutes, 3 Feb. 1927. Research on Lagos has shown that although Yoruba society recognized a woman's right to property, only a small percentage of women held individual property. Often their hold was insecure, so that as land became increasingly scarce and a valuable resource, the majority of women lacked ownership of individual property and by extension access to credit and capital. Kristen Mann, 'Women, landed property, and the accumulation of wealth', Signs, XVI (1991), 705; also, Simi Afonja, 'Land control: critical factor in Yoruba gender stratification', in C. Robertson and I. Berger (eds.), Women and Class in Africa (New York, 1986), 81-3. Further research is needed on Abeokuta in order to determine if developments there mirrored the trend in Lagos.
65. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/33, vol. II, Speech by Sir H. Clifford reported in ENA Council Minutes, 3 Feb. 1927. Research on Lagos has shown that although Yoruba society recognized a woman's right to property, only a small percentage of women held individual property. Often their hold was insecure, so that as land became increasingly scarce and a valuable resource, the majority of women lacked ownership of individual property and by extension access to credit and capital. Kristen Mann, 'Women, landed property, and the accumulation of wealth', Signs, XVI (1991), 705; also, Simi Afonja, 'Land control: critical factor in Yoruba gender stratification', in C. Robertson and I. Berger (eds.), Women and Class in Africa (New York, 1986), 81-3. Further research is needed on Abeokuta in order to determine if developments there mirrored the trend in Lagos.
66. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/33, vol. II, Speech by Sir H. Clifford reported in ENA Council Minutes, 3 Feb. 1927. Research on Lagos has shown that although Yoruba society recognized a woman's right to property, only a small percentage of women held individual property. Often their hold was insecure, so that as land became increasingly scarce and a valuable resource, the majority of women lacked ownership of individual property and by extension access to credit and capital. Kristen Mann, 'Women, landed property, and the accumulation of wealth', Signs, XVI (1991), 705; also, Simi Afonja, 'Land control: critical factor in Yoruba gender stratification', in C. Robertson and I. Berger (eds.), Women and Class in Africa (New York, 1986), 81-3. Further research is needed on Abeokuta in order to determine if developments there mirrored the trend in Lagos.
67. The iwofa system was a Yoruba institution for obtaining both labor and credit. The borrower worked for the lender, or substituted someone to work in his or her place, in lieu of paying interest on the loan. E. A. Oroge, 'Iwofa: an historical survey of the Yoruba institution of indenture', Afr. Econ. Hist., XIV (1985), 75-106.
68. See Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/67, vol. II, Minutes of Council Meeting, 15 July 1935, 9. The number of divorce cases heard in Native Courts for 1927, 1928, and the first half of 1929 totaled 8,267. The number of adultery cases for the same period totaled 2,031. NAI, APP 3/1/26, Copies of Correspondence, 2 July 1929.
69. NAI, CSO 21/309, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1920/21 - Addendum to Political Report on Egba Division. Delano suggests that in the old days, dipomu was actually the method that women used to secure divorces. In cases of ill-treatment, women went to the palace and took hold of one of the pillars. Their husbands could not touch them there for it was considered an insult to the king to touch a women in 'the land of refuge'. See I. O. Delano, The Soul of Nigeria (London, 1937), 142.
70. NAI, CSO 21/309, Annual Report, Abeokuta Province, 1920/21 - Addendum to Political Report on Egba Division. Delano suggests that in the old days, dipomu was actually the method that women used to secure divorces. In cases of ill-treatment, women went to the palace and took hold of one of the pillars. Their husbands could not touch them there for it was considered an insult to the king to touch a women in 'the land of refuge'. See I. O. Delano, The Soul of Nigeria (London, 1937), 142.
71. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/38, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 24 Oct. 1927, 7-8.
72. NAI, Abe Prof. 2/9-33/25, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 18 June 1925, 17-18.
73. The institution had become increasingly important in Yoruba society by the end of the nineteenth century. It was reported that slaves had become scarce in Abeokuta after the expansion of the railway and as a result many farmers increasingly relied on pawn labor. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/3, Annual Report Nigeria, 1901-02, 185. Wealthy dyers, in particular, called attention to their reliance on pawns. See NAI, ECR 1/1/46, ENA Minute of Council Meetings, 14 Feb. 1929, 3.
74. The institution had become increasingly important in Yoruba society by the end of the nineteenth century. It was reported that slaves had become scarce in Abeokuta after the expansion of the railway and as a result many farmers increasingly relied on pawn labor. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/3, Annual Report Nigeria, 1901-02, 185. Wealthy dyers, in particular, called attention to their reliance on pawns. See NAI, ECR 1/1/46, ENA Minute of Council Meetings, 14 Feb. 1929, 3.
75. See Judith Byfield, 'Pawns and politics: the pawnship debate in Western Nigeria', in Paul Lovejoy and Toyin Falola (eds.), Pawnship in Africa : Debt Bondage in Historical Perspective (Boulder, CO, 1994), 187-216, and Toyin Falola 'Pawnship in colonial Southwestern Nigeria', in Lovejoy and Falola (eds.), Pawnship in Africa, 245-66.
76. See Judith Byfield, 'Pawns and politics: the pawnship debate in Western Nigeria', in Paul Lovejoy and Toyin Falola (eds.), Pawnship in Africa : Debt Bondage in Historical Perspective (Boulder, CO, 1994), 187-216, and Toyin Falola 'Pawnship in colonial Southwestern Nigeria', in Lovejoy and Falola (eds.), Pawnship in Africa, 245-66.
77. See NAI, Abe Prof. 2/9-33/25, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 19 Mar. 1925, 7-12; and NAI, Abe Prof. 2/9-33/25, Minutes of Council Meeting, 23 Mar. 1925. This system was a modified version of the system the colonial government had tried to impose in 1918. This measure helped spark a tax revolt because the township chiefs still carried significant authority at that time, and the creation of district heads usurped the authority of township chiefs in their rural satellites. The fact that they were able to reintroduce the system seven years later attests to the declining authority of these chiefs as the colonial state consolidated its power.
78. See NAI, Abe Prof. 2/9-33/25, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 19 Mar. 1925, 7-12; and NAI, Abe Prof. 2/9-33/25, Minutes of Council Meeting, 23 Mar. 1925. This system was a modified version of the system the colonial government had tried to impose in 1918. This measure helped spark a tax revolt because the township chiefs still carried significant authority at that time, and the creation of district heads usurped the authority of township chiefs in their rural satellites. The fact that they were able to reintroduce the system seven years later attests to the declining authority of these chiefs as the colonial state consolidated its power.
79. NAI, CSO 26/19855, J. Royce, Report of the Re-Assessment of Abeokuta Town, 1926.
80. NAI, Abe Prof, 1/1 - ABP/236, vol. II, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 16 May 1934, 2.
81. Between 1928 and 1938, the annual gross taxes averaged £35,698. The lowest amount, £33,994, was collected in 1931-2 and the largest amount, £36,945, was collected in 1930-1. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/12, I. W. E. Dods. Report on Tax Collection in the Egba Division for the year 1938-9, 1-2.
82. NAI, EAB 6/1/4, vol. II. Report of the Public Meeting of the Adire Women, 25 July 1927, in the Egba Administration Bulletin, 31 Aug. 1927, 104 and 109.
83. NAI, EAB 6/1/4, vol. II. Report of the Public Meeting of the Adire Women, 25 July 1927, in the Egba Administration Bulletin, 31 Aug. 1927, 104 and 109.
84. Several women in the palace sold their cloth on credit and the Alake was forced to help them pay their bill at the European stores. NAI, ECR 1/1/42, Adire Trade, 1928-32, vol. I, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 20 Sept. 1928, 4-5.
85. Report of the Public Meeting of the Adire Women, 25 July 1927, in the Egba Administration Bulletin, 31 Aug. 1927, 104.
86. Ibid.
87. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/54, vol. III, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 8 Oct. 1931, 3. These women were the wives and sisters-in-law of an Alhaji Saka, with whom Senegalese buyers often stayed when they were in Abeokuta.
88. Report of the Public Meeting of the Adire Women, 25 July 1927, in the Egba Administration Bulletin, 31 Aug. 1927, 105.
89. Caustic soda was introduced in 1924, although its use did not become extensive until after 1928. Proceedings of the Adire Cloth Committee, 4 and 19.
90. For a detailed description of the entire process see: Proceedings of the Adire Cloth Committee, Appendix I : 'Report on the nature of the Adire cloth industry in Abeokuta'; Nancy Stansfield, 'Dyeing methods in Western Nigeria', in Jane Barbour and Doig Simmonds (eds.), Adire Cloth in Nigeria (Ibadan, 1971), 9-42; and O. L. Oke, 'The chemistry and general history of dyeing', in Barbour and Simmonds (eds.), Adire Cloth in Nigeria, 45-8.
91. For a detailed description of the entire process see: Proceedings of the Adire Cloth Committee, Appendix I : 'Report on the nature of the Adire cloth industry in Abeokuta'; Nancy Stansfield, 'Dyeing methods in Western Nigeria', in Jane Barbour and Doig Simmonds (eds.), Adire Cloth in Nigeria (Ibadan, 1971), 9-42; and O. L. Oke, 'The chemistry and general history of dyeing', in Barbour and Simmonds (eds.), Adire Cloth in Nigeria, 45-8.
92. Proceedings of the Adire Cloth Committee, 4.
93. Report of the Public Meeting of the Adire Women, 25 July 1927, Egba Administration Bulletin, 31 Aug. 1927.
94. Proceedings of the Adire Cloth Committee, 35 and 41.
95. Respondents during the Commission of Inquiry argued that synthetic dyes were introduced in 1932, but in 1930 the Resident noted that some people in Abeokuta were already using imported dye. See NAI, ECR, 6/1/14, vol. V, Minutes of Council Meeting, 6 Feb. 1930, reported in the Egba Administrative Bulletin, 28 Feb. 1930, 20.
96. Proceedings of the Adire Cloth Committee, 25.
97. Ibid. 35.
98. Ibid. 7; and Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/56, vol. I, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 26 May 1932.
99. Ibid. 7; and Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/56, vol. I, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 26 May 1932.
100. Minutes of Council Meeting, 26 May 1932, 7.
101. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/77, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 2 Apr. 1936, 4-5.
102. The General Manager of the Compagnie Française de l'Afrique Occidentale, M. Lancelin, conducted experiments on the dyeing process utilized by Abeokuta dyers. Their study indicated that the quality of the cloth was an important factor that could not be overlooked. NAI, ECR 1/1/42, Adire Trade 1928-39, vol. I, Letter from Lancelin to A. E. F. Murray, Resident, Abeokuta, 4 July 1936.
103. NAI, ECR 1/1/46, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 14 Feb. 1929, 3.
104. Although I was not able to locate the minutes of this meeting, it was referred to in the public meeting with the adire dyers on 29 July 1927. Report of the Public Meeting of the Adire Women, 29 July 1927, Egba Administration Bulletin, 31 Aug. 1927, 106.
105. NAI, CSO 28400, vol. I, Letter from A. E. F. Murray, Resident Abeokuta Province, to the Secretary Southern Provinces, 6 June 1933.
106. NAI, ECR 6/1/14, vol. V, Minutes of Council Meeting, 6 Feb. 1930 reported in the Egba Administrative Bulletin, 28 Feb. 1930, 20.
107. Report of the Public Meeting of the Adire Women, 29 July 1927, Egba Administration Bulletin, 31 Aug. 1927, 106, 109.
108. ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 20 Sept. 1928, 5.
109. Ibid. 7-8.
110. Ibid. 9.
111. One dyer complained that in the old days before a woman began to dye she had to have capital of at least £50. ENA Minutes of council Meeting, 20 Sept. 1928, 4.
112. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/56, vol. I, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 26 May 1932, 13.
113. NAI, ECR 1/1/42, Adire Trade 1928-32, vol. I, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 20 Sept. 1928, 6.
114. Ibid. 5.
115. Ibid. 7.
116. NAI, ECR 1/1/46, Adire Trade 1929-32, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 14 Feb. 1929, 4.
117. Ibid.
118. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/42, vol. II, Extract from ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 8 Aug. 1935, 1.
119. NAI, CSO 28400, vol. I, Memo from the Resident, Abeokuta Province to the Secretary of the Southern Provinces, 24 Apr. 1936, 12.
120. Their representatives included: Oladipo Somoye, a former clerk for UAC; M. A. Egberongbe, a former clerk for one of the Native Courts and John Holt and Co.; J. K. Doherty, a disbarred lawyer from Abeokuta; and William Geary, an English lawyer practicing in Lagos. See NAI, ECR 1/1/46, Letter from Resident to Secretary, Southern Provinces, 24 Apr. 1936.
121. NAI, CSO 28400, vol. I, Letter from Somoye to the Chief Secretary to the Government, 6 Mar. 1936; and ibid., Letter from Geary to the Chief Secretary to the Government, 20 Apr. 1936.
122. NAI, ECR 1/1/77, Adire Trade, vol. II, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 2 Apr. 1936, 2.
123. Niara Sudarkasa, 'The economic status of the Yoruba in Ghana before 1970', The Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies, XVII (1975), 93-125.
124. NAI, CSO 26-28400, vol. III, Letter from the General Manager, UAC to the Chief Secretary to the Government, 13 Apr. 1939.
125. Abeokuta, ECR 1/1/12, vol. I, Egba Division Annual Report, 1939-40, 9.
126. NAI, ECR 1/1/77, Adire Trade, vol. II, ENA Minutes of Council Meeting, 2 Apr. 1936, 2.
127. NAI, ECR 1/1/77, Adire Trade, vol. II, ENA Minutes of Extraordinary Meeting, 3 Apr. 1936.
128. Since the 1980s, adire production has increased significantly. For an important discussion of these changes especially since the 1960s see Keyes, 'Adire: cloth, gender and social change'.
129. In 1947-8, the Abeokuta Women's Union led by Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti launched a tax revolt which resulted in the Alake's temporary abdication. See Nina Mba, Nigerian Women Mobilized: Women's political activity in Southern Nigeria, 1990-1965, (Berkeley, CA, 1982), and Cheryl Johnson-Odim, 'On behalf of women and the nation: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and the struggles for Nigerian independence and women's equality,' in Cheryl Johnson-Odim and Margaret Strobel (eds.), Expanding the Boundaries of Women's History: Essays on Women in the Third World, (Bloomington, IN, 1992), 144-57.
130. In 1947-8, the Abeokuta Women's Union led by Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti launched a tax revolt which resulted in the Alake's temporary abdication. See Nina Mba, Nigerian Women Mobilized: Women's political activity in Southern Nigeria, 1990-1965, (Berkeley, CA, 1982), and Cheryl Johnson-Odim, 'On behalf of women and the nation: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and the struggles for Nigerian independence and women's equality,' in Cheryl Johnson-Odim and Margaret Strobel (eds.), Expanding the Boundaries of Women's History: Essays on Women in the Third World, (Bloomington, IN, 1992), 144-57.