Judith A. Byfield - The Great Upheaval: Women and Nation in Postwar Nigeria

NEW AFRICAN HISTORIES

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Judith A. Byfield

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Earlier versions of chapters in this book were published in the following articles:

Taxation, Women, and the Colonial State: Egba Womens Tax Revolt was originally published in Meridians, vol. 3, pp. 25077. (c) 2003, Smith College. All rights reserved. Republished by permission of the copyright holder, and the present publisher, Duke University Press. www.dukeupress.edu.

Feeding the Troops: Abeokuta (Nigeria) and World War II was originally published in African Economic History 35 (2007): 7787 2007 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Reprinted by courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Press.

Judith Byfield, Women, Rice, and War: Political and Economic Crisis Wartime Abeokuta (Nigeria), Africa and World War II (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015), 14765, 2015 Cambridge University Press. Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Byfield, Judith A. (Judith Ann-Marie), author.

Title: The great upheaval : women and nation in postwar Nigeria / Judith A. Byfield.

Other titles: New African histories series.

Description: Athens : Ohio University Press, 2019. | Series: New African histories | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019031415 | ISBN 9780821423974 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780821423981 (paperback) | ISBN 9780821446904 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: WomenPolitical activityNigeriaAbeokutaHistory--20th century. | WomenNigeriaAbeokutaEconomic conditions20th century. | WomenNigeriaAbeokutaSocial conditions20th century. | NationalismNigeriaHistory20th century. | NigeriaHistory1900-1960. | NigeriaPolitics and governmentTo 1960.

Classification: LCC DT515.9.A17 B94 2019 | DDC 966.9230904dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019031415

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This book has been germinating a long time. It started as my original dissertation proposal. However, as I probed the questions that seemed relevant to understanding the relationship between the 1947 womens tax revolt and nationalism, those questions became other projectsThe Bluest Hands: A Social and Economic History of Women Dyers in Abeokuta (Nigeria), 18901940 (Heinemann, 2002) and Africa and World War II (Cambridge, 2015). The research and writing also had to be fit around teaching, advising, health issues, and the passing of many people near and dear to my heart. The long incubation period afforded many advantages. It allowed me to explore new literature, reread old classics with new questions and new eyes, and engage the stimulating work of a new generation of Africanist historians. Ultimately, this book is much better than what I originally envisioned.

While research and writing are largely singular endeavors, we are pushed to think more deeply or to question our assumptions as we share our ideas with students, friends, and colleagues. I have a special place in my heart for the students in my seminar on nationalism and decolonization in Africa. Their engagement with the readings helped me more than they can appreciate. I had the good fortune to be surrounded by generous, thoughtful colleagues who never hesitated to probe, ask difficult questions, or cheer me on as I wrestled with each chapter. I gained tremendously from the multiple conversations that began as a writing group and turned into fun-filled, raucous meals. For those moments, I especially thank Deborah Gray-White, Carolyn Brown, Natalie Byfield, Wanda Hendricks, and Donna Murch. I experienced similar boundary crossings and lively meals with participants of the Black Womens Intellectual History Project organized by Mia Bay, Farah J. Griffin, Martha S. Jones and Barbara D. Savage. Invigorating discussions also followed presentations to Columbia Universitys Women and Society Seminar and the Seminar in Contemporary African History. Those times were buttressed by the continued love and friendships forged at Dartmouth College with Deborah K. King, Bryant Ford, Lourdes Guttierez-Najera, Celia Naylor, Annelise Orleck, and Craig Wilder. At Cornell University, I worked with wonderful colleagues in the History Department, the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, and Africana Studies. I have valued the strong friendships of Ed Baptist, Sherman Cochran, Naminata Diabate, Grant Farred, Maria Cristina Garcia, Sandra Greene, Durba Ghosh, Salah Hassan, Saida Hodzic, Russell Rickford, Rich Richardson, No-liwe Rooks, Barry Strauss, Olfmi Tw, Eric Tagliacozzo, Robert Travers, and Penny Von Eschen. Our administratorsBarb Donnell, Treva Levine, Renee Milligan, Claire Perez, and Judy Yonkinhelped me stay in compliance and in good humor.