The Dangers of Dependence

Christian Marriage Among Elite Women in Lagos Colony, 1880–1915

Bibliographic Data

ID8979823
AuthorsK Mann (0000-0002-4644-7890, Emory University, corresponding author)
Year1983
Volume24
Issue1
Pages37-56
Publication date1983-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of African History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5138
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0021853700021514
OpenAlexW2092460230
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited27

Repatriated slaves and Christian missionaries introduced Christian marriage into colonial Lagos, and spread new values about polygyny and conjugal relationships and roles. Women among the educated elite strove to marry in church and conform to foreign marital norms, in part because Christianity, European education, and colonial legal and economic changes had altered their opportunities. When they embraced Christian marriage, elite women sacrificed the autonomy and economic independence of illiterate Yoruba women for the privileges associated with membership in the elite. As elite women experienced disappointment and vulnerability created by trying to conform to foreign ideals, some began rethinking aspects of Christian marriage, particularly the wife's economic dependence

Autonomy · Christianity · Colonialism · Disappointment · Elite · Independence (probability theory · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Wife · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Gender Studies · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · History · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology

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