Electricity, Agency and Class in Lagos Colony, C.1860s–1914

IF 1.8 1区 历史学 Q1 HISTORY Past & Present Pub Date : 2023-04-01 DOI:10.1093/pastj/gtad001
Adewumi Damilola Adebayo
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Abstract

European states gradually established colonial rule in Africa between the mid nineteenth century and the beginning of the First World War. Historians have assessed the infrastructure introduced during this period through the lens of colonial state-building and resource extraction. This article offers another perspective by reconstructing the early history of electrification in Lagos Colony, one of the first British colonies in West Africa, within the contexts of African agency (that is, knowledge and socio-political influence) and class. It argues that electricity was not a novelty to Africans when the government opened the first power station in 1898. The principles of electricity were already being taught in the classroom and through public lectures in the 1860s, and temporary exhibitions of electric light had been a feature of Lagos society since the 1880s. Furthermore, because of some demographic advantages, the Africans of nineteenth-century Lagos were able to shape colonial policies, including on financing electricity. Lastly, contrary to colonial African case studies in which scholars have argued that racial politics affected access to electricity, extensive primary sources affirm that a rising number of Africans in Lagos enjoyed electric lighting on the streets, at religious centres and at home from 1898.
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拉各斯殖民地的电力、代理和阶级,1860年代至1914年
从19世纪中期到第一次世界大战开始,欧洲国家逐渐在非洲建立了殖民统治。历史学家通过殖民国家建设和资源开采的镜头评估了这一时期引入的基础设施。本文通过在非洲代理(即知识和社会政治影响)和阶级背景下重建拉各斯殖民地(西非首批英国殖民地之一)电气化的早期历史,提供了另一种视角。它认为,当政府在1898年开设第一座发电站时,电力对非洲人来说并不新鲜。早在19世纪60年代,电学原理就已经在课堂上和公共讲座中被教授,从19世纪80年代开始,电灯的临时展览已经成为拉各斯社会的一个特色。此外,由于某些人口优势,19世纪拉各斯的非洲人能够制定殖民政策,包括电力融资。最后,与殖民时期非洲的案例研究相反,学者们认为种族政治影响了电力的获取,大量的第一手资料证实,从1898年开始,拉各斯越来越多的非洲人在街道、宗教中心和家中都用上了电灯。
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来源期刊
Past & Present
Past & Present Multiple-
CiteScore
2.80
自引率
5.60%
发文量
49
期刊介绍: Founded in 1952, Past & Present is widely acknowledged to be the liveliest and most stimulating historical journal in the English-speaking world. The journal offers: •A wide variety of scholarly and original articles on historical, social and cultural change in all parts of the world. •Four issues a year, each containing five or six major articles plus occasional debates and review essays. •Challenging work by young historians as well as seminal articles by internationally regarded scholars. •A range of articles that appeal to specialists and non-specialists, and communicate the results of the most recent historical research in a readable and lively form. •A forum for debate, encouraging productive controversy.
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