Agriculture & Farming
This staple crop was the most commonly grown and essential to Igbo farmingWhat was the main staple crop grown by the Igbo?
What is yam?
Before the introduction of currency, Igbo people used this system to exchange goods and services.
What is the barter system?
This metal was essential for making farming tools and weapons in Igbo society.
What is iron?
This was the most common source of labor in pre-colonial Igbo farming households.
What is family labor?
These two major trade routes connected the Igbo economy to external markets before colonial rule.
What are the Trans-Saharan trade and the Atlantic trade?
This farming method, used to maintain soil fertility, involved moving to new land when the old land became less productive.
What is shifting cultivation?
Igbo markets followed a unique schedule, operating every this many days.
What is four days?
This Igbo town became famous for its advanced bronze and metalwork, showcasing skilled craftsmanship.
What is Igbo-Ukwu?
These societies grouped individuals by age and helped organize labor for farming, construction, and public projects.
What are age-grade societies?
Through the Atlantic trade, Europeans introduced these foreign goods to the Igbo economy.
What are guns, alcohol, and European textiles?
This social practice allowed men to have multiple wives, ensuring a larger family workforce for farming.
What is polygamy?
These were some of the most commonly traded goods in pre-colonial Igbo markets.
What are salt, textiles, kola nuts, iron tools, and pottery?
These two natural materials were commonly used for textile production in pre-colonial Igbo society
What are cotton and raffia?
This form of labor involved the entire community working together on projects like road building and town walls.
What is communal labor?
When the transatlantic slave trade ended, Igbo merchants shifted their focus to trading these two major commodities.
What are palm oil and cocoa?
The availability of this natural factor determined which crops could be grown in different Igbo regions.
What is rainfall and soil type?
This major trade network connected the Igbo to North African merchants, allowing for the exchange of goods like salt and textiles.
What is the Trans-Saharan trade?
Beyond tool-making, this profession contributed to economic development by producing weapons, farming equipment, and trade goods.
What is blacksmithing?
This major event drastically reduced the Igbo workforce by forcing many young and strong individuals into slavery.
During colonial rule, the British introduced this major economic change, forcing the Igbo to grow cash crops for export.
What is the taxation and forced cash crop system?
The introduction of these two major cash crops during external trade changed the Igbo agricultural economy.
What are palm oil and cocoa?
The arrival of Europeans caused this major shift in Igbo trade, prioritizing exports like palm oil and enslaved people.
What is the Atlantic trade?
The introduction of imported European goods during colonial rule led to these two major changes in Igbo craftsmanship.
What are the decline of some traditional industries and the adaptation of new trade products?
These four sources of labor helped sustain the Igbo economy before colonial rule.
What are family labor, age-grade labor, slave labor, and communal labor?
Colonial rule disrupted traditional Igbo trade by centralizing commerce and replacing this economic system with European currency.
What is the local market-based trade system?