How Did The Europeans Affect The Igbo Society

“Things Fall Apart” is a novel written by Chinua Achebe about how the Europeans affected the Ibo society in the 19th century. The British wanted to occupy Nigeria because of the major slave-trading opportunities. The British first invaded Lagos but eventually occupied the rest of Nigeria. In the book, the main hero is Okonkwo, who is a leader of the Ibo community. Okonkwo strives to be unlike his father whom Okonkwo saw as lazy and a loser. Okonkwo’s name means pride and stubbornness whereas his father’s name is Unoka which means he has a tendency, to goof off and doesn’t desire for fame and heroism. Achebe wants the readers to understand the tribal customs and beliefs. This is important because things change, “fall apart”, with the arrival of white Christian missionaries. The missionaries built a church and started teaching the villagers, with the help of an interpreter, about Christianity. He told about God and the promise that they could live in God’s kingdom after death. The villagers are unsure about the Christian message but they want to know more about the new religion and the men with white skin. …show more content…
This land was part of the “Evil Forest”. This where people are buried when they die from evil diseases. Per their beliefs, the land is cursed and the missionaries will die in a few days. After the missionaries built the church without difficulty, the villagers felt that the white men must have magic and power. The villagers felt the white man magic and power, the Christians begin to gain power and the villagers were convinced that their beliefs were outdated and powerless. The missionaries influenced religion and influenced social customs and traditions. An example of this the new church starts to prepare for “Christian Holy Week and Easter”. The Christian church not only divided the community but also divided