ABSTRACT
Serious and systematic study of the place and role of women in African history is a recent phenomenon, dating from the 1980s. Since then, gender has become an increasingly important analytical tool in the reconstruction of the histories of African societies. 1 This study not only uses gender as an analytical tool but it also contributes to the pool of micro historical studies of African women. It investigates the role of Igbo women in the economic transformation of southeastern Nigeria, from the genesis of British colonial rule in 1900 to the dawn of independence in 1960.
