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Remembering J. M. Stuart-Young of Onitsha, Colonial Nigeria: Memoirs, Obituaries and Names

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Stephanie Newell
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Abstract

Colonial Onitsha provided the stage for John Moray Stuart-Young (1881–1939), a Manchester trader and poet, to perform the role of an educated gentleman. In his autobiographical writing, Stuart-Young created a host of famous metropolitan friends and constructed for himself a past through which he invited African readers to remember him. The extent to which Onitsha citizens accepted his version of his life is explored in this article, for during the period of Stuart-Young's residence in town, from approximately 1909 until his death in 1939, different sectors of Igbo society observed him closely, read his publications, worked with him and witnessed his patronage of young men. Local people, including the children, studied his behaviour over time and produced a range of African names and watchwords by which they remembered his life.

Résumé

L'Onitsha coloniale a servi de théâtre au rôle de gentleman cultivé qu'y a joué John Moray Stuart-Young (1881–1939), commerçant et poète de Manchester. Dans ses écrits autobiographiques, Stuart-Young s'est créé une foule d'amis métropolitains célèbres et construit un passé à travers lequel il invitait les lecteurs africains à se souvenir de lui. Cet article examine dans quelle mesure les citoyens d'Onitsha ont accepté cette version de sa vie; pendant la période où Stuart-Young résidait dans la ville (de 1909 environ jusqu’à sa mort en 1939), divers secteurs de la société igbo ont en effet pu l'observer de près, lu ses publications, travaillé avec lui et été témoins de son patronage de jeunes hommes. La population locale, y compris les enfants, a étudié son comportement au fil du temps et produit des noms africains et des expressions qui évoquent son souvenir.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 73 , Issue 4 , November 2003 , pp. 505 - 530
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2003

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