Empire and Medicine: The Impact of British Colonial Health Policies on Indigenous Healthcare Practices in Eastern Nigeria in the 19th and 20th Centuries

This paper seeks to examine the influence of British imperial health knowledge, policies, and practices on Igboland in Eastern Nigeria from the late 1800s to 1960. It argues that, prior to British conquest, the Igbo people maintained an organized healthcare system shaped by spiritual and empirical worldviews, encompassing both knowledge production and trained professionals in its administration. The paper further argues that British imperialism in Igboland was perpetuated through medical advancements that challenged the existing indigenous health care practices and medical knowledge in the region. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to examine the precolonial medical system, the advent of Western medicine, and the implications arising from the interaction between these two distinct medical knowledge systems. It concludes that medical imperialism was advanced through British racism and the denigration of the Igbo indigenous system, reflecting broader power imbalances.