Three portrait photos: 1. Joaquim and Anastacia Oyeniya George, date unknown, private collection of author. 2. Joao Esan da Rocha c. 1870 in Marianno Carneira da Cunha, Da Senzala ao Sobrado (Sao Paulo: Nobel, 1985) 46. 3. Louisa Angelica & Candido da Rocha c. 1870 in Marianno Carneira da Cunha, Da Senzala ao Sobrado (Sao Paulo: Nobel, 1985) 52.
1. Joaquim and Anastacia Oyeniya George, date unknown, private collection of author. Photo restoration by Aaron Kinard. 2. Joao Esan da Rocha c. 1870 in Marianno Carneira da Cunha, Da Senzala ao Sobrado (Sao Paulo: Nobel, 1985) 46. 3. Louisa Angelica & Candido da Rocha c. 1870 in Marianno Carneira da Cunha, Da Senzala ao Sobrado (Sao Paulo: Nobel, 1985) 52.

The Project

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The Ekopolitan Project is an archive of family history sources on established and modern migrant communities in 19th and 20th century Lagos, Nigeria. The project is directed by Professor Abosede George, a Lagos native and scholar of modern African History at Barnard College and Columbia University in New York City.

Beginning in the early 1800s, the city of Lagos received migrant individuals, families, and groups from the Americas, the Caribbean, other areas of Yorubaland, West Africa and beyond. They brought with them their histories, languages, beliefs, and ambitions. Together, modern and established Lagosians shaped culture and society in the city their descendants call home.

The Ekopolitan Project seeks to document the histories of migrant communities in the environs of 19th and 20th century Lagos by collecting and digitizing their surviving records and migration stories. By environs of Lagos, we also mean places like Abeokuta, Ilesha, Badagry and other towns that had intimate social, political, economic, and cultural ties to 19th and 20th century Lagos. You are first invited to participate in this study by completing a genealogical survey. The survey includes questions about your individual background, your family background, and your family migration history. The results of the survey will be used for the completion of a scholarly book on the history of these migrant communities.

Contact

The Ekopolitan Project
ekopolitanproject[at]gmail.com
(917) 300-9396