Article ID: CBB001550843

Contingencies of Colonial Psychiatry: Migration, Mental Illness, and the Repatriation of Nigerian `Lunatics' (2014)

unapi

This article examines the experiences of mentally ill Nigerian migrants during the colonial era. Migrant Nigerian `lunatics' faced different circumstances depending on what type of migrant they were and where they fell ill. Those in the UK tended to be repatriated for medical reasons, while those within the West African region rarely returned home because of financial considerations. Nigerian pilgrims to Mecca are noticeably absent from the discourse as are procedures associated with the relationship between migration and mental illness, despite the fact that they made up a large and constant flow of migrants from Nigeria during the colonial period. By putting these transnational individuals at the centre of analysis, this article provides a comparative perspective that reveals contingencies of psychiatric biopower that are often subsumed in narratives that focus on the activities of specific colonial asylums within individual colonial states.

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Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001550843/

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Authors & Contributors
Foliard, Daniel
Gillin, Edward J.
Chew, Carissa
Williams, J'Nese
Utietiang, Bekeh
Wisnicki, Adrian S
Concepts
Colonialism
Imperialism
Great Britain, colonies
Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence
Geography
Orientalism
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
20th century, late
18th century
Places
Great Britain
Nigeria
India
China
Middle and Near East
Istanbul (Turkey)
Institutions
World Bank
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