The Pre-colonial Development of Yoruba Towns

Abstract

In spite of their size, many Yoruba settlements fail to meet the criteria of urban status as defined in the more developed countries of the world. Dickinson defines a town in Western Europe and North America as ‘a compact settlement engaged primarily in non-agricultural occupations’¹. To this definition other writers have added such criteria as specialisation of economic activities, division of labour and factory-centred production. Very few large centres of population in Nigeria conform to these criteria. Most of them are compact settlements but a sizeable proportion of their population is still engaged in agricultural occupation. Moreover, the level of economic specialisation and division of labour in them is low and factory-centred production is at best very rudimentary.