"An ultimatum was immediately dispatched to Mbaino asking them to choose between war on the one hand, and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation" (Achebe 11).
Prompt Part II: How is imperialism encouraged by patriotism, religion, and/or a sense of cultural/ racial superiority in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart/the past?
Despite being a part of the same country, the clans of Mbaino and Umuofia were not allies. The powerful Umuofia made its neighbors anxious. This led to tense relations between the clans, and war was common. When a woman from Umuofia was murdered by the people of Mbaino, Umuofia threatened Mbaino with a war unless the Mbaino turned over a young man and a virgin. Umuofia was so threatening and powerful, that the Mbaino chose to send two of their people to Umuofia in order to avoid war. Umuofia's sense of superiority encouraged imperialism because they were able to hold their power over the other clans to spread their influence throughout the country. By using fear, Umuofia was able to persuade the other clans to do whatever they wanted, because no one wanted to go to war with the powerful Umuofia. Imperialism is all about a nation spreading its culture and ideas, that they feel are superior, to new places that they think have primitive beliefs. Powerful nations infiltrate small ones and control them, forcing their beliefs onto the population as a result. Umuofia does just this by using their threatening power to assert their dominance over the surrounding clans.
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