Missionary Intelligence and Colonial Censuses: A Source-Critical Reassessment of Yoruba Population Figures, c. 1886–1953

Abstract

This article reexamines the 1895 Church Missionary Intelligencer (CMI) figures for Yoruba population history. Rather than a census or stable baseline, these numbers mix observation dates, estimation methods, and unit types. Through provenance analysis, comparison with colonial censuses, and demographic inference, the article shows the CMI data reflect wartime concentration and missionary scale‑making, not peacetime counts. By distinguishing publication from observation date and separating town estimates from regional entries, it revises a key baseline and offers a method for reading problematic demographic sources in African history.