To put it differently, the motive was to gain acceptance in the sight of God so that after death they would be judged kindly by the heavenly father. For example, the missionaries preached against certain aspects of African culture they considered barbaric or satanic or both. This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language and translated the entire Bible and a Bible history into Ga. Then in 1874, the Rev. The others included the Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. Establishment of Christian Churches In The Gambia. Father Tetteh also took note of Father Burkes humility and devotion to his students. Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. Lack of transport from the coast to the interior parts of West Africa was one of the major difficulties encountered by the missionaries. Debrunner, Hans Werner. In Sierra Leone, the Church Missionary Society (CMS), offshoot of the Anglican Church, was the first to become firmly established chiefly among the freed captive and freed slave settlers from Britain, Nova Scotia and other parts of the New World. C.M.S. This study simply offers systematic, long-term evidence of it. The anti-slavery issue and the humanitarian conscience also played a vital role in stimulating European interest in Africa and gave an impetus to mission work. Furthermore, each denomination had differing policies on education, so standards in education fluctuated across each colony, depending on what denomination had schools in each area. In addition to studying the impact of these struggles on education, we also need to understand how they influenced gender inequality. Mobility depended on the . These missions significantly influenced the systematic educational development in the Gold Coast. One reason why the Christian missionaries came to Ghana and the rest of Africa was to convert the people to the Christian faith. Thus, because of the motive of proselytization, unqualified teachers, and inter-denominational rivalry, missions frequently provided poor education. West Africa and Christianity. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba. endstream
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This company promoted the import and export trade in Ghana. His work, however, did not extend much beyond Cape Coast and the neighbouring area. Babalola, E. O. Christianity in West Africa. In the days of Portuguese contacts with Nigeria, Catholic priests had established missionary stations in Benin and the neighbourhood. Apart from giving to the converts a new religious faith which they consider is superior to the traditional religions, the Christian missionaries did pioneering work in introducing new crafts, industries, Western education and modern health services. Mission schools provided a steady stream of educated Africans capable of filling the lower levels of the colonial administration and operated vocational and agricultural schools (Ayandele 1966: 295; Foster 1965: 90-91; Sheffield 1973: 10-11). Now, with the burgeoning Cocoa industry, the expansion of commercial activity, the development of gold mines and the building of roads and railways disturbed the traditional lifestyle. After six years at St. Peters, Father Burke was named chaplain and professor of English literature at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Osu, Ghana. In spite of all this, with the advent of the First World War in 1914 in the Kwaku District there were 21 congregations with a total of over 2500 members. Wed love to get to know you and discuss how God is calling you. Although there were many disagreements between European missionaries and African populations, antagonising polygamy is probably the best-documented norm conflict. As happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the gospel alone. Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bremen, Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy (SOCIUM), Universitt Bremen. He introduced the Methodist Church in Asante in 1839, and won the support of the Asante king, Otumfour Nana Kweku Duah I who reigned between 25th August 1834 to 27th April 1867). In the field of education, however, the missionaries had to adjust their programmes to fit in with the policy of assimilation. The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. However, accustomed to monogamy, few European missionaries were open to such arguments. History books tended to exaggerate in achievements of Europeans, making no reference to Africans own great past. All work is written to order. Also, the traditional doctors more often than not could not diagnose illness accurately. They worked tirelessly to lay a foundation for formal education The European missionaries established elementary and second-cycle institutions in the country. The Journal of Negro Education, 2019 Moreover, they introduced new crops into the Ghanaian economy. Thus missionaries, by imparting education that promoted dependence on colonial rule, arguably contributed to the political instability that continues in the present day in many former African colonies, such as Kenya and Eritrea. The Scottish Missionary Society had been working in Calabar, Nigeria, also a British colony adjacent to the Gold Coast and it was from the Calabar Presbyterian Church in Nigeria that a missionary was sent to take charge of the Presbyterian work in the Gold Coast after the deportations. The first school in Nigeria was started by the Methodist missionaries at Badagry in 1842. The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. It also plays an important role in organization of inheritances within matrilineal houses and thus exerts influence from a legal point of view. Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century, informal education existed in Ghana with the goal of introducing young people into the society. We shall begin with the positive contribution of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. Some observers have argued that the Europeans used the Christian bible to justify the practice of slavery and the slave trade. The study traces the his tory of colonial education and the tremendous contributions of missionaries in the establishment of formal education in the region. The Society of the Divine Word is the world's largest Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers who focus on missionary work. Third, rivalry between the various Christian denominations also contributed to the poor standards of education. Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect . Who is Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen? The History of Christianity in West Africa. Its message was that of love and the universal brotherhood of mankind. Some earlier scholarship on mission education has taken this as a positive impact of the missionaries. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. The people received the message with indifference. First, alignment can help you communicate your . 2236624), The beginning of Africanisation : the dawn of the missionary motive in Gold Coast education, Early colonial and missionary records from West Africa, West Indies material in the archives of the USPG, 1710-1950. The lead was followed by other missionaries, notably the Roman Catholic, whose first higher institution was St Edwards Secondary School in Freetown. Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. Two important private schools with strong Christian influence must also be mentioned: Accra High School, founded in 1923 and Accra Academy, established in WAEC This was around the same time that the first Portuguese sailors arrived on the coast of Ghana. Thank you! To apply, students simply fill out a quick form. Cookies are small, safe and secure text files that sit on your computer which we use to give you a better experience on our site and help us improve the service that we provide to you. Hundreds of believers were baptized, branches organized, and a mission established. Thus as early as 1823, the Roman Catholic Sisters started a clinic for the sick and for children in Banjul. Request Permissions. If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors. In fact, the Christian missionaries encouraged Ghanaians to reject African names and choose Christian names instead. The Methodists, known as the Wesleyan Missionaries (after their founder), arrived in Freetown in 1811. The Akim area had about 3400 converts over 32 villages and there were about 900 children distributed in 27 Schools. Daystar Press, 1978. Some of the positive development outcomes of former British colonies are arguably the result of a permissive attitude towards mission schools. The constant tensions between traditionalists and Christian converts often erupted into all-out conflicts. student life This was a bitter pill for the Basel Mission to swallow after 19 years of devoted service in the mission field in the Gold Coast but they were not dismayed when they considered that in education and agriculture and artisan training and in the development of commerce, and medical services and concern for social welfare of the people, the name Basel by the time of expulsion of the mission from the country, had become a treasured word in the minds of the people. There were only bush paths, and no roads in the early times. In conclusion, the educational enterprise of the Christian missionaries in the British and Italian colonies of Africa during the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries was primarily negative for the African pupils. In addition to teaching, he served as national spiritual director of the Ghana Sacred Heart Enthronement Centre and spiritual director of the Accra Diocesan Sacred Heart Centre. His request to the Danish Crown for missionaries was forwarded to . Lastly, the missionaries were not used to eating our local foods. further studies Johann Christaller produced a similar work in Twi. Governments are also not free from blame even if they had a laissez-faire educational policy, as in Ghana, where until 1944 the registration of schools was not required and no attempt was made to exert detailed control even over the activities of grant-aided [by the government] institutions except for a series of minimal registrations (Foster 1965:114). 'In view of this idea, Mmofraturo, the first girls boarding school in Ashanti was officially . Hildebrandt, Jonathan. Renewed evangelism started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). His funeral Mass was Sept. 27, followed by burial at St. Mary Cemetery at Techny. We must not lose sight of the fact that the colonial government in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa relied on the activities of the missionaries to help them achieve the objectives of colonial rule. The struggle over polygamy is well-known to historians and anthropologists. The missionaries opened schools further inland, and by 1880, the Wesleyan Mission had eighty -three schools. Indeed, the quality of the education could be so poor that the colonial governments complained, as in the case of the Nigerian government, which complained that the secondary school graduates provided by the missions were illiterate and ignorant and therefore poorly suited to fill the lower levels of the administration (Ayandele 1966:294-5). Four volumes of incoming correspondence marked "West Africa" on the spine. Required fields are marked *. In 1950 Albert Academy was founded in Freetown; for-a long lime it was the secondary school in the Colony serving largely children from the provinces, among them were the future heads of state, Sir Milton Margai and Dr. Siaka Stevens. Included on the website is information about the charitys programs, such as their Leadership Development Program in which participants earn a degree in their chosen field of study, and participate in Christian leadership training, enabling them to become a fully developed agent of change in their nation (Compassion Canada 2011). They worked to write the bible, dictionaries and textbooks in such Ghanaian Languages as Ewe, Fanti, Ga and Twi. While it has brought undoubted benefits, it has also harmed the traditional way of life. Soon after the Methodist experiment, the church Missionary Society set up their own school at Badagry. Among other missionary hospitals of long standing and reputation are those run by the Methodists at Wenkyi in the Brong-Ahafo Region, and by the Seventh Day Adventists at Kwahu Atibie in the Eastern Region. Although the aim of the traders was to practice commerce senior high school English Get full access to all 9,566 pages that make up the Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951 collection. African poetry J. C. Taylor, in these parts of southern Nigeria can still be seen today. Also the missionaries set up model farms where scientific agriculture was taught and new crops were introduced for the people, to go alongside longstanding indigenous production. Joseph Dunwell. Education (2002), the latest committee to work on education reforms in Ghana, recommended a critical review and approach to making teacher education relevant to the devel-opment of the country. In the British colonies, as elsewhere, religious missions were instrumental in introducing European-style education. It was however in the coastal territories filled with mulattos and other European trading communities that Christianity won some of its early success. Rather, it denationalized and facilitated the indignity and loss of cultural identity of the Ghanaian. Purchase a license below to view the full collection. Sign in to view the collection. These commercial activities, therefore, made an important contribution to the economic development of Ghana. Shaw, Mark. In 1981, Father Burke was promoted to headmaster and rector of Pope John XXIII Secondary School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua. Andreas Riis, assisted by a team of West Indian evangelists, laid the foundations of the Basel Missionary Church in the country. Thus missionaries, by imparting education that promoted dependence on colonial rule, arguably contributed to the political instability that continues in the present day in many former African colonies, such as Kenya and Eritrea. Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. But despite the work of Portuguese missionaries based on the island of Sao Tome and later of Spanish missionaries in Benin, it was not until the nineteenth century that the Christian religion was firmly established in Nigeria. First, I looked at how educational outcomes depended on the distance to historical missions. Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. In such situations, the message sometimes appealed to the local people depending on the efficiency of the interpreter. However, by the turn of the Nineteenth Century there was systematic efforts by churches of Christian Europe, namely: Anglicans, Methodists, and Baptists who were active in Sierra Leone and, with Presbyterians, in Nigeria, while Methodists also set up missions in Ghana, Gambia, and Dahomey. Edward Berman notes that contemporary critics of the missionaries felt that missionaries were more interested in increasing enrolments in their respective churches than in pooling their resources for the benefit of African education (Berman 1974:533). In conclusion, the converts tended to look down upon many things in their ancestral culture. Etherington, Norman. In an ironic twist, the more Africans became versed in the Bible, the more they began to challenge missionaries. Seeing as missions in the British and Italian colonies had monopolies on education for the nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, this reluctance meant that there were few secondary schools at all (Ayandele 1966:287; Beck 1966: 120). Following ordination, he was sent to Washington, D.C., and the Catholic University of America, where he earned a masters degree in English literature. Hugh Goldie and William Anderson. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. The role of the Christian missionaries in Ghana and West Africa was not limited to the education and agricultural sectors alone. He knew me as a boy [in Ghana] who washed his car and went with him when he said Mass at mission stations, yet [as an adult] he treated me as an equal, Father Tetteh said. Lake Volta provides a vital venue for aviation evangelism in remote areas. Non-African Poetry Today, local communities and ethnic groups that were more exposed to mission schools, still achieve higher levels of education, when compared to communities where there were no schools. In 2006, Father Burke was appointed lecturer at the newly founded Catholic University College of Ghana in Sunyani. This single problem made the missionary work very difficult. Notable among these were cocoa and coffee. Yet, the relationship between European missionaries and African populations had some contradictions. The first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. Teaching in the vernacular had an additional use as it further strengthened colonial rule, of which missionaries were often agents, for as the Kikuyu people of Kenya were aware, [the] inability to communicate in English would be a crucial factor in the perpetuation of their subordinate status in the colony (Berman 1974:531). However, attending mission schools also meant exposure to colonial indoctrination. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. In many instances, they made their converts rebel against traditional rulers and other spiritual leaders. Yes! Hilliard, F.H., 1957. Wm. How to Get Involved in Church Missions: The Ultimate Guide, 16 Causes of Crime Essay (with Solutions), Justify the Title of the Novel Second Class Citizen, The Role of Ghana in the Formation of the OAU, Economic Developments in Ghana Before Independence, 11 Causes of the Rise of Nationalism in Africa, Importance of the Odwira Festival in Ghana. Your email address will not be published. The Committee for Women's Work was responsible for the education of native girls. 2018). In regions where a denomination felt threatened by another denomination, the denominations were more likely to establish more schools in an attempt to gain more converts than their rival, while in regions such as northern Nigeria, where colonial policy prevented too much rivalry, schools were scarce (Bassey 1991:45).