The impact of Christianity on West African society has persisted to this day. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropong on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. It is simply one of the gross evils of heathen society which, like habitual murder or slavery, must at all costs be ended. The early African converts to Christianity, were made to abandon their ancestral culture and way of life as pagan therefore to be shunned. Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. The Wesleyan and Basel missionaries established schools in Cape Coast, Accra . began work in many parts of Africa. While it has brought undoubted benefits, it has also harmed the traditional way of life. This chapter traces the origins and long-term development of African mass education in colonial sub-Saharan Africa. Soon after the Methodist experiment, the church Missionary Society set up their own school at Badagry. James Fieldhouse, produced a Wolof Grammar in 1876. They impressed it upon their converts not to have anything to do with these traditional practices. As happened in parts of Yorubaland in the last century, some of the Christian missionaries often engaged in local politics and took an active part in helping the colonial authorities in their wars of territorial expansion. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in the name of Father Burke can be made for the care of elderly and infirm missionaries and sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, P.O. It was however in the coastal territories filled with mulattos and other European trading communities that Christianity won some of its early success. Origins, organization and effects in the development of West Africa, 3: Islam in West Africa. The practice of inflicting multiple wounds on the bodies of so-called spirit babies now belongs to history. But with the abolition of slavery, the introduction of cocoa, and the Churchs efficient school system, she gradually became the Church of the social elite. More women than men attend church, and the more strict churchgoers tend to be wealthier and of higher social status than less churchgoers or non-Presbyterians. In an ironic twist, the more Africans became versed in the Bible, the more they began to challenge missionaries. But with colonial conquest and antimalarial drugs, they moved further into the continent. His work, however, did not extend much beyond Cape Coast and the neighbouring area. 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). famous poems senior high school English Even if secondary education was provided, it was often reserved for the sons of local chiefs (Oliver 1952:212; Beck 1966: 120), an elite the colonial government could then call upon to help rule the colony, a common practice in colonial Africa. The first school in Nigeria was started by the Methodist missionaries at Badagry in 1842. Yet, the relationship between European missionaries and African populations had some contradictions. Hastings, Adrian. Clarke, Peter Bernard. Etherington, Norman. Learn how your comment data is processed. Among the Christian missionaries that came to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the following. ]v#5%{,%Y{iKsZ|Cm7NismGmg_zxKYh?>bQ?ni8G.wx:qAm$ eb!^Kr$,.9Qq^|1. About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. Wed love to get to know you and discuss how God is calling you. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. Often drumming and the harmless songs and dances of the people were condemned. THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES AND VERNACULAR LITERATURE; Another valuable contribution of the Christian missionaries in West Africa was the development of literature in the local vernaculars, this included the translation of the Bible into some of the important local languages. It happens that some people convert at the end of their life in order to be buried in the prestigious Presbyterian cemetery. 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. If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors. Notably among these missionaries are the Wesleyan, Basel, and Bremen. This comes at no extra cost to you. The governor had observed the bad moral life of the Europeans in the fort. First, alignment can help you communicate your . 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). cited in Miran 2002:128). 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). Request Permissions. Longman Nigeria Plc., 1994, Boahen, A.A. et al Tropics in West Africa History. PROBLEMS FACED BY THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES. Government & Politics Longman Publishing Group, 1980. It included the opening up of Africa to forces of change namely commerce (legitimate commerce, i.e. I will earn a commission if you follow a link to purchase a product. In fact in 1966, Father Burke led students to a victory in a national educational contest called the Ghana TV Cup. These missionary societies laid the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church in West Africa, which lasted through to the independence period when African clergy replaced the white pastors. It is possible to hear the tune of this missionary hymn. To their minds, Africans were too backward and needed help to become more civilized. A second reason for the poor education of the mission schools was that in many cases the teachers in mission schools were unqualified as teachers, but were instead preachers by training. If a government fails to regulate schools at all, they have no right to complain that the education in their colony is poor. Instead of adapting the teachings and practices of the new religion to suit indigenous values, as it did when the same Christian religion adopted Greek, Roman, German and Anglo-Saxon native practices, the early Christian missionaries condemned totally as pagan, and to be avoided by their converts, whatever they considered strange. Preventive medicine was hardly known; the result was that epidemics of different kinds were frequent. Call: +233558280780, Your email address will not be published. Properly meant by Anglo-Saxon standards. In 1845 the C.M.S. adult education Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries came to the Gold Coast from the 15th century. Following ordination, he was sent to Washington, D.C., and the Catholic University of America, where he earned a masters degree in English literature. There were no Bibles in local languages, likewise grammar books were scant, so the missionaries had to spend time learning local languages, and translated the Bible and wrote series of grammar books. Lets now take a closer look at both the positive and negative impacts of the activities of the Christian missionaries in Ghana and the rest of Africa. Up to Guggisbergs time, the church schools did not receive grants from the government. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. The Basel Mission, as a result of this phenomenal expansion trained many local personnel to man the new stations. Being ignorant of ones history causes one to lose part of ones identity and pride in that identity, and one is therefore more vulnerable to attacks denouncing ones culture as inferior, especially if at the same time one is being taught the noble history of another culture. Baker Pub Group, 1996. Furthermore, missionaries, believing in the civilizing mission, attempted to disintegrate traditional society through education by choosing academic subjects, such as the histories of the Western colonial powers, that illustrated the superiority of the Western culture, as well as by teaching about the superiority of the West in non-academic matters such as hygiene. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . 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. The Journal of Negro Education (JNE), a refereed scholarly periodical, was founded at Howard University in 1932 to fill the need for a scholarly journal that would identify and define the problems that characterized the education of Black people in the United States and elsewhere, provide a forum for analysis and solutions, and serve as a vehicle for sharing statistics and research on a national basis. They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. African Drama He told me that that amount of money could pay for school fees for five students in secondary school in Ghana.. Cultural deprivation is what many of us suffer from []. Christianity reborn: the global expansion of evangelicalism in the twentieth century. Almost all the missions in West Africa faced financial problems in the early stages of their missionary work. Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades. ABWE is also at work in countries that restrict evangelism. Metadata. The Methodist Church Ghana came into existence as a result of the missionary activities of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, inaugurated with the arrival of Joseph Rhodes Dunwell to the Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1835.Like the mother church, the Methodist Church in Ghana was established by people of Anglican background. So why did the European missionaries come to Ghana and other parts of Africa? Their economic activities went beyond the development of agriculture. Furthermore, they were skilled farmers that could grow cash crops to be consumed back in the mother country, such as cocoa from Ghana (Foster 1965: 153). life skills This was because all the ships that came to the coast at that time were owned by trading firms and companies whose interest were basically on trade. 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. station in 1858, it was not until 1889 that the missionaries entered Hausaland, which was predominantly Muslim. Frank Ogodo Ogbeche One reason why the Christian missionaries came to Ghana and the rest of Africa was to convert the people to the Christian faith. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'cegastacademy_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_15',609,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-cegastacademy_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');The European missionaries began their activities in Ghana as far back as the early fifteenth century. 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. Johann Christaller produced a similar work in Twi. The home page of Compassion Canada is that of a stereotypical Northern charity: showing pictures of suffering children alternating with those of post-intervention, happy children. The coming of the Christian missionaries to Ghana had a positive impact on agriculture. Among his pioneering achievements, he arranged for three youths to be sent to England for training as evangelists. Amidst much honest missionary activity in the country for two centuries, prosperity gospel teachers have also gained influence, and numerous indigenous cults have arisen with distinct appeal and just enough truth to create confusion and syncretism. It was not until the nineteenth century, that the new religion was really established in West Africa. 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). One of the missions most important contributions to the colonial regimes was their role in educating the native Africans. 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. However hypocritical, government support for the schools should not be surprising, considering the benefits the colonial governments stood to gain. History books tended to exaggerate in achievements of Europeans, making no reference to Africans own great past. In addition, while missionaries did run many academic primary schools, they provided little secondary education, a practice which prevented natives from becoming too educated (Ayandele 1966:286) and potentially subversive. Moreover, mission education formed a poor foundation for future educational conditions in the former colonies. 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. Hundreds of believers were baptized, branches organized, and a mission established. Called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. wassce literature questions. Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. A tiny act of kindness is remembered by a young man in need. Porter, Andrew. It also plays an important role in organization of inheritances within matrilineal houses and thus exerts influence from a legal point of view. For example, they made our people view polygamy and puberty rites as pagan practices. Indeed, most of our early nationalists were all products of mission schools. West Africa owes to the Christian missionaries not only a new religious faith which has changed the beliefs and life of millions of people, but also the foundation of western education. The Christian missionaries have been credited with the discontinuation of some obnoxious traditional practices among Ghanaians. The third, St Nicholas Grammar School (now Adisadel College), was founded by the Anglican Church in 1910. Later that year, in recognition of his service to the Ghanaian people, President John Dramani Mahama bestowed the honor of Officer of the Order of Volta upon him. 0 Nevertheless, the first higher institution in Ghana, now the Presbyterian Training College at Akuapem Akropon, was established in 1848, first as a centre for training catechists, and later to train teachers as well as ministers of the Presbyterian Church.
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