Email: henrydonsco@gmail.com The European missionaries believed that European culture was superior to African culture. Debrunner, Hans Werner. It is interesting to note that this project is not a new concept. The agricultural schools the missions ran would have been even more advantageous to the colonial governments considering the discouragement of local industries that might have competed with the motherland. 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 Basel and Methodist Missions, for example, introduced scientific agriculture in Ghana. To apply, students simply fill out a quick form. It is possible to hear the tune of this missionary hymn. The missionary impact on education would have far-reaching consequences, as their creation of a weak basis of education would slow down the political and educational development of many former colonies in Africa. Among the first missionaries was the Rev. What would have happened if missionaries had not insisted on monogamy? As Sir Henry Johnston, a key figure in the Scramble for Africa says, they [the mission stations] strengthen our hold over the country, they spread the use of the English language, they induct natives into the best kind of civilization, and in fact, each mission station is an essay in colonization (Johnston cited in Sheffield 1973:10). 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. Help those suffering in Turkey and Syria. They worked to write the bible, dictionaries and textbooks in such Ghanaian Languages as Ewe, Fanti, Ga and Twi. That there are parallels between contemporary Christian organizations efforts and the missionary efforts of the mid-nineteenth to mid- twentieth centuries is a reason for concern, considering the similar impact of missionaries of all Christian denominations on the education of Africans in the British and Italian colonies in Africa. In Ghana, for instance, they persuaded their converts to reject polygamy and human sacrifice. A permanent station was established in Lagos in 1868, soon followed by others at Lokoja, Abeokuta and Ibadan. This research was funded by the European Research Council. ASSESS THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN MISSION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA. Father Burke, whose students included Father Tetteh and Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra, arrived in Ghana, West Africa, in 1963, only four years after the country gained independence from Great Britain. Other missionaries opened mission stations in the country. The first school in Nigeria was started by the Methodist missionaries at Badagry in 1842. Although the aim of the traders was to practice commerce His immigrant Irish-born parents instilled faith and a firm work ethic in their sons. Its message was that of love and the universal brotherhood of mankind. Notably among these missionaries are the Wesleyan, Basel, and Bremen. Christianity in northern Nigeria. Moreover, the Islamic religion was also being introduced to the southern section of the country by Muslim immigrants from the north of the colony. They were closed down in 1852 in favour of schools opened in Lagos which, in 1851, had one time British control. As happened in other West African countries, many more mission-sponsored hospitals were founded in the course of the twentieth century. The early Christian missions concentrated their activities not only on religious matters. In December 1868 he went with his wife and child to Anum in the present-day Volta Region of Ghana. Missionaries were no doubt also aware that Africans came to associate European technological achievement with Western education (Bassey 1991:45) and therefore offered Western education as a means to attract Africans of this belief and then convert them. Longman Publishing Group, 1980. In the 19thh century, too, Afro-Brazilians returned to Benin and Nigeria with Catholicism. 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. We shall begin with the positive contribution of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. First, I looked at how educational outcomes depended on the distance to historical missions. Samuel Adu-Gyamfi And Benjamin Kye Ampadu, Ajayi, J..F.A and Michael Crowder History of West Africa. About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. The missions agricultural schools were especially beneficial for colonial governments considering that governments believed that manual labour was a means to prevent discontent and unrest in the tribes (Hansen 1984:232). In addition to studying the impact of these struggles on education, we also need to understand how they influenced gender inequality. *You can also browse our support articles here >. 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. An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially . Yet, the relationship between European missionaries and African populations had some contradictions. Origins, organization and effects in the development of West Africa, 3: Islam in West Africa. For more than a year, Ghanaian Saints continued to practice their faith in their homes. They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. Metadata. Kalu, Ogbu. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Four volumes of incoming correspondence marked "West Africa" on the spine. English Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. Renewed evangelisation started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). Father Jean Marie Coquard, operating in and from Abeokuta for forty years, was renowned among the Egba as a priest and surgeon in the second half of the nineteenth century. A notable example, in Ghana, was the Methodist experimental farm near Cape Coast whose crops included cotton, coffee, black pepper, mango, ginger, cinnamon and olive trees. I have used my expertise to design and implement strategies for major projects including new programme development, global proposals, book launches, international talks, lectures, and executive . The missionary and colonial education aimed at character training and civilization resulted in cultural annihilation and religious, and linguistic hegemony. Before we examine the contribution of Christian missionaries in Ghana, we need to identify the missionaries that came to Ghana. primarily purposed to outline the contributions of religion and education to national development in Ghana. These pioneer mission schools met with a discouraging response. One of the missions most important contributions to the colonial regimes was their role in educating the native Africans. Founded in 1875 by St. Arnold Janssen, we number more than 6,000 missionaries. Sign in to view the collection. In conclusion, the converts tended to look down upon many things in their ancestral culture. opened was the Christian Institute, established in 1814 for the training of teachers, catechists and priests. Christian missionaries were the first to introduce European-style education in sub-Saharan Africa. Their educational activities helped spread literacy and vocational skills training among Ghanaians. 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. The next major Christian missionaries to go out to Sierra Leone were the Roman Catholics. 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. The early success of the missionaries included areas like Freetown and surrounding villages. The result is that today, many Africans are alienated from their authentic ways of life. Christianity in West Africa: The Nigerian Story. This single problem made the missionary work very difficult. She succeeded in stopping the killing of twins in the areas where she served. cited in Miran 2002:128). Its general scope extends to both Roman Catholic as well as Protestant missionaries in relation to education works. Call: +233558280780, Your email address will not be published. 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. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Your email address will not be published. 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. In 1989-90, the government banned the activities of several religious organizations, including the Church. The copies of letters received, 1890-1927, mention the plan from 1914 to gain control of future Ashanti Chiefs using education. Within ten years the C.M.S had opened twelve more schools in what is today Cross Rivers State. The First Missionaries were sent as a result of a request by Major de Richelieu, Governor of Christiansborg. If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors. Yes! 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. The Essay Writing ExpertsUK Essay Experts. Hilliard, F.H., 1957. 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. Important among these, all in Lagos, were the Baptist Academy in 1855, the C.M.S. A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. In addition, the contributions of celebrity missionaries, such as Christian Schwartz, William Carey, Alexander Duff, and James . For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. "Big things have small beginnings"; so is The Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Not only did mission education strengthen colonial rule, but it also weakened traditional societies and implemented poor standards of Western education. The country has diverse geography, people groups, and languageswith English as the common language, and more than 11 others with state recognition. Christian Religious Studies No plagiarism, guaranteed! 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. History Although modern scientific research has confirmed the medicinal properties of these concoctions, traditional medical practice had several shortcomings. Specifically, it addresses the unique role of Christian missions in. The churches opened primary schools both in the capital and in the rural communities. They were followed in turn by the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. West African Senior School Certificate Examination. Operating from Whydah in what is today the Peoples Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey), Father Berghero, in 1860, visited Abeokuta and Lagos where freed Catholic slaves from Brazil welcomed him warmly. It offered the most direct path towards prestigious jobs in colonial administrations and European enterprises. 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. It is one of the oldest continuously published periodicals by and about Black people. Like the Methodists, the Roman Catholic missionaries spread the faith notably in the interior, which later became Protectorate. But Annor (1989) writes that before Europeans came to colonize Africa, Africans had a way of producing artifacts. Hastings, Adrian. 2023 Society of the Divine Word. For instance the scholar E.A. Missionary, educator contributed to building independent Ghana. Crampton, Edmund Patrick Thurman. Ghana continued to call. 26. The evangelical societies founded in the Americas included the Baptist Missionary Board and the Nova Scotian Methodists, whose members went to work among the Maroons, who had settled mainly in Liberia. Their converts, for many years, were confined to the people of southern Nigerian extraction resident in the north, and to the-large non-Muslim population of the north. But that increase was greater in monogamous societies. However, accustomed to monogamy, few European missionaries were open to such arguments. Today almost all of the population is Presbyterian, although the ancestral royal cult and many spirit cults still flourish. 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. This hymn sums up the reasons why the Christian missionaries came to Africa and other parts of the world. The reservation of high-level positions in the colonial administrations for Europeans and the corresponding mission education that provided education fit only for lower positions meant that the withdrawal of European rule could cause serious political instability in the newly independent colonies. The positive contribution of Christian missionaries in Ghana can be felt in such areas as education, local language development, stoppage of outmoded cultural practices, agriculture and commerce. education was an important means for mission evangelization. This is the famous Presbyterian Teacher Training College founded in 1848 at Akropong-Akwapim. This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . For several years they paid attention to slave trade rather than evangelization and Christianization of the people of West-Africa. It was only after the Second World War that the colonial governments started to show a real interest in the promotion of formal education in West Africa. The study examines the historical foundations of Western education in Meru and factors that influenced its development. The practice of inflicting multiple wounds on the bodies of so-called spirit babies now belongs to history. In Sierra Leone, among the earliest higher institutions which the C.M.S. A short history of education in British West Africa. 503 0 obj <> endobj Shaw, Mark. People all around the world are searching for hope, but many dont have someone to tell them about the hope found in Jesus. The missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. It also talks about all the mission societies from all denominations engaged in educational works. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. The European missionaries engaged in trading and other commercial activities as well. Thomas Birch Freeman, son of a London-based West Indian father and an English mother. In 1858 ten years after the founding of the first college, the Presbyterians opened a sister college at Aburi for the training of women teachers. The kingdom of God in Africa: A short history of African Christianity. They had to speak through few interpreters who did not have sufficient education to interpret correctly. hb```,,g@( B(Pi xD r[e}v'$ImK *e()dP#jjTNl=VtN(%!30p0040tt0B GGc2m2@M``a$]x2\YkvIaB1b`h6f` (eAKPU d Therefore the period for the rise of Christianizing Missions in the late Nineteenth Century has been considered as reprise. It is much easier to interact on an equal basis or even challenge the authority of another group when one is able to communicate in that groups language, instead of having to rely on an interpreter or non-verbal gestures, which undermine ones ability to show authority or express ones beliefs. This special relationship continued until 1960 when Fourah Bay became a college of the newly reconstituted University of Sierra Leone; the other constituent college located at Njala developed from a training college founded in 1920. The quest for an all-inclusive development model of Ghana and other developing nations, therefore, calls for an insight into the role and responsibilities of religion toward education. However hypocritical, government support for the schools should not be surprising, considering the benefits the colonial governments stood to gain. The Rev. Being able to speak and write in the colonisers language was considered a privilege. Joseph Dunwell. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Grammar School for Boys in 1859, St Gregorys College opened by the Catholics in 1876, Methodist Boys High School 1878 and Methodist Girls High School 1879. Some of these new crops were grapes coffee, mango, ginger, and olives. Following ordination, he was sent to Washington, D.C., and the Catholic University of America, where he earned a masters degree in English literature. This post may contain affiliate links. This company promoted the import and export trade in Ghana. senior high school government Preventive medicine was hardly known; the result was that epidemics of different kinds were frequent. . The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. As happened in Ghana, the development of training colleges in Nigeria was slower than secondary schools, though the C. M. S. had opened the first training college at Abeokuta as far back as 1849. He moved to Techny in 2016. hbbd```b``vd d"e ] DrI`5 d"(/ Another important German missionary was Wilhelm Johannson, better known by the English version of his name, William Johnson, who is revered in the history of the CMS in West Africa. Evans Brothers, Ltd. London. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. They were replaced in Sierra Leone by the Holy Ghost Fathers in 1864, who made converts in large numbers not only among the pagans but also among the members of the then competing Christian churches. Christian converts were indoctrinated to frown upon the use of indigenous first names in favour of Christian ones. Through academic lessons and lessons on Western etiquette and hygiene, mission students were isolated from their traditional cultures, a traumatic experience that would continue to trouble many students for the rest of their lives. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Consequently, they couldnt do much to promote the cultivation of food crops like maize, cassava, cocoyam and plantain. This chapter traces the origins and long-term development of African mass education in colonial sub-Saharan Africa. Predominantly Muslim territory, the North received western education later than the South. 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. The missionaries seemed to have concentrated much of their effort on the production of export crops. 2006 - 2023 Microform Academic Publishers | Microform Academic Publishers is a division of Microform Imaging Limited (Company registered in England no. Missionaries continued to be the main providers of education even after colonial powers established control during the so-called Scramble for Africa which occurred between 1884-1914. life skills In such asituation, provisions and other things had to be sent into the country not in large quantities as would have been desired by the missionaries. A history of Christianity in Africa: From antiquity to the present. Besides being an online tutor, Ralph is an author and expert digital marketer with proven skills in SEO content writing. mock tests The early African converts to Christianity, were made to abandon their ancestral culture and way of life as pagan therefore to be shunned. Let's look in-depth into these scholarships. A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. Wm. Being ignorant of the significance of certain institutions and practices of the people of West Africa, and occasionally being misled by their over-zealous followings into wrongly interpreting the peoples heritage, the missionaries compelled pupils in their schools and docile adult converts to shun their own ancestral practices. famous poems For instance, the Basel Mission established the first teacher training college in Ghana. On the opposite side, the coming of the Christian missionaries brought in its wake certain negative developments like disregard for African culture and rebellion against traditional authority. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Evangelical Revival began to bring to Africa an influx of missionaries whose laoburs would produce the first fruits of an enduring Christian presence in Sub-Sahara Africa. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. In 2011 at age 77, he retired from teaching and returned to the United States. endstream endobj 504 0 obj <>>>/Lang(en)/MarkInfo<>/Metadata 55 0 R/Outlines 135 0 R/Pages 498 0 R/StructTreeRoot 142 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> endobj 505 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 499 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 506 0 obj <>stream crs questions and anwers In Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S missionaries was the development of literature in Yoruba. Find below a list of mission schools that still exist in Ghana today. T. Nelson. Reiterating what teacher education must encapsulate, Adegoke (2003) and Benneh (2006) indi-cated that the mission of Ghana's teacher education is to pro- Operational Christianity started 267 Years ago. Box 2 of the papers relating to the Society's activities in West Africa. Their economic activities went beyond the development of agriculture. 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. English grammar Missionaries continued to be the main providers of education even after colonial powers established control during the so-called Scramble for Africa which occurred between 1884-1914. Last, missionaries provided a very poor education, causing their students to be ill-equipped for social or material success, as they believed education to simply be a means for proselytization, were unqualified teachers, and allowed inter-denominational rivalries to interfere. Alignment is the degree of congruence between your teaching philosophy and your institution's mission. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. Hope Waddell was later joined by the Rev. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. 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. However, with time, they brought some crops, which they cultivated and which sustained them. It was not until 1909 that the government opened a teacher training college and a technical school in Accra. In addition to promoting a monogamous lifestyle in their schools, missionaries often insisted on divorces before polygamists or their children could even enrol. Baker Pub Group, 1996. Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. ]v#5%{,%Y{iKsZ|Cm7NismGmg_zxKYh?>bQ?ni8G.wx:qAm$ eb!^Kr$,.9Qq^|1. 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. student life 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). The Christian religion teaches the doctrine of one supreme God and is opposed to the worship of any other forms of deity. The first missionaries to come to Ghana were the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 15th century and the Anglican missionaries. He introduced the Methodist Church in Asante in 1839, and won the support of the Asante king. Longman Group Ltd. London and Basingstoke, 1986, Fage, J.D. ABWE first began work in Ghana with a goal to reach unchurched Ghanaians in the Volta Region with the gospel and then to expand evangelism efforts to other parts of the country. 2: Trans-Saharan Trade. Similar organizations were formed in several other European countries. The American Episcopal Evangelical (A.M.E.) Zion Church owes its foundation in Ghana to Bishop J. Bryan Small, who started work first at Keta in 1898. I well remember when he came to live with me in Trenton. senior high school history Hildebrandt, Jonathan. Despite their significant contributions to education, local language development, agriculture and the economy as a whole, the missionaries have been criticized severally. 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. 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. Buchi Emecheta Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. Soon after the start of elementary schools, the missionaries started opening higher institutions also. This box contains: the correspondence of Bishop See thematic groupings of our digital collections, See all of our digital collections in one place, Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951, Copies of letters received, 1890-1927; West Africa, vol. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. As long as the Africans could read the Bible, the missionaries were satisfied that they had had enough academic education. Groundless fears that the converts would become contaminated with paganism led some of the Christian missionaries, notably the Presbyterians, to separate the Christians from the rest of the township. The traditions and values of the community, as well as the meaning of life, were taught to the child. For example, they made our people view polygamy and puberty rites as pagan practices. This conditioning was focused on norms that missionaries deemed incompatible with a Christian way of life. Their activities had both positive and negative effects on Ghanaian society. 4; img 109. Ghana Education Service seeks to create an enabling environment in all educational institutions and management positions that will facilitate effective teaching and learning and efficiency in the management for the attainment of the goals of the Service. Thus by training Africans to fill only the lower levels of the colonial administration and providing skilled workers from the vocational and agricultural schools who contributed to the economy and were less likely to question colonial rule than more educated Africans, mission schools helped to strengthen colonial rule. In 1858 the Rev. Soon after secondary schools were opened in other parts of southern Nigeria, including Bonny High School, which was taken over by government in 1904.

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