African Drama If a government fails to regulate schools at all, they have no right to complain that the education in their colony is poor. However, the motivation behind teaching Africans basic literacy and mathematics might not have been a cause for concern if not for the fact that the religious motivation curtailed education. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. 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. Frank Ogodo Ogbeche The Presbyterians, also, opened hospitals in several parts of the country, including the one at Agogo in Asante-Akyem. 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. As a predominantly Roman Catholic country, France encouraged Roman Catholic missionaries right from the start of her colonial activities in West Africa. However, the discovery of quinine and other curative medicines in the late 19th century made the history of the missionary work in West Africa a different thing altogether. WhatsApp : +233204700052
The Church had its strongest hold in the Senegambia area. Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bremen, Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy (SOCIUM), Universitt Bremen. Burns & Oates, 1979. Christian Religious Studies 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. History of the church in Africa: a survey. 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). I wanted to buy a smartphone for him, but when he got to know the price of the cell phone, he humbly declined. The education provided in schools in early days also tended to place great emphasis on the superiority of western culture. We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk. West Africa and Christianity. Many missionaries died because of the climate and tropical disease. Unlike the Portuguese, the French colonial officials encouraged the Christian missionaries in the promotion of formal education and social services, notably health. A tiny act of kindness is remembered by a young man in need. Required fields are marked *. Establishment of Christian Churches In Ghana. Please click this link to download the chapter. station in 1858, it was not until 1889 that the missionaries entered Hausaland, which was predominantly Muslim. 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. Kalu, Ogbu. Being able to speak and write in the colonisers language was considered a privilege. Consequently, they couldnt do much to promote the cultivation of food crops like maize, cassava, cocoyam and plantain. Moreover, it was not in the colonial powers interest for the natives to become too educated, as they might become self-reliant and could conceivably demand independence from the colonial power, so encouraging the less intellectual agricultural schools was in the governments interest. J. C. Taylor, in these parts of southern Nigeria can still be seen today. To their minds, Africans were too backward and needed help to become more civilized. Efforts to change these norms were often aimed at women. Etherington, Norman. homework help 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). A new attempt to spread Christianity was made when the Church Missionary Society (CMS) arrived from Britain in 1821. This made it difficult for the early missionaries to stay in the country for long. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. This was the work of the great missionary, Thomas Birch Freeman, who placed two missionaries, Mr and Mrs. de Graft, in charge of the school. 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). They relied very much on their home churches for their funds. Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. The story of the planting of Christianity in Nigeria would be incomplete without a mention of the Italian Roman Catholic priest, Father Berghero. The common response among traditionally polygamous people is well illustrated by a passage in Jomo Kenyattas famous book on the Gikuyu in colonial Kenya: This [the insistence on monogamy] caused a great confusion, for the African could not understand how he could drive away his wives and children, especially in a community where motherhood is looked upon as a religious duty; the children are regarded as part and parcel, not only of the father, but of the whole clan (mbari), and without them the mbari is lost. Two other training colleges opened by the missionaries, in the early days, were the Wesley College in Kumasi (1922) and the Roman Catholic Training College at Amisano, near Elmina (1931) which in 1936 moved to the campus of the newly founded secondary school, St Augustines College at Cape Coast. The consequences of norm conflicts are likely to manifest beyond educational pursuit. The last two decades have witnessed the emergence of privately owned higher education institutions in Nigeria, including those owned by religious bodies and even by their individual members. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you!
6: Christian Missionary Activities in West Africa 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). African prose Thus, because of the motive of proselytization, unqualified teachers, and inter-denominational rivalry, missions frequently provided poor education. 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. ABWE is also at work in countries that restrict evangelism. After an unsuccessful beginning by the society of African Missions (SMA), this missionary body moved into other territories in what is now Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria. Mission societies often expanded into territories before colonial powers did, and providing education only cost them a little more. However, accustomed to monogamy, few European missionaries were open to such arguments. others adopted a system of education varied from one and the other hence, lacking consistency in the educational sector [3]. 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 missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. Missionaries and the intellectual history of Africa: a historical survey. Itinerario 7, no. They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. Agricultural school graduates did not compete with European industries or European farmers, as they mainly grew crops that could not be grown in European climates. 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. Another missionary whose memory is revered in Nigeria was Mary Slessor, she arrived in the country in 1876, and for many years worked assiduously as a missionary nurse. The others include the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804, which was tasked with the responsibility of promoting the translation and printing of the Holy Bible. They worked to write the bible, dictionaries and textbooks in such Ghanaian Languages as Ewe, Fanti, Ga and Twi. He is survived by two brothers, Walter and Kevin Burke. The people received the message with indifference. Father Burke was preceded in death by his parents and his brother John. An Alumnus of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a Journalist, Author and a Philanthropist. Hildebrandt, Jonathan. which were for females (Graham, 1971). It is interesting to note that while in many ways missionaries sought to isolate students from their cultures, missionaries often insisted in teaching in the native languages. Lack of transport from the coast to the interior parts of West Africa was one of the major difficulties encountered by the missionaries. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba. In this chapter, we shall examine how Christianity and Western-style education influenced West Africans values, attitudes and life-styles. Call: +233558280780, Your email address will not be published. Upon completing his degree, Father Burke received his first assignment abroad: Ghana, the first Black sub-Saharan country in Africa to gain independence from a colonial power. The training college later became part of Achimota College. Rather, it denationalized and facilitated the indignity and loss of cultural identity of the Ghanaian. A large body of studies show that missionaries had a lasting impact beyond their early years. Both the academic and vocational forms of education the missions provided served to strengthen the rule of the colonial powers, so that the native inhabitants were second-class citizens in their own land. We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. The others include the French trading posts at Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), Assinie and Libreville in Gabon. In Sierra Leone, among the earliest higher institutions which the C.M.S. Missionary, educator contributed to building independent Ghana. Its general scope extends to both Roman Catholic as well as Protestant missionaries in relation to education works. And traditionally polygamous societies would have higher educational outcomes today. In 1925 the Governor introduced measures which helped the efforts of the missionaries. Then lets begin straightaway. This hymn sums up the reasons why the Christian missionaries came to Africa and other parts of the world. 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. Today almost all of the population is Presbyterian, although the ancestral royal cult and many spirit cults still flourish. 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. It is possible to hear the tune of this missionary hymn. Notable among these were cocoa and coffee. Christian missionaries were the first to introduce European-style education in sub-Saharan Africa. Next, branches of the C.M.S. Indeed, most of our early nationalists were all products of mission schools. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. The European Christian missions preached the Gospel, built churches, and seminaries translated the Bible to Ghanaian Languages such as Ewe, Ga, and Twi. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. In fact, the Christian missionaries encouraged Ghanaians to reject African names and choose Christian names instead.
Contribution of Christian Missionaries in Ghana - Cegast Academy 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. Baker Pub Group, 1996. In this essay on the impact of Christian missionary activities on Ghanaian society, we shall examine the role of the missionaries in the development of Ghana and the rest of Africa. About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. It would be wrong, however, to blame all these ills on the Christian missionaries alone. Father Vincent Burke SVD, 83, recipient of Ghanas Officer of the Order of Volta Award, passed away at Techny, Ill., on Sept. 21. Alignment is the degree of congruence between your teaching philosophy and your institution's mission. Again, the missionaries persuaded Africans to abandon the practice of tribal marks. By 1914 there were barely thirty schools in that vast area. In many instances, they made their converts rebel against traditional rulers and other spiritual leaders. As happened in other West African countries, many more mission-sponsored hospitals were founded in the course of the twentieth century. The result is that today, many Africans are alienated from their authentic ways of life. The first missionaries to come to Ghana were the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 15th century and the Anglican missionaries. One Liberian student recalls that we were taught to dress properly, to eat properly, to speak properly. Evans Brothers, Ltd. London.
Aligning Your Teaching Philosophy with Your Institution's Mission 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. English grammar Although Lokoja had a small C.M.S. personal development Find below a list of mission schools that still exist in Ghana today. The governor had observed the bad moral life of the Europeans in the fort. primarily purposed to outline the contributions of religion and education to national development in Ghana. While missionaries could sometimes clash with colonial governments, for the most part missions were important tools for colonial governments. It is one of the oldest continuously published periodicals by and about Black people. They provided missionaries a way to spread Eurocentric norms and attract new converts. senior high school English Before we examine the contribution of Christian missionaries in Ghana, we need to identify the missionaries that came to 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. Yet, the relationship between European missionaries and African populations had some contradictions. 2006 - 2023 Microform Academic Publishers | Microform Academic Publishers is a division of Microform Imaging Limited (Company registered in England no. The European missionaries engaged in trading and other commercial activities as well. As an institution introduced by agents with radically different values, the Christian religion damaged the culture and traditional beliefs of the people of West Africa. A history of Christianity in Africa: From antiquity to the present. But that increase was greater in monogamous societies. It happens that some people convert at the end of their life in order to be buried in the prestigious Presbyterian cemetery. Joseph Dunwell. I will earn a commission if you follow a link to purchase a product. Thomas Birch Freeman, son of a London-based West Indian father and an English mother. This instruction in 1948 developed into the University College in Ibadan. When he arrived in Nkwatia-Kwahu to teach English at St. Peters Secondary School, the town had yet to benefit from electricity and running water. Christian Missionaries. Wm. As negative as all these impacts of the missionaries undoubtedly were for the African pupils, the long-term consequences are arguably as serious. Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. In traditionally monogamous societies, primary school completion increased by about eight percent, but only four percent in polygamous societies.
The contribution of the missionaries to the development of Setswana as 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 . These missionaries saw death in the course of their evangelizing work as a means to ascend to heavenly glory. He professed vows in 1953 in Conesus, N.Y., and was ordained to the priesthood in 1961 at Techny, Ill. Government & Politics
Missionary, educator contributed to building independent Ghana What are the contribution of the missionaries? - Alqatirat Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. 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. Some of these new crops were grapes coffee, mango, ginger, and olives. They also prescribed many taboos which, in the light of modern medical science, had no relation whatever with the illness being treated. In spite of the division, the parent Methodist missionary church played an important role in the history of Christianity in Sierra Leone.
Brief History - PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA 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.
Full article: Inequality of education in colonial Ghana: European EVANGELICAL MOVEMENTS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES. Christian converts were indoctrinated to frown upon the use of indigenous first names in favour of Christian ones. For instance, on 2nd October 1792, the Baptist Missionary Society was formed followed by the interdenominational London Missionary Society which was established in 1795. Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades. He worked zealously as an evangelist and schoolmaster in the Castle School until his death in 1816.
Ghana - Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership The Rev. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. *You can also browse our support articles here >. In 1845 the C.M.S. Moreover, speaking through interpreters is a defective means of communicating ones thoughts to ones audience. Initially, their activities focused on coastal areas. Lake Volta provides a vital venue for aviation evangelism in remote areas. Indeed, in some situations the converts were taught to feel that they were absolved from obeying their own traditional rulers and certain laws of the state. As a mission school graduate noted, local history was almost totally ignored. Get full access to all 9,566 pages that make up the Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951 collection. This decreased the zeal with which people began to accept the Gospel leading to nominal Christianity. 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. Establishment of Christian Churches In Nigeria. After completing that assignment, Father Burkes superiors asked him to teach English as a second language (ESL) to Divine Word missionaries who did not know the language. The Roman Catholics established their first secondary school, St Augustines, at Cape Coast in 1936. These missions significantly influenced the systematic educational development in the Gold Coast. The Essay Writing ExpertsUK Essay Experts. A new era began with the settlements of Black Christians from Nova Scotia in Sierra Leone in 1787 and the missionary advance inland from Cape Town beginning with the arrival there of J. T. van der Kemp in 1799.
Christian Missionaries and Education: Presbyterian Educational Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. 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. Through hard work and persuasion she succeeded in stopping the practice among the people of killing twins. endstream
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Father Burke spent more than half of his lifealmost 50 yearsin Ghana on the West Coast of Africa, said Father Edward Tetteh SVD, pastor of Blessed Sacrament-Our Lady of Divine Shepherd in Trenton, N.J. During his many years in Ghana, since he worked mostly in educational institutions, he produced excellent professionals: teachers, priests, ministers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, pharmacists, journalists and many others who work in different parts of the world.. The First Missionaries were sent as a result of a request by Major de Richelieu, Governor of Christiansborg. These included the Baptist missionaries who under the American evangelist, Thomas Bowen, started work from Ogbomosho in 1855.