For several years they paid attention to slave trade rather than evangelization and Christianization of the people of West-Africa. Rev. Some early success included the Liberian coast where Afro-Americans and freed slaves were converted. The Missionary Role on The Gold Coast and In Ashanti: Reverend F.a Following ordination, he was sent to Washington, D.C., and the Catholic University of America, where he earned a masters degree in English literature. Without denying that prior to the introduction of Christianity in West Africa the people had developed their own crafts, one must admit that it was Christian missionaries who introduced modern forms of crafts such as carpentry and masonry. 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. Within a short time the missionaries spread their activities inland. 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. 11 Missionary College Scholarships You Can Apply For Wm. 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. House, 1967. 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. C.M.S. Soon after the start of elementary schools, the missionaries started opening higher institutions also. hR]0+^$%K{_"/HevgV+bH6L %)`\ #\E*63Z_TsxlRZj:[/\IL-1b-i The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, the Moravian Mission, the Mission of Bremen, the Methodists, and Roman Catholic missionaries all established themselves on the Gold Coast (Ghana) between 1820 and 1881, opening elementary schools for boys and girls . The most momentous discovery in western Africa came in 1471, when Portuguese captains first reached the coast of modern Ghana between the mouths of the Ankobra and Volta rivers. Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. The early missionaries set up craft centres as part of their educational programmes. 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. WAEC These Christian converts considered themselves to be holier than their traditional rulers and elders. Europe in those days looked upon Africa as the Dark Continent with very primitive civilizations, and most Europeans refused to adapt their religion to suit the local situation. This allowed me to estimate the impact of mission schooling directly. Church history, history of Christianity, religious history: some reflections on British missionary enterprise since the late eighteenth century. Church History 71, no. adult education 2: Trans-Saharan Trade. began work in many parts of Africa. Christian Missionaries. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. The contribution of the missionaries to the development of Setswana as 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. The early European Christian missionaries in West Africa experienced a number of difficulties, some arising from factors outside their control and others of their own making. Under the Basel Missions Salem system, converts were separated from the traditional society. The Methodists founded Mfantsipim (1876) for boys and Wesley Girls High School (1884). PDF Religion Education and Development in Ghana - EA Journals 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. Some observers have argued that the Europeans used the Christian bible to justify the practice of slavery and the slave trade. As churches of the Volta Region begin reproducing, ABWE wants to reach out to Ghanas unreached people groups in its eight other regions. Contribution of Christian Missionaries in Ghana - Cegast Academy It also talks about all the mission societies from all denominations engaged in educational works. The Society of the Divine Word is the world's largest Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers who focus on missionary work. In line with this, formal education in Ghana was started by the western traders and the missionaries by the 15th century through the 18th century respectively. Before 1925, there were only three secondary schools and three teacher training colleges in Ghana. Their luggage and other necessities had to be carried on heads and took a long time before reaching the missionaries. The study traces the his tory of colonial education and the tremendous contributions of missionaries in the establishment of formal education in the region. Moreover, speaking through interpreters is a defective means of communicating ones thoughts to ones audience. As Ayandele points out (1966:285), the ideal of many of the missions was to make their converts live literally as the unlearned and ignorant apostles of old. This ideal, combined with the fact that many missionaries discovered that Africans with only basic education were best at spreading the Gospel, meant that missionaries were reluctant to provide higher primary or secondary education (Ayandele 1966:286). 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. Their greatest legacy in the field of education was the foundation which the Methodist laid for what is today the Gambia High school. Often drumming and the harmless songs and dances of the people were condemned. This comes at no extra cost to you. He moved to Techny in 2016. It is simply one of the gross evils of heathen society which, like habitual murder or slavery, must at all costs be ended. hbbd```b``vd d"e ] DrI`5 d"(/ PDF Challenges of Technical and Vocational Education and Training and This was around the same time that the first Portuguese sailors arrived on the coast of Ghana. They constitute the benefits that the missionaries brought to Africa as a whole. These commercial activities, therefore, made an important contribution to the economic development of Ghana. It is one of the oldest continuously published periodicals by and about Black people. I found that while educational outcomes are generally better in places that were exposed to Christian missions in the colonial era, traditionally polygamous societies benefited less. 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. 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. Christianity in West Africa: The Nigerian Story. Call: +233558280780, Your email address will not be published. They worked tirelessly to lay a foundation for formal education The European missionaries established elementary and second-cycle institutions in the country. However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. James Fieldhouse, produced a Wolof Grammar in 1876. 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. PDF OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION IN GHANA - WikiEducator Instead of needing to import skilled workers such as carpenters, the mission schools provided colonial governments with workers capable of building and maintaining the colonys infrastructure and basic technology, a contribution that kept the colonies running smoothly. In the Gambia, as happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the Gospel alone. Father Burke became director of the Divine Word Language and Cultural Centre in Ghana. 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. This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . Non-African Poetry Teacher training colleges in Ghana did not expand as fast as the secondary schools. Early missions conducted by Roman Catholics were short-lived. 2 (1983): 116-143. This thesis discusses and assesses contribution of Christian Missionaries to education in Meru from 1908 to 1963. To apply, students simply fill out a quick form. Although most people are Presbyterians, they can also go to spirit and other cults, mostly Christian and Pentecostal movements, to find cures for disease and lack of success in this world. What would have happened if missionaries had not insisted on monogamy? In 1910, a prominent report of the World Missionary Conference concluded: [T]here can be no question of polygamy. 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). Learn how your comment data is processed. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. Required fields are marked *. 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. Apart from the extreme south and the Horn, the interior was hardly touched by Europeans before the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century. African prose As a mission school graduate noted, local history was almost totally ignored. The next major Christian missionaries to go out to Sierra Leone were the Roman Catholics. His immigrant Irish-born parents instilled faith and a firm work ethic in their sons. In conclusion, the converts tended to look down upon many things in their ancestral culture. His viewing and wake service took place on Sept. 26 at the chapel in the Divine Word Residence at Techny. A history of Christianity in Ghana. The foreign exchange earnings helped to develop Ghanas infrastructure. 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). 1931. Arnold, 1986. As much as the governments liked to assign blame to the missions, they were also accountable for the poor education through their educational policies. By the close of the nineteenth century the major Christian missionary churches had opened elementary schools in many part of southern Nigeria with an enrolment of about 74,000 by the First World War. Other Roman Catholic hospitals were built in all the nine regions of the country; including those at Asikuma and Foso (Central Region), Akyem Swedru (Eastern Region), Berekum (BrongAhafo), Maase (Asante Region) and Anfoega (Volta Region). The consequences of norm conflicts are likely to manifest beyond educational pursuit. 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. the role of administrators, chiefs and the missions; first attempts at agricultural and industrial training; girls' education and teacher training before 1850; some chief factors in educational expansion 1850-1900; government official policy in educational expansion 1850-1900; agricultural, industrial and vernacular training 1850-1900 %%EOF In fact, Jacobus Capitein, a former Ghanaian slave who became a priest in the Dutch Reformed Church in the 18th century was on record to have defended the practice of slavery. The problems created by the white missionaries themselves arose largely from a misconception of what Africa represented. Another negative impact of mission education was that it weakened traditional societies, which in many ways further served the colonial cause. Help those suffering in Turkey and Syria. Purchase a license below to view the full collection. I well remember when he came to live with me in Trenton. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. The History of Christianity in West Africa. This involved learning to read in the vernacular (Hadfield cited in Bone 1969:7). They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. Because of rivalry, instead of building one common, multi-denominational school in a village that really only needed the one school, missionaries each built a school for their particular denomination and competed for students (Berman 1974:533). 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. In 1954, he became the first Deaf African American to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University, the American university for the Deaf, and the first to earn a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University.He earned a second master's degree from Seattle Pacific Christian . Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. 1991. Their arrival in South Africa was aimed particularly at spreading the Word of God. Initially, a majority of the missionary journeys was done with English-Speaking Protestants and later, in the 1820s and 1830s, they were joined by continental Protestantism from Germany, Switzerland and France. For example, the missionaries preached against certain aspects of African culture they considered barbaric or satanic or both. This instruction in 1948 developed into the University College in Ibadan. For instance, in the Salisbury region of Rhodesia, it was reported in 1924 that no male teachers had educational qualifications (Bone 1969:28). As we help existing churches become healthy through theological education, discipleship, pastoral training, and leadership development, we desire to see church-planting efforts within the local church soon follow. It is obvious that the main reason why the missionaries came to Ghana was to convert the indigenous people to the Christian faith. 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). As founder and director at CEGAST, he has successfully coached thousands of students in English, Literature, and related subjects for major international examinations. In addition to contributing to fluctuating educational standards across the colony, inter-denominational rivalry caused a disparity in access to education. While the Evangelical Presbyterian missionaries were the First to develop literature in Ewe, the Roman Catholics were responsible for Nzima literature. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. This decreased the zeal with which people began to accept the Gospel leading to nominal Christianity. In Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S. 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. Babalola, E. O. Christianity in West Africa. 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. We were expected to accept the European language as the superior one, and this was reinforced throughout my school career (Abu cited in Berman 1974:536). 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. The pastors of the Church Missionary Society, from Badagry and later from Sierra Leone, visited these Christian communities in Abeokuta and other towns. 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). Educational Reforms in Ghana: Past and Present - ResearchGate While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. *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. Success followed the efforts of the pioneer missionaries. 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! Third, rivalry between the various Christian denominations also contributed to the poor standards of education. In the field of education, however, the missionaries had to adjust their programmes to fit in with the policy of assimilation. The Journal of Negro Education (JNE), a scholarly refereed journal, was founded at Howard University in 1932. However, with time, they brought some crops, which they cultivated and which sustained them. senior high school English 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. Over time and with the dedication of teachers like Father Burke, the school rose to prominence. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. Some earlier scholarship on mission education has taken this as a positive impact of the missionaries. She succeeded in stopping the killing of twins in the areas where she served. In the case of Ghana, like other nations, the impact . People all around the world are searching for hope, but many dont have someone to tell them about the hope found in Jesus. Operational Christianity started 267 Years ago. 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 Christian Connector is a great resource for Christians and aspiring ministry leaders and missionaries to apply for scholarships. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. For that matter, they rebelled against their chiefs and elders. By 1914 there were barely thirty schools in that vast area. Looking for a flexible role? In Ghana, for instance, they persuaded their converts to reject polygamy and human sacrifice. Ghana - Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership The early success of the missionaries included areas like Freetown and surrounding villages. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. They were followed in turn by the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. In addition to studying the impact of these struggles on education, we also need to understand how they influenced gender inequality. By using postcolonial theory as a framework for analysis, it is evident that the Western formal education introduced to the people of the Gold Coast by the Christian missionaries and the British Colonial government did not serve the indigenous population well. 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. Prior to advent of the Christian missionaries and indeed well into the pre-independence period, most sick people depended for cure upon concoction herbs and roots and barks of trees. quiz A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. The Missionary Factor in Ghana's Development, pp.11 &135 categorically asserted that economic and social changes were brought about by the total effect of the various projects initiated by the. The missionaries seemed to have concentrated much of their effort on the production of export crops. (with Examples), Top 20 Topics in English for Academic Purposes, 7 Rules of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, 10 Importance of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, How to Get a Degree Without Going to High School, Joseph Rhodes Dunwell Methodist Missionary, 1835, Thomas Birch Freeman Methodist Missionary, 1838, Thomas Thompson Society for the Propagation of the Gospel/Anglican, 1752, Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast Methodist missionaries, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast Methodist, Adisadel College, Cape Coast Anglican Missionaries, Holy Child School, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, St Augustines College, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, Archbishop Potter Girls School, Takoradi, Aburi Girls Secondary School Presbyterian, St Monicas High School, Mampong Anglican. Among the first missionaries was the Rev. Your email address will not be published. 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. For more than a year, Ghanaian Saints continued to practice their faith in their homes. Catholic Higher Education and Mission in Nigeria: The Contributions of The constant tensions between traditionalists and Christian converts often erupted into all-out conflicts. It is possible to hear the tune of this missionary hymn. Establishment of Christian Churches In Ghana. Although there were many disagreements between European missionaries and African populations, antagonising polygamy is probably the best-documented norm conflict. Again, the missionaries persuaded Africans to abandon the practice of tribal marks. others adopted a system of education varied from one and the other hence, lacking consistency in the educational sector [3]. Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. Lewis, Donald M., ed. 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. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. However, as Jonathan Miran (2002) argues in his work on the roles of missionaries and the Italian state in Eritrean education, missionaries should not be held solely accountable for the poor standards of education. While missionaries could sometimes clash with colonial governments, for the most part missions were important tools for colonial governments. 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.
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