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It was also terribly hard for a woman to be driven away, and to lose her status in the society where she is respected as a wife and a mother. These new movements considered such ventures to be their contribution to Europes reparation for centuries of exploitation of Africans, reparation for the centuries of exploitation which the Trans Atlantic slave trade had caused to African society. missionaries was the development of literature in Yoruba. I also matched up locations that differed in proximity to the mission stations, but otherwise had similar preconditions for educational development. Until almost the end of the colonial period education was still largely in the hands of the churches. began work in many parts of Africa. The school, which was established the year of independence in 1957, was a work in progress. DISCLOSURE. non-slave trade), Christianity, Civilization and Colonization. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Mission Statement But with colonial conquest and antimalarial drugs, they moved further into the continent. For example, the missionaries preached against certain aspects of African culture they considered barbaric or satanic or both. Ralph teaches English for Academic Purposes (EAP) online. The blessings which Christianity has brought to West Africa are many. I compared data on the historical locations of mission stations since 1924, in 26 sub-Saharan countries with recent education data between 2008 and 2018. 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. Preventive medicine was hardly known; the result was that epidemics of different kinds were frequent. 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. English grammar And yet this was what earlier missionaries in pagan Europe had done when, for example, they had changed the Sabbath to suit the pagan Sun Day (hence Sunday), and had also adopted the dates of the pagan festivals to celebrate Christmas Day and the Easter festival. 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. The tropical climatic condition in the country was not favourable to the early missionaries who came to the shores of West Africa. This involved learning to read in the vernacular (Hadfield cited in Bone 1969:7). This chapter traces the origins and long-term development of African mass education in colonial sub-Saharan Africa. The Christian religion teaches the doctrine of one supreme God and is opposed to the worship of any other forms of deity. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. 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). 1931. From 1870 to 1914 the Basel Mission succeeded in extending its work from the Akwapim Ridge to Kwahu, Akim and Asante and across the Volta as far as Yendi the north in 1913. Unlike the Portuguese, the French colonial officials encouraged the Christian missionaries in the promotion of formal education and social services, notably health. life skills One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. There were related organizations that sprang up in Scandinavia, Holland and the USA. 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. 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. 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). Christianity reborn: the global expansion of evangelicalism in the twentieth century. It was not until 1909 that the government opened a teacher training college and a technical school in Accra. Before we examine the contribution of Christian missionaries in Ghana, we need to identify the missionaries that came to Ghana. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004. Was this information useful? The effort of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Please read our privacy policy to find out more. opened was the Christian Institute, established in 1814 for the training of teachers, catechists and priests. They discovered that the holy book did not clearly prescribe monogamy, and contained several examples of renowned Christian polygamists. 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. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995. 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. Then lets begin straightaway. In 1876 the college became associated with Durham University in England, which awarded degrees to students of the college. They worked tirelessly to lay a foundation for formal education The European missionaries established elementary and second-cycle institutions in the country. Important among these, all in Lagos, were the Baptist Academy in 1855, the C.M.S. Furthermore, mission schools discouraged traditional ways of life outside of the classroom. The three models of Secondary education in Ghana since colonial times are the Mfantsipim School founded by the Church (mission) in 1876, Achimota School in 1927 established by the British Colonial government The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. ASSESS THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN MISSION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA. They often attributed natural ailments to supernatural causes and resorted to mystic cults to appease the unknown spirit, before applying medicine to the sick person. In 1827 it grew into Fourah Bay College. Required fields are marked *. Earlier in 1846, the Rev. In the field of education, however, the missionaries had to adjust their programmes to fit in with the policy of assimilation. Yes! Missionaries travelled through dense evergreen forests, crossed rivers and climbed mountains to bring the Gospel to as many Ghanaians as they could. 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. As happened in other colonial territories, the government did not show great interest in the provision of education in Ghana until the missionaries had extended their services throughout the country and had set up primary schools and a few secondary schools and training colleges. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. better grades Baker Pub Group, 1996. Among the early Protestant evangelical societies founded in Great Britain were the Baptist Missionary Society, the Church Missionary Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Wesleyan Missionary Society and what became known as the Presbyterian Missionary Society of the Church of Scotland. %PDF-1.7 % All work is written to order. Although the aim of the traders was to practice commerce 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. 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 Metadata. 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. While the protestant evangelical movements were gaining ground in West Africa, similar movements were being promoted by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. quiz The result is that today, many Africans are alienated from their authentic ways of life. Thus, because of the motive of proselytization, unqualified teachers, and inter-denominational rivalry, missions frequently provided poor education. Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially . Discipleship and leadership development are needed in order to support local churches and their growth in Ghana. 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 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. These missionaries saw death in the course of their evangelizing work as a means to ascend to heavenly glory. Support earthquake relief and outreach efforts, biblical foundation for the next generation of believers. The academic education purposely did not train Africans for the higher level positions of colonial administrations, which were mostly reserved for Europeans (Ayandele 1966:295; Sheffield 1973:42), a practise which created dependency on the colonizers, as without them the colony did not have qualified administrators. Besides education, they cared for the sick. Consequently, they couldnt do much to promote the cultivation of food crops like maize, cassava, cocoyam and plantain. New team members can be part of establishing a biblical foundation for the next generation of believers, the growth of nationally-led churches, and church planting in Ghana. 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. 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. Another important missionary doctor was J. R. Stephen who for many years headed a missionary hospital at Ilesha. 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). In fact in 1966, Father Burke led students to a victory in a national educational contest called the Ghana TV Cup. "Big things have small beginnings"; so is The Presbyterian Church of Ghana. (As at December 2020). 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. 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 Basel and Methodist Missions, for example, introduced scientific agriculture in Ghana. During the first half of the 19th century they targeted healthier places, with relatively lower malaria-risk, where European missionaries could survive and train local African missionaries and teachers (Jedwab et al. past questions In the 19thh century, too, Afro-Brazilians returned to Benin and Nigeria with Catholicism. This conditioning was focused on norms that missionaries deemed incompatible with a Christian way of life. In Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S missionaries was the development of literature in Yoruba. A short history of education in British West Africa. Evans Brothers, Ltd. London. opened, in Freetown, the first boys secondary school in the country and another for girls in 1849, later renamed the Annie Walsh Memorial School. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. %%EOF These Christian converts considered themselves to be holier than their traditional rulers and elders. The third, St Nicholas Grammar School (now Adisadel College), was founded by the Anglican Church in 1910. Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. 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. 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. A large body of studies show that missionaries had a lasting impact beyond their early years. In Ghana, for instance, they persuaded their converts to reject polygamy and human sacrifice. The CMS began to work in the freed slave villages in Sierra Leone in 1804 and the Methodist in 1811. Help those suffering in Turkey and Syria. Apart from the extreme south and the Horn, the interior was hardly touched by Europeans before the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. They worked to write the bible, dictionaries and textbooks in such Ghanaian Languages as Ewe, Fanti, Ga and Twi. To apply, students simply fill out a quick form. The Basel missionaries arrived on the shores of the Gold Coast in 1828 and Among the Christian missionaries that came to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the following. The early missionaries set up craft centres as part of their educational programmes. For example, they preached against human sacrifice. Despite the skills and opportunities mission schooling afforded, many Africans were not willing to pay the price. They were closed down in 1852 in favour of schools opened in Lagos which, in 1851, had one time British control. House, 1967. A History of West Africa, Cambridge University Press, 1969, Fynn , J. K and R. Addo-Fening History for Senior Secondary schools. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. 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. His work, however, did not extend much beyond Cape Coast and the neighbouring area. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. They preferred to hold onto polygamy, even at the cost of illiteracy. While the Evangelical Presbyterian missionaries were the First to develop literature in Ewe, the Roman Catholics were responsible for Nzima literature. The mission schools trained Africans to be able to work as translators, messengers and office clerks for the colonial government. 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 History of Christianity in West Africa. Father Vincent Burke SVD, 83, recipient of Ghanas Officer of the Order of Volta Award, passed away at Techny, Ill., on Sept. 21. 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. 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. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. The Christian missionaries of different missionary societies made a tremendous contribution to education in South Africa. The missionaries opened schools further inland, and by 1880, the Wesleyan Mission had eighty -three schools. Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. Request Permissions. 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. Economics Joseph Dunwell. Your email address will not be published. famous poems English Hope Waddell of the Church of Scotland had opened a school at Duke Town, Calabar. 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. 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. He was very simple in dress and in the use of modern technology, Father Tetteh said. Longman Nigeria Plc., 1994, Boahen, A.A. et al Tropics in West Africa History. Despite their significant contributions to education, local language development, agriculture and the economy as a whole, the missionaries have been criticized severally. Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. 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. In the same year as the Basel missionaries settled in Akuapem in 1835, the Wesleyan (later Methodist) Church was established at Cape Coast by the Rev. These attempts were traumatic for the students and threatened the survival of unique cultures. In 1981, Father Burke was promoted to headmaster and rector of Pope John XXIII Secondary School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua. The first missionaries to come to Ghana were the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 15th century and the Anglican missionaries. Copyright 2023 ABWE. The contents of this tutorial will serve as a guide for a suitable essay on the below WAEC/WASSCE History past question. John G. Christaller (described as the Father of Twi Literature) produced a Twi grammar and dictionary, a collection of Twi proverbs, a Twi translation of the Bible as well as prayers and hymns. Some of the missionaries came with them (549 years ago) but many died from the cruel tropical weather of forested West Africa. 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. It is obvious that the main reason why the missionaries came to Ghana was to convert the indigenous people to the Christian faith. The foreign exchange earnings helped to develop Ghanas infrastructure. For instance, in Nigeria in 2006, approximately only 51.2% of primary school teachers of either gender were trained as teachers, and the enrolment rate in primary education for both genders in 2000 stood at about 62.7%, compared to 99.5% in Canada (UN Data 2010). For instance, the Basel Mission established Basel Mission Trading Company (UTC) in 1859. The weakening of traditional societies was not simply a consequence of the efforts of missionaries but one of their main objectives, stemming from their belief in the civilizing mission. Supporters of the civilizing mission believed that European colonial enterprises were justified as the Europeans were imparting their superior Western culture and ideas to the ignorant heathens of Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. 4>Ofv}TMdQ! For instance, the Basel Mission established the first teacher training college in Ghana. Christian Religious Studies The Basel Mission. As negative as all these impacts of the missionaries undoubtedly were for the African pupils, the long-term consequences are arguably as serious. Among these were the Congregation of the Holy Ghost (commonly known as the Holy Ghost Father), the Society of African Missions (SMA), the Society of Missionaries of Africa, popularly known as the White Fathers because of the white Muslim-like clothing which the Fathers wore, and the society of the Divine Word (SVD, abbreviated from its Latin name). The city of Akuropong capital of the Akan state of Akuapem in Ghana, has known the Christian presence during the last 186 years, initially centered on the Basel Mission, then on the Free Church of Scotland, and now on the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. 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). Amma Darko Etherington, Norman. 0 The late Eighteenth Century witnessed the rise of Christian groups in Europe that resorted to the evangelization of Africa. Through hard work and persuasion she succeeded in stopping the practice among the people of killing twins. First, missions saw education foremost as a means of conversion (Ayandele 1966: 286; Bassey 1991: 36; Berman 1974:527; Foster 1965:85; Sheffield 1973:11). New missionary societies (the LMS, the CMS, the Holy Ghost Fathers, the White Fathers, etc.) Mobility depended on the . Thank you for supporting this project. The education and skill development of the people is the highest, most potent agent of national development that the Church imparts to its output of students, scholars, and professionals who perform various precious roles in the various sectors of the national economy for national development,' he stated. The first school in Nigeria was started by the Methodist missionaries at Badagry in 1842. 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. Called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. 2006 - 2023 Microform Academic Publishers | Microform Academic Publishers is a division of Microform Imaging Limited (Company registered in England no. 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. The first batch, who came out between 1804 and 1806, included pioneer missionaries like Renner and Nylander. All the three secondary schools in Cape Coast were mission institutions. 2 Longman Group Ltd. London 1974, Ampadu B.K Notes on History of Ghana for Senior High Schools. Again, the missionaries helped to pacify Africans while their rich natural resources were being plundered by the colonial government. In 1845 the C.M.S. In due course leprosariums and orphanages were built to supplement their medical services. Many Ghanaian communities got divided along religious lines. One reason why the Christian missionaries came to Ghana and the rest of Africa was to convert the people to the Christian faith. Under the Basel Missions Salem system, converts were separated from the traditional society. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. 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. Waterville Pub. Lack of transport from the coast to the interior parts of West Africa was one of the major difficulties encountered by the missionaries. Indeed, most of our early nationalists were all products of mission schools. Other missionaries opened mission stations in the country. There were only bush paths, and no roads in the early times. Sign in to view the collection. The missionary and colonial education aimed at character training and civilization resulted in cultural annihilation and religious, and linguistic hegemony. Another reason why the Europeans came to spread the Christian religion in Ghana was to pave their own way into eternal glory. Establishment of Christian Churches In Ghana. 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. It was however in the coastal territories filled with mulattos and other European trading communities that Christianity won some of its early success. In 1910, a prominent report of the World Missionary Conference concluded: [T]here can be no question of polygamy. Soon after secondary schools were opened in other parts of southern Nigeria, including Bonny High School, which was taken over by government in 1904. With the support of the Propagation of the Faith within the Vatican, whose Cardinal Secretary became Pope Gregory XVI, various Roman Catholic missionary societies were founded. Hope Waddell started pioneering work, in 1846, in Calabar. Cultural deprivation is what many of us suffer from []. By 1885, the church had spread further inland, thanks to Father Joseph Lutz who started work around Onitsha in 1886 and spread the gospel in many parts of the present day Imo and Anambra States. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into writing. 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.