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. Therefore the period for the rise of Christianizing Missions in the late Nineteenth Century has been considered as reprise. 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). Similar organizations were formed in several other European countries. The Christian Connector is a great resource for Christians and aspiring ministry leaders and missionaries to apply for scholarships. 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). Brief History. They impressed it upon their converts not to have anything to do with these traditional practices. 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. further studies Lack of transport from the coast to the interior parts of West Africa was one of the major difficulties encountered by the missionaries. This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . The Church had its strongest hold in the Senegambia area. Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect . They need YOU. Christian converts were indoctrinated to frown upon the use of indigenous first names in favour of Christian ones. Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. However, by the turn of the Nineteenth Century there was systematic efforts by churches of Christian Europe, namely: Anglicans, Methodists, and Baptists who were active in Sierra Leone and, with Presbyterians, in Nigeria, while Methodists also set up missions in Ghana, Gambia, and Dahomey. "Big things have small beginnings"; so is The Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Earlier in 1846, the Rev. In the Western Region, the Catholic Sisters running a hospital at Eikwe specialized in maternity cases, and like Slessor in Nigeria succeeded in stamping out the practice of killing twins at birth. 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. Theres still so much to be learned from the history of education in Africa and its long-term consequences. The others include the French trading posts at Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), Assinie and Libreville in Gabon. 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 1845 the C.M.S. Ralph teaches English for Academic Purposes (EAP) online. As negative as all these impacts of the missionaries undoubtedly were for the African pupils, the long-term consequences are arguably as serious. 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. For example, they preached against human sacrifice. Founded in 1875 by St. Arnold Janssen, we number more than 6,000 missionaries. Catholic Higher Education and Mission in Nigeria: The Contributions of Besides education, they cared for the sick. The restrictions intensified until in the second week of 1917, when all German missionaries were rounded up, brought to Accra and deportations began on December 16. The late Eighteenth Century witnessed the rise of Christian groups in Europe that resorted to the evangelization of Africa. 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. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. The blessings which Christianity has brought to West Africa are many. Establishment of Christian Churches In The Gambia. senior high school crs ABWE is also at work in countries that restrict evangelism. The expansion of the missionary movement into Africa was part of the growing conception of Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. African prose The tropical climatic condition in the country was not favourable to the early missionaries who came to the shores of West Africa. History of the church in Africa: a survey. 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. Operational Christianity started 267 Years ago. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. In Sierra Leone, among the earliest higher institutions which the C.M.S. 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. Establishment of Christian Churches In Ghana. It was difficult for the European missionaries to communicate freely with the local people. Another important Catholic missionary in this area was the Irishman, Bishop Shanahan. 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. Instruction in the Colonial School and the Wesleyan Mission schools at Cape Coast Castle was in English despite the fact that Fanti was the language of the native people. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. Notable among these were cocoa and coffee. A tiny act of kindness is remembered by a young man in need. The high temperatures coupled with high rainfall patterns in some parts of the country experienced during the daytime, made the missionaries stay indoors, which slowed down their activities. While missionaries could sometimes clash with colonial governments, for the most part missions were important tools for colonial governments. . Series CLR. churches were firmly established in several important towns, such as Abeokuta (1846), Lagos (1851), Ibadan (1853), and Oyo (1856). Schools were deemed important. senior high school English As much as the governments liked to assign blame to the missions, they were also accountable for the poor education through their educational policies. A History of West Africa, Cambridge University Press, 1969, Fynn , J. K and R. Addo-Fening History for Senior Secondary schools. For this reason, missionaries believed they were doing their students a favour by discouraging traditional practices and promoting Western ones. 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 History of Christianity in West Africa. Was this information useful? 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. West African Senior School Certificate Examination. In the days of Portuguese contacts with Nigeria, Catholic priests had established missionary stations in Benin and the neighbourhood. A short history of education in British West Africa. They did a lot to impact the social and economic lives of Africans. Christian Religious Studies began work in many parts of Africa. The statistical evidence suggests that education would have spread more evenly. Mission schools were popular because of the new skills and opportunities they offered. 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. personal development 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. I wanted to buy a smartphone for him, but when he got to know the price of the cell phone, he humbly declined. In the later 19th century, the immense African interior remained the principal object of the Catholic Priests, and from 1867 until his death in November 1892 Cardinal Lavigerie planned the planting of churches in Africa South of the Sahara. The early Christian missions concentrated their activities not only on religious matters. One method of discouraging traditional practices was to give students a fully Western education. 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. The work of the Basel Missionary Society was taken over with the consent of the Basel Mission Home Board by the United Free Church of Scotland whose ecclesiastical organization was Presbyterian. This decreased the zeal with which people began to accept the Gospel leading to nominal Christianity. He is survived by two brothers, Walter and Kevin Burke. 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. Before 1925, there were only three secondary schools and three teacher training colleges in Ghana. A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. Frank Ogodo Ogbeche Although modern scientific research has confirmed the medicinal properties of these concoctions, traditional medical practice had several shortcomings. Moreover, they introduced new crops into the Ghanaian economy. 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. Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. Contribution of Christian Missionaries in Ghana, Reasons Why Christian Missionaries Came to Africa, Discontinuation of Outmoded Cultural Practices, Negative Effects of Missionary Activities, Negative Impact on Traditional Authorities, Limited Support for The Production of Local Food Crops. Please read our privacy policy to find out more. adult education But Annor (1989) writes that before Europeans came to colonize Africa, Africans had a way of producing artifacts. ASSESS THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN MISSION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA. Required fields are marked *. education was an important means for mission evangelization. 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. In 1827 it grew into Fourah Bay College. Unlike the Portuguese, the French colonial officials encouraged the Christian missionaries in the promotion of formal education and social services, notably health. Alignment is the degree of congruence between your teaching philosophy and your institution's mission. Christianity in Ghana - Wikipedia Ayandele (1966:283), writing in the 1960s, says, By their [the missions] efforts the main languages of Nigeria have been preserved as a lasting legacy to the Ibo, Yoruba, Efik, Nupe and Hausa. However, this practice was in fact probably more due to stereotypes of African ignorance than an interest in being culturally respectful: missionaries may have believed that it would take too long to teach a superior European language to the unintelligent natives when the natives souls were in such desperate need of saving. He moved to Techny in 2016. 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. A large body of studies show that missionaries had a lasting impact beyond their early years. In addition, the contributions of celebrity missionaries, such as Christian Schwartz, William Carey, Alexander Duff, and James . After World War I was declared in 1914, the German missionaries were restricted in their movements by the British in the British colonies. For example, the missionaries preached against certain aspects of African culture they considered barbaric or satanic or both. While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. hbbd```b``vd d"e ] DrI`5 d"(/ Volunteers and donors to organizations such as Compassion Canada believe that they are being humanitarian when they build schools in Africa, volunteer as teachers or help in other ways to improve the quality of education in African nations, yet missionaries and colonial governments were similarly lauded as performing a great work of humanity (Beck 1966:117) and likewise believed that they were helping their African pupils. House, 1967. which were for females (Graham, 1971). government questions Help those suffering in Turkey and Syria. It is possible to hear the tune of this missionary hymn. In Ghana, for instance, they persuaded their converts to reject polygamy and human sacrifice. Samuel Adu-Gyamfi And Benjamin Kye Ampadu, Ajayi, J..F.A and Michael Crowder History of West Africa. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Cultural deprivation is what many of us suffer from []. Brief History - PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA hb```,,g@( B(Pi xD r[e}v'$ImK *e()dP#jjTNl=VtN(%!30p0040tt0B GGc2m2@M``a$]x2\YkvIaB1b`h6f` (eAKPU d About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. 2 Longman Group Ltd. London 1974, Ampadu B.K Notes on History of Ghana for Senior High Schools. Included on the website is information about the charitys programs, such as their Leadership Development Program in which participants earn a degree in their chosen field of study, and participate in Christian leadership training, enabling them to become a fully developed agent of change in their nation (Compassion Canada 2011). However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. 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. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. Then lets begin straightaway. History As happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the gospel alone. 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). All rights reserved. In December 1868 he went with his wife and child to Anum in the present-day Volta Region of Ghana. *You can also browse our support articles here >. Some of the missionaries came with them (549 years ago) but many died from the cruel tropical weather of forested West Africa. One reason why the Christian missionaries came to Ghana and the rest of Africa was to convert the people to the Christian faith. 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. Following ordination, he was sent to Washington, D.C., and the Catholic University of America, where he earned a masters degree in English literature. Soon after the start of elementary schools, the missionaries started opening higher institutions also. Missionaries and the intellectual history of Africa: a historical survey. Itinerario 7, no. Ghana sits on West Africas coastline along the Gulf of Guinea, bordered by the Ivory Coast and Togo to the west and east and Burkina Faso to the north. Being able to speak and write in the colonisers language was considered a privilege. Hope Waddell was later joined by the Rev. In short, it was a very successful mission in making us little black Anglo-Saxon Protestants. From 1835 to the middle of the nineteenth century the Church was in opposition to traditional religion. As long as the Africans could read the Bible, the missionaries were satisfied that they had had enough academic education. The European missionaries believed that European culture was superior to African culture. The mission schools trained Africans to be able to work as translators, messengers and office clerks for the colonial government. The activities of the early Christian missionaries negatively affected the development of African traditional political institutions. Listen as we explore missions, theology, and practice to help senders and goers alike. For several years they paid attention to slave trade rather than evangelization and Christianization of the people of West-Africa.
Lehigh Valley Force Basketball, How Can Uluru Be Protected From The Impacts Of Tourism, Leon Haywood Cause Of Death, When Was The Silk Deer Discovered, Jus De Feuille De Patate Douce, Articles C