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. 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. But that increase was greater in monogamous societies. Other difficulties they faced were the problems of the many languages and dialects and their ignorance of the true meaning of the various cultures, beliefs, values and ways of life of the people whom they set out to convert to Christianity. 2 (1983): 116-143. quiz Hastings, Adrian. Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. 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. 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. 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 . EVANGELICAL MOVEMENTS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES. It is one of the oldest continuously published periodicals by and about Black people. famous poems For the next decade, the Church grew in Ghana at an accelerated pace. Hope Waddell of the Church of Scotland had opened a school at Duke Town, Calabar. Therefore the period for the rise of Christianizing Missions in the late Nineteenth Century has been considered as reprise. Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect their decisions. There were several reasons for this poor education, some intentional and some not. 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.
Mission education left an uneven legacy: an analysis of 26 African To apply, students simply fill out a quick form. They provided missionaries a way to spread Eurocentric norms and attract new converts. English for life ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. essay writing Call: +233558280780, Your email address will not be published.
The first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. The next major Christian missionaries to go out to Sierra Leone were the Roman Catholics. 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. Operational Christianity started 267 Years ago. The Methodists, known as the Wesleyan Missionaries (after their founder), arrived in Freetown in 1811. The coming of the Christian missionaries to Ghana had a positive impact on agriculture. Buchi Emecheta 0
However the superficial motivations and ideologies have changed, at the most basic level both contemporary Northern charities and nineteenth century missionaries share the belief that the North must come and save the suffering natives, which in the case of the missionaries, has been proven to have inflicted more harm than provided relief.
Contribution of Christian Missionaries in Ghana - Cegast Academy Wm. For instance the scholar E.A. Many Ghanaian communities got divided along religious lines. The missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. In short, the impact of teaching in the vernacular was more negative than positive, as it reinforced colonial rule and no doubt did very little to preserve native cultural identities, seeing as missionaries promoted European languages as superior and only used the vernacular because conversion and religious instruction were such high priorities. 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. Wed love to get to know you and discuss how God is calling you.
History of the church in Africa: a survey. The Christian religion teaches the doctrine of one supreme God and is opposed to the worship of any other forms of deity. (As at December 2020). He had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. People all around the world are searching for hope, but many dont have someone to tell them about the hope found in Jesus. The tropical climatic condition in the country was not favourable to the early missionaries who came to the shores of West Africa. NUUT Co. Ltd. Kumasi, Ghana, 2011, Baarkinado. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. The missionaries seemed to have concentrated much of their effort on the production of export crops. Rather, it denationalized and facilitated the indignity and loss of cultural identity of the Ghanaian. If a government fails to regulate schools at all, they have no right to complain that the education in their colony is poor. Box 2 of the papers relating to the Society's activities in West Africa. While they frowned upon bridewealth, female genital cutting, or matrilineality, they held a special grudge against polygamy. 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. wassce literature questions. He is survived by two brothers, Walter and Kevin Burke. They were to spread the message of the Gospel, render social services to the people and to assist in the suppression of slavery and the slave trade. The missionaries believed that in order to stabilize the faith of converts and to assist in character development, it was necessary that they should be able to read the scriptures or other books of religious instruction, translated by the missions. One of the missions most important contributions to the colonial regimes was their role in educating the native Africans. Africa and the Winder World 3. 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. 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. 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. Schools were deemed important. 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 . ]v#5%{,%Y{iKsZ|Cm7NismGmg_zxKYh?>bQ?ni8G.wx:qAm$
eb!^Kr$,.9Qq^|1. CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA. 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). 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. Until almost the end of the colonial period education was still largely in the hands of the churches. This finding was supported by two types of analysis. He was very simple in dress and in the use of modern technology, Father Tetteh said. They even considered traditional drumming and African clothing as practices that were not worthy in the sight of the Lord. These included the Basel Missionary Society, founded in Switzerland, and the Breman Mission formed in Germany. Its message was that of love and the universal brotherhood of mankind. The study traces the his tory of colonial education and the tremendous contributions of missionaries in the establishment of formal education in the region. 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. mock tests Within ten years the C.M.S had opened twelve more schools in what is today Cross Rivers State. The traditions and values of the community, as well as the meaning of life, were taught to the child. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. For example, they made our people view polygamy and puberty rites as pagan practices. 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 DISCLOSURE. The school, which was established the year of independence in 1957, was a work in progress. He moved to Techny in 2016. One of their scholarships is a drawing for $2,500. The latter, non-academic form of education provided by the missions has stimulated much interest among scholars, who are particularly interested in the failure of many of these schools and the hypocritical government support for the schools, seeing as the import of cheap goods from the mother countries caused many vocational school graduates, such as seamstresses, to be unemployed (Ayandele 1966:296; Foster 1965:134). Already have a license? Looking for a flexible role? 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. The blessings which Christianity has brought to West Africa are many. cited in Miran 2002:128). Secondary Schools in the Protectorate started later, following the establishment of Bo Government Secondary School in 1906. The First Missionaries were sent as a result of a request by Major de Richelieu, Governor of Christiansborg. Senior High School Literature university courses 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. 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. personal development Yes! For instance, on 2nd October 1792, the Baptist Missionary Society was formed followed by the interdenominational London Missionary Society which was established in 1795. independent learning 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. 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). Debate Speech: Religion Has Failed Society, A Speech Outlining the Achievements and Problems of Your School, 7 Factors Accounting for the Shortage of Capital In West Africa, The Resurrection of Jesus According to Marks Gospel. And yet the Asafo provided most of the services which a community needed: protection against military attacks, communal services, etc. Then lets begin straightaway. The result is that today, many Africans are alienated from their authentic ways of life. It was difficult for the European missionaries to communicate freely with the local people. The South African War is not covered in this grouping of letters. Therefore, considering that the impact of mission education continues to have serious repercussions today, one must question whether the First World should continue to interfere in African education. In addition to contributing to fluctuating educational standards across the colony, inter-denominational rivalry caused a disparity in access to education. Consequently, they couldnt do much to promote the cultivation of food crops like maize, cassava, cocoyam and plantain. Please read our privacy policy to find out more. 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. Father Vincent Burke SVD, 83, recipient of Ghanas Officer of the Order of Volta Award, passed away at Techny, Ill., on Sept. 21. They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. 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. Waterville Pub. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. 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 original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. 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. Missionary, educator contributed to building independent Ghana. 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. No plagiarism, guaranteed! 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. 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. Email: henrydonsco@gmail.com
government questions In the same year as the Basel missionaries settled in Akuapem 1835 the Wesleyan (later Methodist) Church was established at Cape Coast by the Rev. 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. James Fieldhouse, produced a Wolof Grammar in 1876. 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.
Contribution of the Methodist Church to education in Ghana In Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S.
Role of Missionaries in Colonial African Education - UKEssays.com He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. In 2006, Father Burke was appointed lecturer at the newly founded Catholic University College of Ghana in Sunyani. Website design and development by Americaneagle.com, Inc, Society of the Divine Word- Western Province, Society of the Divine Word- Southern Province. Prominent among the early Christian missionaries to come to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the Roman Catholic, Methodist, Basel, Bremen and Anglican missions. In 1845 the C.M.S. What would have happened if missionaries had not insisted on monogamy? 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.
The contribution of the missionaries to the development of Setswana as 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 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). 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.