On the opposite side, the coming of the Christian missionaries brought in its wake certain negative developments like disregard for African culture and rebellion against traditional authority. The consequences of norm conflicts are likely to manifest beyond educational pursuit. Porter, Andrew. Johann Christaller produced a similar work in Twi. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. This comes at no extra cost to you. While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. Notable among these were cocoa and coffee. 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. However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. Joseph Dunwell. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. 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. Initially,. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, the Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor, had established a reputation in the Cross River area as a nurse. After World War I was declared in 1914, the German missionaries were restricted in their movements by the British in the British colonies. New missionary societies (the LMS, the CMS, the Holy Ghost Fathers, the White Fathers, etc.) To their minds, Africans were too backward and needed help to become more civilized. Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. 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. Sign in to view the collection. personal development The others included the Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. As a predominantly Roman Catholic country, France encouraged Roman Catholic missionaries right from the start of her colonial activities in West Africa. Even when governments discouraged domestic industries, graduates of vocational schools contributed to the economy of the colonies -and therefore indirectly the mother countrys as well. CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA. Called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. Thank you for supporting this project. PROBLEMS FACED BY THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES. Over time and with the dedication of teachers like Father Burke, the school rose to prominence. As a member of the Church of England, it interests me to see echoes of Christian educational efforts by organizations such as Compassion Canada in the educational efforts of the missionary branch of the Anglican Church, the Church Missionary Society, or CMS. Thus, despite what the images of suffering African children on websites such as that of Compassion Canada might lead one to believe, it is time for Africans to educate their own, without any interference. Baker Pub Group, 1996. 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. 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. The vast majority of the people of The Gambia are Moslems; but a sizeable percentage of the population, especially in and around the capital Banjul, are Christians. Until almost the end of the colonial period education was still largely in the hands of the churches. For instance the scholar E.A. 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. The missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. 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 Longman Group Ltd. London 1974, Ampadu B.K Notes on History of Ghana for Senior High Schools. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into writing. 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. wassce literature questions. Operational Christianity started 267 Years ago. WhatsApp : +233204700052 Many missionaries died because of the climate and tropical disease. A history of African Christianity 1950-1975. That missionaries used the vernacular illustrates the fact that missionaries were principally evangelists, and that they considered their other roles, including their role as educators, as less important. A tiny act of kindness is remembered by a young man in need. Although it can be said that Christian missionaries benefitted Africans by bringing in the more advanced Western education to the European colonies in Africa, it is believed that the mission schools in fact had a negative impact on the native peoples. Often drumming and the harmless songs and dances of the people were condemned. It included the opening up of Africa to forces of change namely commerce (legitimate commerce, i.e. Christian missionaries were the first to introduce European-style education in sub-Saharan Africa. famous poems Amidst much honest missionary activity in the country for two centuries, prosperity gospel teachers have also gained influence, and numerous indigenous cults have arisen with distinct appeal and just enough truth to create confusion and syncretism. 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 As negative as all these impacts of the missionaries undoubtedly were for the African pupils, the long-term consequences are arguably as serious. They had to speak through few interpreters who did not have sufficient education to interpret correctly. Vol. Establishment of Christian Churches In Ghana. Under the Basel Missions Salem system, converts were separated from the traditional society. Africa and the Winder World 3. Moreover, they introduced new crops into the Ghanaian economy. 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). Textbooks were heavily biased towards western ideas and values. Indeed, once the souls had been saved and since the students must have been considered clever enough, European languages were almost universally the languages of instruction in the later primary years and in secondary schools (Beck 1966: 120; Foster 1965: 159; Miran 2002:127). 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. Earlier in 1846, the Rev. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. 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. Some early success included the Liberian coast where Afro-Americans and freed slaves were converted. The quest for an all-inclusive development model of Ghana and other developing nations, therefore, calls for an insight into the role and responsibilities of religion toward education. 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. The Basel Mission. Properly meant by Anglo-Saxon standards. English for life 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). This decreased the zeal with which people began to accept the Gospel leading to nominal Christianity. A notable example was the Asafo Company, a purely military and social organisation of the peoples of Ghana, which was condemned by the early missionaries because of its presumed connection with fetish practices. 1 (1971): 103-115. However hypocritical, government support for the schools should not be surprising, considering the benefits the colonial governments stood to gain. Finally, education affects many other aspects of peoples lives, including economic opportunities and political attitudes. 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 Barely ten years later, after the first missionaries arrived, the Methodists, for example, had started a station as far inland as MacCarthy Island. 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. By February 2, 1918, all Basel missionaries had been deported from the Gold Coast. But with colonial conquest and antimalarial drugs, they moved further into the continent. African poetry They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. The home page of Compassion Canada is that of a stereotypical Northern charity: showing pictures of suffering children alternating with those of post-intervention, happy children. It is interesting to note that this project is not a new concept. Nevertheless, the first higher institution in Ghana, now the Presbyterian Training College at Akuapem Akropon, was established in 1848, first as a centre for training catechists, and later to train teachers as well as ministers of the Presbyterian Church. The CMS began to work in the freed slave villages in Sierra Leone in 1804 and the Methodist in 1811. independent learning Isichei, Elizabeth. ABWE is also at work in countries that restrict evangelism. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba. 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. It is simply one of the gross evils of heathen society which, like habitual murder or slavery, must at all costs be ended. (As at December 2020). In short, it was a very successful mission in making us little black Anglo-Saxon Protestants. In spite of the division, the parent Methodist missionary church played an important role in the history of Christianity in Sierra Leone.