Metadata. The others include the French trading posts at Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), Assinie and Libreville in Gabon. The blessings which Christianity has brought to West Africa are many. Christianity reborn: the global expansion of evangelicalism in the twentieth century. Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. 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. Another important Catholic missionary in this area was the Irishman, Bishop Shanahan. Longman Group Ltd. London and Basingstoke, 1986, Fage, J.D. Already have a license? This instruction in 1948 developed into the University College in Ibadan. 503 0 obj <> endobj life skills Hildebrandt, Jonathan. The school, which was established the year of independence in 1957, was a work in progress. In Sierra Leone, among the earliest higher institutions which the C.M.S. The achievement of the purpose of these Christian Missions came with some costs. This is the famous Presbyterian Teacher Training College founded in 1848 at Akropong-Akwapim. 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). senior high school economics 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. English for life 2 (1983): 116-143. . English grammar It is interesting to note that while in many ways missionaries sought to isolate students from their cultures, missionaries often insisted in teaching in the native languages. After six years at St. Peters, Father Burke was named chaplain and professor of English literature at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Osu, Ghana. 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. Instead of adapting the teachings and practices of the new religion to suit indigenous values, as it did when the same Christian religion adopted Greek, Roman, German and Anglo-Saxon native practices, the early Christian missionaries condemned totally as pagan, and to be avoided by their converts, whatever they considered strange. Their activities had both positive and negative effects on Ghanaian society. CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA. Thus missionaries, by imparting education that promoted dependence on colonial rule, arguably contributed to the political instability that continues in the present day in many former African colonies, such as Kenya and Eritrea. About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. They also introduced vocational education in the country. For several years they paid attention to slave trade rather than evangelization and Christianization of the people of West-Africa. 1 (1971): 103-115. They were closed down in 1852 in favour of schools opened in Lagos which, in 1851, had one time British control. One method of discouraging traditional practices was to give students a fully Western education. 2006 - 2023 Microform Academic Publishers | Microform Academic Publishers is a division of Microform Imaging Limited (Company registered in England no. Hope Waddell of the Church of Scotland had opened a school at Duke Town, Calabar. Copyright 2023 ABWE. quiz Although there were many disagreements between European missionaries and African populations, antagonising polygamy is probably the best-documented norm conflict. An Alumnus of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a Journalist, Author and a Philanthropist. Wm. Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. began work in many parts of Africa. Christian missionaries were the first to introduce European-style education in sub-Saharan Africa. Contribution of the Methodist Church to education in Ghana In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into . In addition to teaching, he served as national spiritual director of the Ghana Sacred Heart Enthronement Centre and spiritual director of the Accra Diocesan Sacred Heart Centre. Ramseyer had at first not intended a missionary sojourn in Ashanti. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropon on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language, and in 1874 the Rev. Some observers have argued that the Europeans used the Christian bible to justify the practice of slavery and the slave trade. 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). Operational Christianity started 267 Years ago. Buchi Emecheta 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. Consequently, they couldnt do much to promote the cultivation of food crops like maize, cassava, cocoyam and plantain. Thus, as early as 1823, the Roman Catholic sisters started a clinic for the sick and for children in Banjul. churches were firmly established in several important towns, such as Abeokuta (1846), Lagos (1851), Ibadan (1853), and Oyo (1856). 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 first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. 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! 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. It was however in the coastal territories filled with mulattos and other European trading communities that Christianity won some of its early success. Educational Reforms in Ghana: Past and Present - ResearchGate 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 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 Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Education - Education in British colonies and former colonies As a mission school graduate noted, local history was almost totally ignored. He introduced the Methodist Church in Asante in 1839, and won the support of the Asante king. 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. ABWE first began work in Ghana with a goal to reach unchurched Ghanaians in the Volta Region with the gospel and then to expand evangelism efforts to other parts of the country. A.G. Frazer, did much to encourage the promotion of indigenous culture, but by and large the colonial authorities contributed to dwindling a good deal of our cultural heritage. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. Missionary Work in Ghana: The Genesis - African Research A new attempt to spread Christianity was made when the Church Missionary Society (CMS) arrived from Britain in 1821. They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. It was not until the nineteenth century, that the new religion was really established in West Africa. Important among these, all in Lagos, were the Baptist Academy in 1855, the C.M.S. The agricultural schools the missions ran would have been even more advantageous to the colonial governments considering the discouragement of local industries that might have competed with the motherland. Another reason why the Europeans came to spread the Christian religion in Ghana was to pave their own way into eternal glory. Help those suffering in Turkey and Syria. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. This decreased the zeal with which people began to accept the Gospel leading to nominal Christianity. The education provided in schools in early days also tended to place great emphasis on the superiority of western culture. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'cegastacademy_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_15',609,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-cegastacademy_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');The European missionaries began their activities in Ghana as far back as the early fifteenth century. 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. Before we examine the contribution of Christian missionaries in Ghana, we need to identify the missionaries that came to Ghana. Renewed evangelisation started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By February 2, 1918, all Basel missionaries had been deported from the Gold Coast.