It is obvious that the main reason why the missionaries came to Ghana was to convert the indigenous people to the Christian faith. It is one of the oldest continuously published periodicals by and about Black people. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. 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). As long as the Africans could read the Bible, the missionaries were satisfied that they had had enough academic education. Efforts to change these norms were often aimed at women. All the three secondary schools in Cape Coast were mission institutions. 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. Some of the positive development outcomes of former British colonies are arguably the result of a permissive attitude towards mission schools. Father Burke was preceded in death by his parents and his brother John. Some of these effects are still with us today. 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). 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). The Christian missionaries have been credited with the discontinuation of some obnoxious traditional practices among Ghanaians. Besides education, they cared for the sick. The Roman Catholic Sisters provided medical care in the Upper and Northern Regions of the country before the government started to provide hospitals and clinics in the regional and district headquarters. The missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. Introduction, spread and effects, 6: Christian Missionary Activities in West Africa, 7: Scramble for and Partition of West Africa, 9: Problems of Independent West African States, 10: West Africa and International Organizations, 11: Women and Authority in West African History, 12: The Environment in West African History. 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). And yet the Asafo provided most of the services which a community needed: protection against military attacks, communal services, etc. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. Barely ten years later, after the first missionaries arrived, the Methodists, for example, had started a station as far inland as MacCarthy Island. 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. In 1902 the Methodists opened a clinic at Igbo-Ora. Two other training colleges opened by the missionaries, in the early days, were the Wesley College in Kumasi (1922) and the Roman Catholic Training College at Amisano, near Elmina (1931) which in 1936 moved to the campus of the newly founded secondary school, St Augustines College at Cape Coast. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Evangelical Revival began to bring to Africa an influx of missionaries whose laoburs would produce the first fruits of an enduring Christian presence in Sub-Sahara Africa. It is important for several reasons. Called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. Bamgboye & Company Press, 1976. He knew me as a boy [in Ghana] who washed his car and went with him when he said Mass at mission stations, yet [as an adult] he treated me as an equal, Father Tetteh said. The late Eighteenth Century witnessed the rise of Christian groups in Europe that resorted to the evangelization of Africa. Ralph teaches English for Academic Purposes (EAP) online. 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. personal development Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades. 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. One method of discouraging traditional practices was to give students a fully Western education. While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. A large percentage of Ghanas 30 million people are nominally Christian (more than 70% as of the last census), and 28% consider themselves evangelical believers. It happens that some people convert at the end of their life in order to be buried in the prestigious Presbyterian cemetery. The foreign exchange earnings helped to develop Ghanas infrastructure. Indeed, in some situations the converts were taught to feel that they were absolved from obeying their own traditional rulers and certain laws of the state. The achievement of the purpose of these Christian Missions came with some costs. 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. To apply, students simply fill out a quick form. 2236624), The beginning of Africanisation : the dawn of the missionary motive in Gold Coast education, Early colonial and missionary records from West Africa, West Indies material in the archives of the USPG, 1710-1950. However, accustomed to monogamy, few European missionaries were open to such arguments. An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially . A permanent station was established in Lagos in 1868, soon followed by others at Lokoja, Abeokuta and Ibadan. They were followed in turn by the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. faceless characters Some of these new crops were grapes coffee, mango, ginger, and olives. According to the Head of the Methodist Church in Ghana, Mmofraturo was established in Kumasi, 'when it dawned on the early Wesleyan Missionaries that when the girl child was educated, she could grow up to face the challenges of the fast-changing world. Origins, organization and effects in the development of West Africa, 3: Islam in West Africa. Joseph Dunwell. Initially,. For the West Africans, the acceptance of Christianity meant the total rejection of most of the cherished institutions upon which their society rested. Among the first missionaries was the Rev. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. He worked zealously as an evangelist and schoolmaster in the Castle School until his death in 1816. 503 0 obj <> endobj 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). senior high school crs Indeed, most of our early nationalists were all products of mission schools. 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. 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 consequences of norm conflicts are likely to manifest beyond educational pursuit. First, I looked at how educational outcomes depended on the distance to historical missions. In short, it was a very successful mission in making us little black Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Cultural deprivation is what many of us suffer from []. By focusing on the African demand for education, I showed that Africans were not just passive recipients of mission schooling. 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. The education provided in schools in early days also tended to place great emphasis on the superiority of western culture. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropon on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. First, alignment can help you communicate your . Technical and vocational education had been emphasized in the education system in Ghana since the colonial era. 2 Longman Group Ltd. London 1974, Ampadu B.K Notes on History of Ghana for Senior High Schools. 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 Journal of Negro Education (JNE), a scholarly refereed journal, was founded at Howard University in 1932. 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.. Your email address will not be published. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. A history of Christianity in Africa: From antiquity to the present. History In Sierra Leone, among the earliest higher institutions which the C.M.S. 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. Required fields are marked *. Lack of transport from the coast to the interior parts of West Africa was one of the major difficulties encountered by the missionaries. In the days of Portuguese contacts with Nigeria, Catholic priests had established missionary stations in Benin and the neighbourhood. How to Get Involved in Church Missions: The Ultimate Guide, 16 Causes of Crime Essay (with Solutions), Justify the Title of the Novel Second Class Citizen, The Role of Ghana in the Formation of the OAU, Economic Developments in Ghana Before Independence, 11 Causes of the Rise of Nationalism in Africa, Importance of the Odwira Festival in Ghana. CUP Archive, 1979. But despite the work of Portuguese missionaries based on the island of Sao Tome and later of Spanish missionaries in Benin, it was not until the nineteenth century that the Christian religion was firmly established in Nigeria. Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries came to the Gold Coast from the 15th century. The blessings which Christianity has brought to West Africa are many. 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). 1991. 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. past questions Copyright 2003 - 2023 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. Both the academic and vocational forms of education the missions provided served to strengthen the rule of the colonial powers, so that the native inhabitants were second-class citizens in their own land. 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 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. 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. The Akim area had about 3400 converts over 32 villages and there were about 900 children distributed in 27 Schools. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect their decisions. Within ten years of Father Bergheros visit, the Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria had become so well established that it ceased to be under administration from Dahomey. The contents of this tutorial will serve as a guide for a suitable essay on the below WAEC/WASSCE History past question. In such asituation, provisions and other things had to be sent into the country not in large quantities as would have been desired by the missionaries. 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. However, with time, they brought some crops, which they cultivated and which sustained them. In 2011 at age 77, he retired from teaching and returned to the United States. It is important to emphasize that the modern history of the Christian Mission in Africa started from the late Eighteenth Century, the Catholics had been there earlier in the first centuries of the Christian era especially during the first Portuguese adventures. In the Gambia, as happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the Gospel alone. skills for his or her future role in the society (Hetherington, 1979; Davidoff, 1980; Aboagye, 1997). Find below a list of mission schools that still exist in Ghana today. Email: henrydonsco@gmail.com In spite of the division, the parent Methodist missionary church played an important role in the history of Christianity in Sierra Leone. A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. This thesis discusses and assesses contribution of Christian Missionaries to education in Meru from 1908 to 1963. Founded in 1875 by St. Arnold Janssen, we number more than 6,000 missionaries. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. 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. For instance, the Basel Mission established the first teacher training college in Ghana. 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. 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. Mission Statement 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. 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. In the case of Ghana, like other nations, the impact . Wm. They discovered that the holy book did not clearly prescribe monogamy, and contained several examples of renowned Christian polygamists. Literature Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language and translated the entire Bible and a Bible history into Ga. Then in 1874, the Rev. 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. The missionaries opened schools further inland, and by 1880, the Wesleyan Mission had eighty -three schools. Are you ready to discover the points for an essay on the contribution of the Christian mission to the social and economic development of Ghana? 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. In fact in 1966, Father Burke led students to a victory in a national educational contest called the Ghana TV Cup. 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. 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. 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. Vol. The Presbyterians, also, opened hospitals in several parts of the country, including the one at Agogo in Asante-Akyem. Father Tetteh also took note of Father Burkes humility and devotion to his students. In 1876 the college became associated with Durham University in England, which awarded degrees to students of the college. Given the fluctuating standards between schools and regions and the lack of qualified teachers in the mission schools which had monopolies in well into the mid-twentieth century, it should come as little surprise that the quality of education continues to be a concern in many former colonies. As negative as all these impacts of the missionaries undoubtedly were for the African pupils, the long-term consequences are arguably as serious.