By using postcolonial theory as a framework for analysis, it is evident that the Western formal education introduced to the people of the Gold Coast by the Christian missionaries and the British Colonial government did not serve the indigenous population well. 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. Etherington, Norman. For instance, in Nigeria, one of the first groups of missionaries to introduce organised medical services were the Roman Catholics. 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. I have used my expertise to design and implement strategies for major projects including new programme development, global proposals, book launches, international talks, lectures, and executive . 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. To supplement these missionary efforts in the field of higher education, the government opened its own secondary school in Lagos in 1909, this was Kings College. A new attempt to spread Christianity was made when the Church Missionary Society (CMS) arrived from Britain in 1821. 1. Although there were many disagreements between European missionaries and African populations, antagonising polygamy is probably the best-documented norm conflict. Cultural deprivation is what many of us suffer from []. 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. 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. Just look at the lyrics of this evangelizing song written in 1819 by Reginald Heber, a prolific English hymnist in the Anglican church. Andreas Riis, assisted by a team of West Indian evangelists, laid the foundations of the Basel Missionary Church in the country. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. After completing that assignment, Father Burkes superiors asked him to teach English as a second language (ESL) to Divine Word missionaries who did not know the language. For the next decade, the Church grew in Ghana at an accelerated pace. For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. 2 (1983): 116-143. From 1835 to the middle of the nineteenth century the Church was in opposition to traditional religion. Efforts to change these norms were often aimed at women. Required fields are marked *. Wed love to get to know you and discuss how God is calling you. crs questions and anwers Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century, informal education existed in Ghana with the goal of introducing young people into the society. The expansion of the missionary movement into Africa was part of the growing conception of Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. In addition to studying the impact of these struggles on education, we also need to understand how they influenced gender inequality. 503 0 obj <> endobj It was difficult for the European missionaries to communicate freely with the local people. 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). Again, the Wesleyan missionaries established Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast in 1876. It was not until the nineteenth century, that the new religion was really established in West Africa. Other difficulties the early Christians 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. He had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 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. In addition to contributing to fluctuating educational standards across the colony, inter-denominational rivalry caused a disparity in access to education. They had to speak through few interpreters who did not have sufficient education to interpret correctly. Longman Group Ltd. London and Basingstoke, 1986, Fage, J.D. This research was funded by the European Research Council. Thank you! better grades Literature The Methodists founded Mfantsipim (1876) for boys and Wesley Girls High School (1884). This company promoted the import and export trade in Ghana. In the days of Portuguese contacts with Nigeria, Catholic priests had established missionary stations in Benin and the neighbourhood. The Christian missionaries have been credited with the discontinuation of some obnoxious traditional practices among Ghanaians. 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). B. et al. Born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1933, Vincent Burke was the third of Walter and Eleanor (nee McGoff) Burkes four sons. Request Permissions. ]v#5%{,%Y{iKsZ|Cm7NismGmg_zxKYh?>bQ?ni8G.wx:qAm$ eb!^Kr$,.9Qq^|1. Theres still so much to be learned from the history of education in Africa and its long-term consequences. His immigrant Irish-born parents instilled faith and a firm work ethic in their sons. Among other missionary hospitals of long standing and reputation are those run by the Methodists at Wenkyi in the Brong-Ahafo Region, and by the Seventh Day Adventists at Kwahu Atibie in the Eastern Region. They worked tirelessly to lay a foundation for formal education The European missionaries established elementary and second-cycle institutions in the country. Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. Through academic lessons and lessons on Western etiquette and hygiene, mission students were isolated from their traditional cultures, a traumatic experience that would continue to trouble many students for the rest of their lives. Many missionaries died because of the climate and tropical disease. After World War I was declared in 1914, the German missionaries were restricted in their movements by the British in the British colonies. A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. A history of African Christianity 1950-1975. The people received the message with indifference. 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. He moved to Techny in 2016. Its message was that of love and the universal brotherhood of mankind. In many instances, they made their converts rebel against traditional rulers and other spiritual leaders. 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. 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. Today, human sacrifice is generally frowned upon and considered an abomination. 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. Africa and the Winder World 3. Technical and vocational education had been emphasized in the education system in Ghana since the colonial era. In 1950 Albert Academy was founded in Freetown; for-a long lime it was the secondary school in the Colony serving largely children from the provinces, among them were the future heads of state, Sir Milton Margai and Dr. Siaka Stevens. Amma Darko They preferred to hold onto polygamy, even at the cost of illiteracy. This hymn sums up the reasons why the Christian missionaries came to Africa and other parts of the world. CUP Archive, 1979. Ekechi, Felix K. Colonialism and Christianity in West Africa: The Igbo Case, 19001915. The Journal of African History 12, no. A History of West Africa, Cambridge University Press, 1969, Fynn , J. K and R. Addo-Fening History for Senior Secondary schools. The missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. 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. The CMS began to work in the freed slave villages in Sierra Leone in 1804 and the Methodist in 1811. It also plays an important role in organization of inheritances within matrilineal houses and thus exerts influence from a legal point of view. In 1827 it grew into Fourah Bay College. 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. famous poems Thomas Birch Freeman, son of a London-based West Indian father and an English mother. Above, we have described the role that trading companies, missionaries, and the government played for the spread of Western education in the coastal areas from the late sixteenth century onwards. They also prescribed many taboos which, in the light of modern medical science, had no relation whatever with the illness being treated. Of the ten largest congregations for men, the Society of the Divine Word is the fastest growing over the past 50 years. It is important for several reasons. Several missionaries died at a youthful age due to the unfriendly tropical climate. Early missions conducted by Roman Catholics were short-lived. 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. Another important Catholic missionary in this area was the Irishman, Bishop Shanahan. 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.
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