Before 1925, there were only three secondary schools and three teacher training colleges in Ghana. Often drumming and the harmless songs and dances of the people were condemned. Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. For that matter, they rebelled against their chiefs and elders. English for life One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. Besides education, they cared for the sick. Over time and with the dedication of teachers like Father Burke, the school rose to prominence. Another reason why the Europeans came to spread the Christian religion in Ghana was to pave their own way into eternal glory. The blessings which Christianity has brought to West Africa are many. In Sierra Leone, among the earliest higher institutions which the C.M.S. Within ten years the C.M.S had opened twelve more schools in what is today Cross Rivers State. past questions CUP Archive, 1979. personal development 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. 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. 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. He was very simple in dress and in the use of modern technology, Father Tetteh said. By 1914 there were barely thirty schools in that vast area. Non-African Poetry life skills For instance the scholar E.A. Brief History. CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA. 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. The missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. Secondary Schools in the Protectorate started later, following the establishment of Bo Government Secondary School in 1906. Lack of transport from the coast to the interior parts of West Africa was one of the major difficulties encountered by the missionaries. Etherington, Norman. Predominantly Muslim territory, the North received western education later than the South. The Methodists, known as the Wesleyan Missionaries (after their founder), arrived in Freetown in 1811. He also blogs at BloggingtotheMax.com. Meanwhile, the Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor, had established a reputation in the Cross River area as a nurse. Ghana sits on West Africas coastline along the Gulf of Guinea, bordered by the Ivory Coast and Togo to the west and east and Burkina Faso to the north. They impressed it upon their converts not to have anything to do with these traditional practices. The first missionaries to come to Ghana were the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 15th century and the Anglican missionaries. A member of the CMS, Henry Venn, boasted that the mission schools of Nigeria would produce an educated African elite that could form an intelligent and influential class of society and become the founders of a Kingdom which shall render incalculable benefits to Africa (Venn cited in Bassey 1991:37). student life 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. 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. (As at December 2020). which were for females (Graham, 1971). Consequently, they couldnt do much to promote the cultivation of food crops like maize, cassava, cocoyam and plantain. An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially . This box contains: the correspondence of Bishop See thematic groupings of our digital collections, See all of our digital collections in one place, Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951, Copies of letters received, 1890-1927; West Africa, vol. The European missionaries believed that European culture was superior to African culture. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. 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. 26. One reason why the Christian missionaries came to Ghana and the rest of Africa was to convert the people to the Christian faith. Some observers have argued that the Europeans used the Christian bible to justify the practice of slavery and the slave trade. The Journal of Negro Education, 2019 Some of the positive development outcomes of former British colonies are arguably the result of a permissive attitude towards mission schools. Christianity in northern Nigeria. At the time of its inception, however, there was no publication that systematically or comprehensively addressed the enormous problems that characterized the education of Blacks in the United States and elsewhere. One method of discouraging traditional practices was to give students a fully Western education. Yes! Thomas Birch Freeman, son of a London-based West Indian father and an English mother. The system was devoid of any cohesive national policy. 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. Christian Missionaries. hR]0+^$%K{_"/HevgV+bH6L %)`\ #\E*63Z_TsxlRZj:[/\IL-1b-i While the protestant evangelical movements were gaining ground in West Africa, similar movements were being promoted by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. This company promoted the import and export trade in Ghana. Through hard work and persuasion she succeeded in stopping the practice among the people of killing twins. These included the Baptist missionaries who under the American evangelist, Thomas Bowen, started work from Ogbomosho in 1855. 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. Private Study The evangelical societies founded in the Americas included the Baptist Missionary Board and the Nova Scotian Methodists, whose members went to work among the Maroons, who had settled mainly in Liberia. He professed vows in 1953 in Conesus, N.Y., and was ordained to the priesthood in 1961 at Techny, Ill. In due course leprosariums and orphanages were built to supplement their medical services. Education (2002), the latest committee to work on education reforms in Ghana, recommended a critical review and approach to making teacher education relevant to the devel-opment of the country. Among the Christian missionaries that came to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the following. Ghana continued to call. Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. In my study, I explored how colonial era conflicts and disagreements over marriage norms lastingly affected educational development. In the 19thh century, too, Afro-Brazilians returned to Benin and Nigeria with Catholicism. A history of African Christianity 1950-1975. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. churches were firmly established in several important towns, such as Abeokuta (1846), Lagos (1851), Ibadan (1853), and Oyo (1856). I will earn a commission if you follow a link to purchase a product. The practice of inflicting multiple wounds on the bodies of so-called spirit babies now belongs to history. Babalola, E. O. Christianity in West Africa. Frank Ogodo Ogbeche Also, Christian missionaries in Ghana were as zealous as their counterparts in Nigeria in pioneering medical services. First, alignment can help you communicate your . 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. Wm. The Christian Connector Scholarship. 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). In many instances, they made their converts rebel against traditional rulers and other spiritual leaders. Waterville Pub. This research was funded by the European Research Council. His funeral Mass was Sept. 27, followed by burial at St. Mary Cemetery at Techny. They therefore set about to achieve this through introduction of formal education among the Batswana people. This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . In 2011 at age 77, he retired from teaching and returned to the United States. They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. 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. Christian missions also took a leading role in the campaign to end the slave trade and to suppress slavery. Containing 9,566 pages belonging to 77 documents housed in 6 volumes As outlined in the short history entitled. Even if secondary education was provided, it was often reserved for the sons of local chiefs (Oliver 1952:212; Beck 1966: 120), an elite the colonial government could then call upon to help rule the colony, a common practice in colonial Africa. They were replaced in Sierra Leone by the Holy Ghost Fathers in 1864, who made converts in large numbers not only among the pagans but also among the members of the then competing Christian churches. The mission schools trained Africans to be able to work as translators, messengers and office clerks for the colonial government. Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about.