They were followed in turn by the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. In many instances, they made their converts rebel against traditional rulers and other spiritual leaders. Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades. 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. Longman Publishing Group, 1980. 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. 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. The contents of this tutorial will serve as a guide for a suitable essay on the below WAEC/WASSCE History past question. 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 . In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. These Christian converts considered themselves to be holier than their traditional rulers and elders. This comes at no extra cost to you. Moreover, speaking through interpreters is a defective means of communicating ones thoughts to ones audience. As happened in other colonial territories, the government did not show great interest in the provision of education in Ghana until the missionaries had extended their services throughout the country and had set up primary schools and a few secondary schools and training colleges. 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. CUP Archive, 1979. Other Roman Catholic hospitals were built in all the nine regions of the country; including those at Asikuma and Foso (Central Region), Akyem Swedru (Eastern Region), Berekum (BrongAhafo), Maase (Asante Region) and Anfoega (Volta Region). By 1885, the church had spread further inland, thanks to Father Joseph Lutz who started work around Onitsha in 1886 and spread the gospel in many parts of the present day Imo and Anambra States. 2018). Father Burke was preceded in death by his parents and his brother John. They constitute the benefits that the missionaries brought to Africa as a whole. They were followed by other major missionary bodies, including the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. A tiny act of kindness is remembered by a young man in need. 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. Another important German missionary was Wilhelm Johannson, better known by the English version of his name, William Johnson, who is revered in the history of the CMS in West Africa. better grades Many Ghanaian communities got divided along religious lines. African poetry Preventive medicine was hardly known; the result was that epidemics of different kinds were frequent. Hilliard, F.H., 1957.
Mission education left an uneven legacy: an analysis of 26 African I found that while educational outcomes are generally better in places that were exposed to Christian missions in the colonial era, traditionally polygamous societies benefited less. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. bible knowledge The struggle over polygamy is well-known to historians and anthropologists. The city of Akuropong capital of the Akan state of Akuapem in Ghana, has known the Christian presence during the last 186 years, initially centered on the Basel Mission, then on the Free Church of Scotland, and now on the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. All the three secondary schools in Cape Coast were mission institutions. History books tended to exaggerate in achievements of Europeans, making no reference to Africans own great past. Prior to the advent of western education, Ghana's traditional social structures had inbuilt opportunities for mobility. which were for females (Graham, 1971). Frank Ogodo Ogbeche Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. Some of the positive development outcomes of former British colonies are arguably the result of a permissive attitude towards mission schools. Because of rivalry, instead of building one common, multi-denominational school in a village that really only needed the one school, missionaries each built a school for their particular denomination and competed for students (Berman 1974:533). In addition to promoting a monogamous lifestyle in their schools, missionaries often insisted on divorces before polygamists or their children could even enrol. Therefore, whether through their rigid educational polices or lack thereof, colonial governments contributed to the poor education, though there is no denying that missionaries also contributed to the quality of education to a great extent. The churches opened primary schools both in the capital and in the rural communities. Moreover, mission education formed a poor foundation for future educational conditions in the former colonies. It was however in the coastal territories filled with mulattos and other European trading communities that Christianity won some of its early success. I will earn a commission if you follow a link to purchase a product. While colonial administration in colonies such as Kenya attempted to some degree to provide training for Kenyans to fill the high-level positions (Sheffield 1973:86), the attempts in many cases fell short, and when the European administration left, Kenya, for instance, had few sufficiently educated replacements (Sheffield 1973:88). In the Gambia, the Methodist missionary and first principal of what later became known as the Gambia High School, the Rev. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. Yes! The mission schools trained Africans to be able to work as translators, messengers and office clerks for the colonial government. However, with time, they brought some crops, which they cultivated and which sustained them. 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. We were expected to accept the European language as the superior one, and this was reinforced throughout my school career (Abu cited in Berman 1974:536). independent learning It is much easier to interact on an equal basis or even challenge the authority of another group when one is able to communicate in that groups language, instead of having to rely on an interpreter or non-verbal gestures, which undermine ones ability to show authority or express ones beliefs. The last two decades have witnessed the emergence of privately owned higher education institutions in Nigeria, including those owned by religious bodies and even by their individual members. Prominent among the early Christian missionaries to come to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the Roman Catholic, Methodist, Basel, Bremen and Anglican missions. Father Burke, whose students included Father Tetteh and Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra, arrived in Ghana, West Africa, in 1963, only four years after the country gained independence from Great Britain. 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. 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. She succeeded in stopping the killing of twins in the areas where she served. DISCLOSURE. In Sierra Leone, among the earliest higher institutions which the C.M.S. 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. Soon after the start of elementary schools, the missionaries started opening higher institutions also. The early Christian missions concentrated their activities not only on religious matters. He told me that that amount of money could pay for school fees for five students in secondary school in Ghana.. missionaries was the development of literature in Yoruba. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. Father Burke became director of the Divine Word Language and Cultural Centre in Ghana. 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.
PDF Challenges of Technical and Vocational Education and Training and Initially, their activities focused on coastal areas. These missionary societies laid the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church in West Africa, which lasted through to the independence period when African clergy replaced the white pastors. Their personal and family choices influenced the expansion speed of missionary education. For instance, the Basel Mission established the first teacher training college in Ghana. Efforts to change these norms were often aimed at women. These missionaries saw death in the course of their evangelizing work as a means to ascend to heavenly glory. Who is Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen?
PDF Educational Reforms in Ghana: Past and Present Samuel Adu-Gyamfi1 essay writing 1931. Also, Christian missionaries in Ghana were as zealous as their counterparts in Nigeria in pioneering medical services. All rights reserved. During this period, difficulties encountered were different from the initial difficulties which will more related to sickness, deaths and the suspicion of indigenous people in accepting the Gospel.
What are the contribution of the missionaries? - Alqatirat 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. A short history of education in British West Africa. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in 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. The missionaries believed that in order to stabilize the faith of converts and to assist in character development, it was necessary that they should be able to read the scriptures or other books of religious instruction, translated by the missions. Support earthquake relief and outreach efforts, biblical foundation for the next generation of believers. Alignment is the degree of congruence between your teaching philosophy and your institution's mission. Arnold, 1986. The Ghana Education Decentralization Project (GEDP), launched in 2010 and ended in 2012, has increased the influence of local authorities over management . The people received the message with indifference.
Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951 This involved learning to read in the vernacular (Hadfield cited in Bone 1969:7). As we help existing churches become healthy through theological education, discipleship, pastoral training, and leadership development, we desire to see church-planting efforts within the local church soon follow. In Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S. self help Again, the missionaries helped to pacify Africans while their rich natural resources were being plundered by the colonial government. They also prescribed many taboos which, in the light of modern medical science, had no relation whatever with the illness being treated. In Fanteland, the Methodists and Roman Catholics pioneered similar works. West Africa and Christianity. Private Study We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. For example, they made our people view polygamy and puberty rites as pagan practices. 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. 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. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into . That there are parallels between contemporary Christian organizations efforts and the missionary efforts of the mid-nineteenth to mid- twentieth centuries is a reason for concern, considering the similar impact of missionaries of all Christian denominations on the education of Africans in the British and Italian colonies in Africa. The missionary activities in Nigeria, especially their educational programs helped to whip-up the consciousness of a shared identity and helped to train a new set of elite that championed the course of nationalism and constituted a virile leadership for the young nation at independence.Click to see full answer What is missionary education?A mission school or [] 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. 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. Request Permissions. These trends occasionally brought kings into conflict with the missionaries and their converts. I wanted to buy a smartphone for him, but when he got to know the price of the cell phone, he humbly declined. First, I looked at how educational outcomes depended on the distance to historical missions. Hundreds of believers were baptized, branches organized, and a mission established. Establishment of Christian Churches In Sierra Leone. This chapter traces the origins and long-term development of African mass education in colonial sub-Saharan Africa. Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect their decisions. 4; img 109. From 1835 to the middle of the nineteenth century the Church was in opposition to traditional religion. 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. 2023 Society of the Divine Word. Etherington, Norman. In fact in 1966, Father Burke led students to a victory in a national educational contest called the Ghana TV Cup. The others included the Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. 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. Longman Nigeria Plc., 1994, Boahen, A.A. et al Tropics in West Africa History. The First Missionaries were sent as a result of a request by Major de Richelieu, Governor of Christiansborg. The Basel Mission, as a result of this phenomenal expansion trained many local personnel to man the new stations. However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! Besides education, they cared for the sick. 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. In 1981, Father Burke was promoted to headmaster and rector of Pope John XXIII Secondary School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua. 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. In fact, Jacobus Capitein, a former Ghanaian slave who became a priest in the Dutch Reformed Church in the 18th century was on record to have defended the practice of slavery. Another reason why the Europeans came to spread the Christian religion in Ghana was to pave their own way into eternal glory. Lastly, the missionaries were not used to eating our local foods. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropong on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. This was a bitter pill for the Basel Mission to swallow after 19 years of devoted service in the mission field in the Gold Coast but they were not dismayed when they considered that in education and agriculture and artisan training and in the development of commerce, and medical services and concern for social welfare of the people, the name Basel by the time of expulsion of the mission from the country, had become a treasured word in the minds of the people. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752.
Hugh Goldie and William Anderson. Apart from the extreme south and the Horn, the interior was hardly touched by Europeans before the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century. 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. In fact, most of the norms opposed by missionaries concerned gender relationships. 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. Andreas Riis, assisted by a team of West Indian evangelists, laid the foundations of the Basel Missionary Church in the country. Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect . homework help Please read our privacy policy to find out more. Debrunner, Hans Werner. 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. Already have a license? Their converts increased steadily in numbers until 1821 when a section broke away to form the first independent African, Christian church in West Africa, called the West Africa Methodist Church. Christianity in West Africa: The Nigerian Story. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. Their economic activities went beyond the development of agriculture. There were several reasons for this poor education, some intentional and some not. The expansion of the missionary movement into Africa was part of the growing conception of Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . In my study, I explored how colonial era conflicts and disagreements over marriage norms lastingly affected educational development. Over time and with the dedication of teachers like Father Burke, the school rose to prominence. And yet the Asafo provided most of the services which a community needed: protection against military attacks, communal services, etc. 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.
Ghana Missionaries | Learn about Christian missions efforts in Ghana - ABWE opened, in Freetown, the first boys secondary school in the country and another for girls in 1849, later renamed the Annie Walsh Memorial School. 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. This instruction in 1948 developed into the University College in Ibadan. Ramseyer had at first not intended a missionary sojourn in Ashanti. Burns & Oates, 1979. As a mission school graduate noted, local history was almost totally ignored. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropon on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. 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. Father Tetteh also took note of Father Burkes humility and devotion to his students. Amma Darko Predominantly Muslim territory, the North received western education later than the South. Some observers have argued that the Europeans used the Christian bible to justify the practice of slavery and the slave trade. In 1892, the Church Missionary Society opened the Iyi Enu Hospital in Onitsha which is today a leading hospital in Anambra state. The story of the planting of Christianity in Nigeria would be incomplete without a mention of the Italian Roman Catholic priest, Father Berghero. Establishment of Christian Churches In Ghana. Among his pioneering achievements, he arranged for three youths to be sent to England for training as evangelists. Missionaries continued to be the main providers of education even after colonial powers established control during the so-called Scramble for Africa which occurred between 1884-1914. senior high school English 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.