522 0 obj <>stream Daystar Press, 1978. Education - Education in British colonies and former colonies self help Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. In the case of Ghana, like other nations, the impact . While the protestant evangelical movements were gaining ground in West Africa, similar movements were being promoted by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. Initially,. This research was funded by the European Research Council. Full article: Inequality of education in colonial Ghana: European Furthermore, each denomination had differing policies on education, so standards in education fluctuated across each colony, depending on what denomination had schools in each area. Lack of transport from the coast to the interior parts of West Africa was one of the major difficulties encountered by the missionaries. Private Study 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. (with Examples), Top 20 Topics in English for Academic Purposes, 7 Rules of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, 10 Importance of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, How to Get a Degree Without Going to High School, Joseph Rhodes Dunwell Methodist Missionary, 1835, Thomas Birch Freeman Methodist Missionary, 1838, Thomas Thompson Society for the Propagation of the Gospel/Anglican, 1752, Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast Methodist missionaries, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast Methodist, Adisadel College, Cape Coast Anglican Missionaries, Holy Child School, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, St Augustines College, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, Archbishop Potter Girls School, Takoradi, Aburi Girls Secondary School Presbyterian, St Monicas High School, Mampong Anglican. Through hard work and persuasion she succeeded in stopping the practice among the people of killing twins. In such situations, the message sometimes appealed to the local people depending on the efficiency of the interpreter. Its message was that of love and the universal brotherhood of mankind. 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. Next, branches of the C.M.S. We shall now turn our attention to the activities of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. Their arrival in South Africa was aimed particularly at spreading the Word of God. He was very simple in dress and in the use of modern technology, Father Tetteh said. After more than 20 years at Pope John XXIII School, he returned to the United States and served as parochial vicar at Blessed Sacrament-Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd in Trenton, N.J., where he lived with Father Tetteh. Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. Ghana Education Service seeks to create an enabling environment in all educational institutions and management positions that will facilitate effective teaching and learning and efficiency in the management for the attainment of the goals of the Service. Besides being an online tutor, Ralph is an author and expert digital marketer with proven skills in SEO content writing. Some of the positive development outcomes of former British colonies are arguably the result of a permissive attitude towards mission schools. This conditioning was focused on norms that missionaries deemed incompatible with a Christian way of life. 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. Their economic activities went beyond the development of agriculture. The missionaries also greatly improved the health services. 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. He worked zealously as an evangelist and schoolmaster in the Castle School until his death in 1816. 4; img 109. Another important Catholic missionary in this area was the Irishman, Bishop Shanahan. 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. The First Missionaries were sent as a result of a request by Major de Richelieu, Governor of Christiansborg. opened was the Christian Institute, established in 1814 for the training of teachers, catechists and priests. ]v#5%{,%Y{iKsZ|Cm7NismGmg_zxKYh?>bQ?ni8G.wx:qAm$ eb!^Kr$,.9Qq^|1. Given their priorities, it should thus come as little surprise that missions often provided poor education to the African pupils. Christian missionaries were the first to introduce European-style education in sub-Saharan Africa. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. 1991. Contribution of Christian Missionaries in Ghana - Cegast Academy They worked to write the bible, dictionaries and textbooks in such Ghanaian Languages as Ewe, Fanti, Ga and Twi. A large body of studies show that missionaries had a lasting impact beyond their early years. Although the aim of the traders was to practice commerce Within ten years the C.M.S had opened twelve more schools in what is today Cross Rivers State. CUP Archive, 1979. It was not until 1909 that the government opened a teacher training college and a technical school in Accra. His immigrant Irish-born parents instilled faith and a firm work ethic in their sons. They preferred to hold onto polygamy, even at the cost of illiteracy. Therefore the period for the rise of Christianizing Missions in the late Nineteenth Century has been considered as reprise. Many missionaries died because of the climate and tropical disease. These missionaries saw death in the course of their evangelizing work as a means to ascend to heavenly glory. 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. 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 first missionaries to come to Ghana were the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 15th century and the Anglican missionaries. While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. The others include the French trading posts at Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), Assinie and Libreville in Gabon. The coming of the Christian missionaries to Ghana had a positive impact on agriculture. Among his pioneering achievements, he arranged for three youths to be sent to England for training as evangelists. Moreover, speaking through interpreters is a defective means of communicating ones thoughts to ones audience. The Scottish Missionary Society had been working in Calabar, Nigeria, also a British colony adjacent to the Gold Coast and it was from the Calabar Presbyterian Church in Nigeria that a missionary was sent to take charge of the Presbyterian work in the Gold Coast after the deportations. Before we examine the contribution of Christian missionaries in Ghana, we need to identify the missionaries that came to Ghana. First, alignment can help you communicate your . Called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. His request to the Danish Crown for missionaries was forwarded to . Moreover, they introduced new crops into the Ghanaian economy. Following ordination, he was sent to Washington, D.C., and the Catholic University of America, where he earned a masters degree in English literature. History books tended to exaggerate in achievements of Europeans, making no reference to Africans own great past. Today almost all of the population is Presbyterian, although the ancestral royal cult and many spirit cults still flourish. Missionaries and the intellectual history of Africa: a historical survey. Itinerario 7, no. Longman Publishing Group, 1980. Furthermore, mission schools discouraged traditional ways of life outside of the classroom. Missionary, educator contributed to building independent Ghana. Finally, education affects many other aspects of peoples lives, including economic opportunities and political attitudes. 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. But with colonial conquest and antimalarial drugs, they moved further into the continent. The greatest problem faced by the early European Christian missionaries was, the tropical climate and health Hazards. others adopted a system of education varied from one and the other hence, lacking consistency in the educational sector [3]. If a government fails to regulate schools at all, they have no right to complain that the education in their colony is poor. The first school in Nigeria was started by the Methodist missionaries at Badagry in 1842. Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951 They impressed it upon their converts not to have anything to do with these traditional practices. They often attributed natural ailments to supernatural causes and resorted to mystic cults to appease the unknown spirit, before applying medicine to the sick person. The late Eighteenth Century witnessed the rise of Christian groups in Europe that resorted to the evangelization of Africa. Indeed, most of our early nationalists were all products of mission schools. Free resources to assist you with your university studies! In short, it was a very successful mission in making us little black Anglo-Saxon Protestants. PDF Religion Education and Development in Ghana - EA Journals 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. Upon completing his degree, Father Burke received his first assignment abroad: Ghana, the first Black sub-Saharan country in Africa to gain independence from a colonial power. The first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES AND VERNACULAR LITERATURE; 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. 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. Andreas Riis, assisted by a team of West Indian evangelists, laid the foundations of the Basel Missionary Church in the country. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. Although it can be said that Christian missionaries benefitted Africans by bringing in the more advanced Western education to the European colonies in Africa, it is believed that the mission schools in fact had a negative impact on the native peoples. Yes! 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). Its general scope extends to both Roman Catholic as well as Protestant missionaries in relation to education works. university courses The traditions and values of the community, as well as the meaning of life, were taught to the child. In December 1868 he went with his wife and child to Anum in the present-day Volta Region of Ghana. People all around the world are searching for hope, but many dont have someone to tell them about the hope found in Jesus. The lead was followed by other missionaries, notably the Roman Catholic, whose first higher institution was St Edwards Secondary School in Freetown. Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. I will earn a commission if you follow a link to purchase a product. 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. An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially . Church history, history of Christianity, religious history: some reflections on British missionary enterprise since the late eighteenth century. Church History 71, no. 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! It also plays an important role in organization of inheritances within matrilineal houses and thus exerts influence from a legal point of view. Then lets begin straightaway. Ralph teaches English for Academic Purposes (EAP) online. 2: Trans-Saharan Trade. Public money was spent only on the small number of government schools, totaling nineteen when Governor Guggisberg assumed office in 1919. 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). hb```,,g@( B(Pi xD r[e}v'$ImK *e()dP#jjTNl=VtN(%!30p0040tt0B GGc2m2@M``a$]x2\YkvIaB1b`h6f` (eAKPU d Grammar School for Boys in 1859, St Gregorys College opened by the Catholics in 1876, Methodist Boys High School 1878 and Methodist Girls High School 1879. It is one of the oldest continuously published periodicals by and about Black people. He worked zealously as an evangelist and schoolmaster in the Castle School until his death in 1816. Being ignorant of the significance of certain institutions and practices of the people of West Africa, and occasionally being misled by their over-zealous followings into wrongly interpreting the peoples heritage, the missionaries compelled pupils in their schools and docile adult converts to shun their own ancestral practices. cited in Miran 2002:128). His viewing and wake service took place on Sept. 26 at the chapel in the Divine Word Residence at Techny. Renewed evangelisation started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). Andrew Foster (educator) - Wikipedia Soon after secondary schools were opened in other parts of southern Nigeria, including Bonny High School, which was taken over by government in 1904. Despite their significant contributions to education, local language development, agriculture and the economy as a whole, the missionaries have been criticized severally. Another negative impact of mission education was that it weakened traditional societies, which in many ways further served the colonial cause. Also, Christian missionaries in Ghana were as zealous as their counterparts in Nigeria in pioneering medical services. 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. In conclusion, the educational enterprise of the Christian missionaries in the British and Italian colonies of Africa during the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries was primarily negative for the African pupils. wassce literature questions. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. The Basel missionaries arrived on the shores of the Gold Coast in 1828 and For example, the missionaries preached against certain aspects of African culture they considered barbaric or satanic or both. The Christian missionaries have been credited with the discontinuation of some obnoxious traditional practices among Ghanaians. Apart from the extreme south and the Horn, the interior was hardly touched by Europeans before the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century. For the next decade, the Church grew in Ghana at an accelerated pace. ASSESS THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN MISSION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA. Their activities had both positive and negative effects on Ghanaian society. They discovered that the holy book did not clearly prescribe monogamy, and contained several examples of renowned Christian polygamists. The impact of Christianity on West African society has persisted to this day. Several missionaries died at a youthful age due to the unfriendly tropical climate. This decreased the zeal with which people began to accept the Gospel leading to nominal Christianity. West Africa and Christianity. The Christian Connector is a great resource for Christians and aspiring ministry leaders and missionaries to apply for scholarships. With the arrival of more missions into the country came an explosion in mission schools across southern Ghana. In 1876 the college became associated with Durham University in England, which awarded degrees to students of the college. The academic education purposely did not train Africans for the higher level positions of colonial administrations, which were mostly reserved for Europeans (Ayandele 1966:295; Sheffield 1973:42), a practise which created dependency on the colonizers, as without them the colony did not have qualified administrators. senior high school crs They provided missionaries a way to spread Eurocentric norms and attract new converts. 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. Furthermore, they were skilled farmers that could grow cash crops to be consumed back in the mother country, such as cocoa from Ghana (Foster 1965: 153). CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA. Technical and vocational education had been emphasized in the education system in Ghana since the colonial era. Etherington, Norman. In 1989-90, the government banned the activities of several religious organizations, including the Church. Thomas Birch Freeman, son of a London-based West Indian father and an English mother. The Methodists founded Mfantsipim (1876) for boys and Wesley Girls High School (1884). Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect their decisions. The early Christian missions concentrated their activities not only on religious matters. The European missionaries believed that European culture was superior to African culture. 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. 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. 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. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk. 1. A history of African Christianity 1950-1975. In addition to studying the impact of these struggles on education, we also need to understand how they influenced gender inequality. The school, which was established the year of independence in 1957, was a work in progress. A history of Christianity in Ghana. These trends occasionally brought kings into conflict with the missionaries and their converts. Crampton, Edmund Patrick Thurman. Required fields are marked *. By focusing on the African demand for education, I showed that Africans were not just passive recipients of mission schooling. 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. Another contribution of missionaries to the development of Ghana was their pioneering role in writing many local languages. senior high school history The Rev. missionaries was the development of literature in Yoruba. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. life skills The Methodists, known as the Wesleyan Missionaries (after their founder), arrived in Freetown in 1811. It was difficult for the European missionaries to communicate freely with the local people. The struggle over polygamy is well-known to historians and anthropologists. Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries came to the Gold Coast from the 15th century. Find below a list of mission schools that still exist in Ghana today. Some of these new crops were grapes coffee, mango, ginger, and olives. Some observers have argued that the Europeans used the Christian bible to justify the practice of slavery and the slave trade. The missionaries condemned African religion, music, art, festivals and customary practices. Missions, Education and Conversion in Colonial Africa 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. 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. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. This made it difficult for the early missionaries to stay in the country for long. Required fields are marked *. 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. Hope Waddell started pioneering work, in 1846, in Calabar. Kalu, Ogbu. PDF OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION IN GHANA - WikiEducator The tropical climatic condition in the country was not favourable to the early missionaries who came to the shores of West Africa. Like the Methodists, the Roman Catholic missionaries spread the faith notably in the interior, which later became Protectorate. the role of administrators, chiefs and the missions; first attempts at agricultural and industrial training; girls' education and teacher training before 1850; some chief factors in educational expansion 1850-1900; government official policy in educational expansion 1850-1900; agricultural, industrial and vernacular training 1850-1900 hbbd```b``vd d"e ] DrI`5 d"(/ After an unsuccessful beginning by the society of African Missions (SMA), this missionary body moved into other territories in what is now Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria. Development of Education in Sierra Leone. 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. This is the famous Presbyterian Teacher Training College founded in 1848 at Akropong-Akwapim. Operating from Whydah in what is today the Peoples Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey), Father Berghero, in 1860, visited Abeokuta and Lagos where freed Catholic slaves from Brazil welcomed him warmly. The pastors of the Church Missionary Society, from Badagry and later from Sierra Leone, visited these Christian communities in Abeokuta and other towns. Vol. We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. 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. Support earthquake relief and outreach efforts, biblical foundation for the next generation of believers. 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). They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. The first batch, who came out between 1804 and 1806, included pioneer missionaries like Renner and Nylander. Shaw, Mark. This was around the same time that the first Portuguese sailors arrived on the coast of Ghana. Moreover, mission education formed a poor foundation for future educational conditions in the former colonies. As they could not recruit British missionary volunteers initially, the Church Missionary Society sponsored the services of German missionaries, who were Lutherans, to come out to Sierra Leone. DISCLOSURE. 2 Longman Group Ltd. London 1974, Ampadu B.K Notes on History of Ghana for Senior High Schools. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba. They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. It started first among the Yoruba recaptives who had embraced the Christian faith while in Sierra Leone (freed from slave trading ships by the British Royal Naval Squadron), and who returned home between 1839 and 1845.
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