contribution of missionaries to education in ghana

They also prescribed many taboos which, in the light of modern medical science, had no relation whatever with the illness being treated. 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. 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. 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. Baker Pub Group, 1996. People all around the world are searching for hope, but many dont have someone to tell them about the hope found in Jesus. 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. 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. For example, the missionaries preached against certain aspects of African culture they considered barbaric or satanic or both. Mission societies often expanded into territories before colonial powers did, and providing education only cost them a little more. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. (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. In the same year as the Basel missionaries settled in Akuapem 1835 the Wesleyan (later Methodist) Church was established at Cape Coast by the Rev. The coming of the Christian missionaries to Ghana had a positive impact on agriculture. The first missionaries to come to Ghana were the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 15th century and the Anglican missionaries. Similar organizations were formed in several other European countries. famous poems The training college later became part of Achimota College. Discipleship and leadership development are needed in order to support local churches and their growth in Ghana. hR]0+^$%K{_"/HevgV+bH6L %)`\ #\E*63Z_TsxlRZj:[/\IL-1b-i Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. education was an important means for mission evangelization. A notable example, in Ghana, was the Methodist experimental farm near Cape Coast whose crops included cotton, coffee, black pepper, mango, ginger, cinnamon and olive trees. Origins, organization and effects in the development of West Africa, 3: Islam in West Africa. The story of the planting of Christianity in Nigeria would be incomplete without a mention of the Italian Roman Catholic priest, Father Berghero. Further, the missionaries introduced improved methods of farming together with modern farm implements. It is one of the oldest continuously published periodicals by and about Black people. 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. 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). For the next decade, the Church grew in Ghana at an accelerated pace. Hilliard, F.H., 1957. These Christian converts considered themselves to be holier than their traditional rulers and elders. Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. Over time and with the dedication of teachers like Father Burke, the school rose to prominence. 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. We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. A.G. Frazer, did much to encourage the promotion of indigenous culture, but by and large the colonial authorities contributed to dwindling a good deal of our cultural heritage. Some early success included the Liberian coast where Afro-Americans and freed slaves were converted. All rights reserved. Despite their significant contributions to education, local language development, agriculture and the economy as a whole, the missionaries have been criticized severally. 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. To their minds, Africans were too backward and needed help to become more civilized. In Ghana, for instance, they persuaded their converts to reject polygamy and human sacrifice. Another contribution of missionaries to the development of Ghana was their pioneering role in writing many local languages. 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. African poetry While the protestant evangelical movements were gaining ground in West Africa, similar movements were being promoted by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. They impressed it upon their converts not to have anything to do with these traditional practices. Renewed evangelisation started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). All the three secondary schools in Cape Coast were mission institutions. quiz 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. Christianity in northern Nigeria. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Textbooks were heavily biased towards western ideas and values. Barely ten years later, after the first missionaries arrived, the Methodists, for example, had started a station as far inland as MacCarthy Island. The Methodists, known as the Wesleyan Missionaries (after their founder), arrived in Freetown in 1811. For the West Africans, the acceptance of Christianity meant the total rejection of most of the cherished institutions upon which their society rested. Please read our privacy policy to find out more. They were closed down in 1852 in favour of schools opened in Lagos which, in 1851, had one time British control. 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. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. Establishment of Christian Churches In The Gambia. Until almost the end of the colonial period education was still largely in the hands of the churches. 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. Prominent among the early Christian missionaries to come to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the Roman Catholic, Methodist, Basel, Bremen and Anglican missions. In line with this, formal education in Ghana was started by the western traders and the missionaries by the 15th century through the 18th century respectively. As a predominantly Roman Catholic country, France encouraged Roman Catholic missionaries right from the start of her colonial activities in West Africa. Mission schools were popular because of the new skills and opportunities they offered. In Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S missionaries was the development of literature in Yoruba. Literature The early Christian missions concentrated their activities not only on religious matters. The impact of Christianity on West African society has persisted to this day. In addition to contributing to fluctuating educational standards across the colony, inter-denominational rivalry caused a disparity in access to education. It is simply one of the gross evils of heathen society which, like habitual murder or slavery, must at all costs be ended. Father Tetteh also took note of Father Burkes humility and devotion to his students. In the case of Ghana, like other nations, the impact . 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. Thomas Birch Freeman, son of a London-based West Indian father and an English mother. Was this information useful? 4>Ofv}TMdQ! Who is Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen? 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. It also plays an important role in organization of inheritances within matrilineal houses and thus exerts influence from a legal point of view. I well remember when he came to live with me in Trenton. Vol. To put it differently, the motive was to gain acceptance in the sight of God so that after death they would be judged kindly by the heavenly father. In short, it was a very successful mission in making us little black Anglo-Saxon Protestants. 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. Almost all the missions in West Africa faced financial problems in the early stages of their missionary work. All work is written to order. In addition to studying the impact of these struggles on education, we also need to understand how they influenced gender inequality. others adopted a system of education varied from one and the other hence, lacking consistency in the educational sector [3]. The Akim area had about 3400 converts over 32 villages and there were about 900 children distributed in 27 Schools. better grades The practice of inflicting multiple wounds on the bodies of so-called spirit babies now belongs to history. An Alumnus of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a Journalist, Author and a Philanthropist. Shaw, Mark. 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. In the days of Portuguese contacts with Nigeria, Catholic priests had established missionary stations in Benin and the neighbourhood. In Ghana, missions strategically weighted costs and benefits when choosing where to establish their churches and schools. Ralph teaches English for Academic Purposes (EAP) online. However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. Although there were many disagreements between European missionaries and African populations, antagonising polygamy is probably the best-documented norm conflict. Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect . They worked to write the bible, dictionaries and textbooks in such Ghanaian Languages as Ewe, Fanti, Ga and Twi. The First Missionaries were sent as a result of a request by Major de Richelieu, Governor of Christiansborg. A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. Another important missionary doctor was J. R. Stephen who for many years headed a missionary hospital at Ilesha. They even considered traditional drumming and African clothing as practices that were not worthy in the sight of the Lord. Economics Christian missions also took a leading role in the campaign to end the slave trade and to suppress slavery. Just look at the lyrics of this evangelizing song written in 1819 by Reginald Heber, a prolific English hymnist in the Anglican church. 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). Despite the skills and opportunities mission schooling afforded, many Africans were not willing to pay the price. James Fieldhouse, produced a Wolof Grammar in 1876. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. A new era began with the settlements of Black Christians from Nova Scotia in Sierra Leone in 1787 and the missionary advance inland from Cape Town beginning with the arrival there of J. T. van der Kemp in 1799. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. Clarke, Peter Bernard. The Christian missionaries of different missionary societies made a tremendous contribution to education in South Africa. 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. They had to speak through few interpreters who did not have sufficient education to interpret correctly. 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. 3 (2002): 555-584. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropon on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. 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. 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. Now, with the burgeoning Cocoa industry, the expansion of commercial activity, the development of gold mines and the building of roads and railways disturbed the traditional lifestyle. Properly meant by Anglo-Saxon standards. Lets now take a closer look at both the positive and negative impacts of the activities of the Christian missionaries in Ghana and the rest of Africa. His viewing and wake service took place on Sept. 26 at the chapel in the Divine Word Residence at Techny. By February 2, 1918, all Basel missionaries had been deported from the Gold Coast. Request Permissions. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. which were for females (Graham, 1971). From 1835 to the middle of the nineteenth century the Church was in opposition to traditional religion. %%EOF churches were firmly established in several important towns, such as Abeokuta (1846), Lagos (1851), Ibadan (1853), and Oyo (1856). They preferred to hold onto polygamy, even at the cost of illiteracy. While they frowned upon bridewealth, female genital cutting, or matrilineality, they held a special grudge against polygamy. The Basel Mission, as a result of this phenomenal expansion trained many local personnel to man the new stations. Kuhne , his fellow captive and co-author joined him at the mission as a trader in cotton, an activity which was part of, and a means of, financing the mission. For instance, in Nigeria in 2006, approximately only 51.2% of primary school teachers of either gender were trained as teachers, and the enrolment rate in primary education for both genders in 2000 stood at about 62.7%, compared to 99.5% in Canada (UN Data 2010). However hypocritical, government support for the schools should not be surprising, considering the benefits the colonial governments stood to gain. Notable among these were cocoa and coffee. Porter, Andrew. Next, branches of the C.M.S. 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. In this essay on the impact of Christian missionary activities on Ghanaian society, we shall examine the role of the missionaries in the development of Ghana and the rest of Africa. Thus by training Africans to fill only the lower levels of the colonial administration and providing skilled workers from the vocational and agricultural schools who contributed to the economy and were less likely to question colonial rule than more educated Africans, mission schools helped to strengthen colonial rule. The work of the missionaries also had little success initially. Founded in 1875 by St. Arnold Janssen, we number more than 6,000 missionaries. Agricultural school graduates did not compete with European industries or European farmers, as they mainly grew crops that could not be grown in European climates. In 1981, Father Burke was promoted to headmaster and rector of Pope John XXIII Secondary School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua. ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. "Big things have small beginnings"; so is The Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Development of Education in Sierra Leone. With the arrival of more missions into the country came an explosion in mission schools across southern Ghana. 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. 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. 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. Theres still so much to be learned from the history of education in Africa and its long-term consequences. CUP Archive, 1979. Before 1925, there were only three secondary schools and three teacher training colleges in Ghana. Missionaries were no doubt also aware that Africans came to associate European technological achievement with Western education (Bassey 1991:45) and therefore offered Western education as a means to attract Africans of this belief and then convert them. Being ignorant of ones history causes one to lose part of ones identity and pride in that identity, and one is therefore more vulnerable to attacks denouncing ones culture as inferior, especially if at the same time one is being taught the noble history of another culture.

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