The effects of work done by Bishop Ajayi Crowther, assisted by the Igbo recaptive the Rev. Vol. Indeed, the quality of the education could be so poor that the colonial governments complained, as in the case of the Nigerian government, which complained that the secondary school graduates provided by the missions were illiterate and ignorant and therefore poorly suited to fill the lower levels of the administration (Ayandele 1966:294-5). I well remember when he came to live with me in Trenton. When he arrived in Nkwatia-Kwahu to teach English at St. Peters Secondary School, the town had yet to benefit from electricity and running water. This company promoted the import and export trade in Ghana. There were only bush paths, and no roads in the early times. self help We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. Hope Waddell was later joined by the Rev. He is survived by two brothers, Walter and Kevin Burke. For instance, in Nigeria, one of the first groups of missionaries to introduce organised medical services were the Roman Catholics. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The Journal of Negro Education (JNE), a refereed scholarly periodical, was founded at Howard University in 1932 to fill the need for a scholarly journal that would identify and define the problems that characterized the education of Black people in the United States and elsewhere, provide a forum for analysis and solutions, and serve as a vehicle for sharing statistics and research on a national basis. senior high school English A large body of studies show that missionaries had a lasting impact beyond their early years. 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. Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. The Akim area had about 3400 converts over 32 villages and there were about 900 children distributed in 27 Schools. It would be wrong, however, to blame all these ills on the Christian missionaries alone. Despite their significant contributions to education, local language development, agriculture and the economy as a whole, the missionaries have been criticized severally. 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. Thus, because of the motive of proselytization, unqualified teachers, and inter-denominational rivalry, missions frequently provided poor education. Before we examine the contribution of Christian missionaries in Ghana, we need to identify the missionaries that came to Ghana. Moreover, mission education formed a poor foundation for future educational conditions in the former colonies. Besides education, they cared for the sick. It was however in the coastal territories filled with mulattos and other European trading communities that Christianity won some of its early success. The first missionaries to come to Ghana were the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 15th century and the Anglican missionaries. ASSESS THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN MISSION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA. The work of the Basel Missionary Society was taken over with the consent of the Basel Mission Home Board by the United Free Church of Scotland whose ecclesiastical organization was Presbyterian. 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. The coming of the Christian missionaries to Ghana had a positive impact on agriculture. A second reason for the poor education of the mission schools was that in many cases the teachers in mission schools were unqualified as teachers, but were instead preachers by training. As a mission school graduate noted, local history was almost totally ignored. Teacher Education in Ghana - SAGE Journals 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. 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). Required fields are marked *. Establishment of Christian Churches In Nigeria. The Committee for Women's Work was responsible for the education of native girls. 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! life skills B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into . church were founded in south-eastern Nigeria, the chief centres being Bonny and Brass. 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. hR]0+^$%K{_"/HevgV+bH6L %)`\ #\E*63Z_TsxlRZj:[/\IL-1b-i Over time and with the dedication of teachers like Father Burke, the school rose to prominence. One is led to ask, why this sudden development? History books tended to exaggerate in achievements of Europeans, making no reference to Africans own great past. It happens that some people convert at the end of their life in order to be buried in the prestigious Presbyterian cemetery. Soon after the Methodist experiment, the church Missionary Society set up their own school at Badagry. The Missionary Role on The Gold Coast and In Ashanti: Reverend F.a The system was devoid of any cohesive national policy. The impact of Christianity on West African society has persisted to this day. 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. Father Burke became director of the Divine Word Language and Cultural Centre in Ghana. Sign in to view the collection. The Presbyterians, also, opened hospitals in several parts of the country, including the one at Agogo in Asante-Akyem. They worked to write the bible, dictionaries and textbooks in such Ghanaian Languages as Ewe, Fanti, Ga and Twi. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in the name of Father Burke can be made for the care of elderly and infirm missionaries and sent to The Rector, Divine Word Residence, 1901 Waukegan Road, P.O. The missionaries also greatly improved the health services. The Basel and Methodist Missions, for example, introduced scientific agriculture in Ghana. If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors. This special relationship continued until 1960 when Fourah Bay became a college of the newly reconstituted University of Sierra Leone; the other constituent college located at Njala developed from a training college founded in 1920. While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. The Church had its strongest hold in the Senegambia area. Missionary Work in Ghana: The Genesis - African Research It also plays an important role in organization of inheritances within matrilineal houses and thus exerts influence from a legal point of view. They were to spread the message of the Gospel, render social services to the people and to assist in the suppression of slavery and the slave trade. 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. One of the missions most important contributions to the colonial regimes was their role in educating the native Africans. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. Until almost the end of the colonial period education was still largely in the hands of the churches. Among these were the Congregation of the Holy Ghost (commonly known as the Holy Ghost Father), the Society of African Missions (SMA), the Society of Missionaries of Africa, popularly known as the White Fathers because of the white Muslim-like clothing which the Fathers wore, and the society of the Divine Word (SVD, abbreviated from its Latin name). As much as the governments liked to assign blame to the missions, they were also accountable for the poor education through their educational policies. Christian missionaries were the first to introduce European-style education in sub-Saharan Africa. Porter, Andrew. The Christian religion teaches the doctrine of one supreme God and is opposed to the worship of any other forms of deity. Already have a license? English comprehension Apart from giving to the converts a new religious faith which they consider is superior to the traditional religions, the Christian missionaries did pioneering work in introducing new crafts, industries, Western education and modern health services. The missionary impact on education would have far-reaching consequences, as their creation of a weak basis of education would slow down the political and educational development of many former colonies in Africa. 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. We must not lose sight of the fact that the colonial government in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa relied on the activities of the missionaries to help them achieve the objectives of colonial rule. The Methodists founded Mfantsipim (1876) for boys and Wesley Girls High School (1884). Even when governments discouraged domestic industries, graduates of vocational schools contributed to the economy of the colonies -and therefore indirectly the mother countrys as well. Besides being an online tutor, Ralph is an author and expert digital marketer with proven skills in SEO content writing. ABWE is also at work in countries that restrict evangelism. 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. This was because all the ships that came to the coast at that time were owned by trading firms and companies whose interest were basically on trade. 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. Moreover, the Islamic religion was also being introduced to the southern section of the country by Muslim immigrants from the north of the colony. Get full access to all 9,566 pages that make up the Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951 collection. Burns & Oates, 1979. Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. This was around the same time that the first Portuguese sailors arrived on the coast of Ghana. As happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the gospel alone. 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. He knew me as a boy [in Ghana] who washed his car and went with him when he said Mass at mission stations, yet [as an adult] he treated me as an equal, Father Tetteh said. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Education - Education in British colonies and former colonies Prior to advent of the Christian missionaries and indeed well into the pre-independence period, most sick people depended for cure upon concoction herbs and roots and barks of trees. Another important Catholic missionary in this area was the Irishman, Bishop Shanahan. In fact, the Christian missionaries encouraged Ghanaians to reject African names and choose Christian names instead. Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades. Your email address will not be published. The lead was followed by other missionaries, notably the Roman Catholic, whose first higher institution was St Edwards Secondary School in Freetown. The training college later became part of Achimota College. It was difficult for the European missionaries to communicate freely with the local people. He worked zealously as an evangelist and schoolmaster in the Castle School until his death in 1816. More women than men attend church, and the more strict churchgoers tend to be wealthier and of higher social status than less churchgoers or non-Presbyterians. Are you ready to discover the points for an essay on the contribution of the Christian mission to the social and economic development of Ghana? Mission schools provided a steady stream of educated Africans capable of filling the lower levels of the colonial administration and operated vocational and agricultural schools (Ayandele 1966: 295; Foster 1965: 90-91; Sheffield 1973: 10-11). A special memorial Mass was celebrated at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 9. The Basel Mission. The pastors of the Church Missionary Society, from Badagry and later from Sierra Leone, visited these Christian communities in Abeokuta and other towns. The European missionaries believed that European culture was superior to African culture. For instance, the Basel Mission established Basel Mission Trading Company (UTC) in 1859. Renewed evangelism started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. 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. They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. The third, St Nicholas Grammar School (now Adisadel College), was founded by the Anglican Church in 1910. (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. Earlier in 1846, the Rev. 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. Notable among these were cocoa and coffee. One method of discouraging traditional practices was to give students a fully Western education. In December 1868 he went with his wife and child to Anum in the present-day Volta Region of Ghana. The constant tensions between traditionalists and Christian converts often erupted into all-out conflicts. JNE sustains a commitment to a threefold mission: first, to stimulate the collection and facilitate the dissemination of facts about the education of Black people; second, to present discussions involving critical appraisals of the proposals and practices relating to the education of Black people; and third, to stimulate and sponsor investigations of issues incident to the education of Black people. Yet, the relationship between European missionaries and African populations had some contradictions. It is interesting to note that while in many ways missionaries sought to isolate students from their cultures, missionaries often insisted in teaching in the native languages. Establishment of Christian Churches In The Gambia. Also, Christian missionaries in Ghana were as zealous as their counterparts in Nigeria in pioneering medical services. 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. The resulting atmosphere of disunity enabled the European colonialists to easily achieve their goal of economic exploitation. They were followed by other major missionary bodies, including the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. 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. 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. The Basel Mission, as a result of this phenomenal expansion trained many local personnel to man the new stations.