Effects of Missionary activities in Africa

Effects of Missionary activities in Africa

Missionary societies wherever they worked, left a lot of social, political and economic effects. All of them were imbedded in positive and negative categories as explained by;-

The missionary societies converted the west African people and generally in the whole of Africa into Christianity. This reduced the number of people who would have been Muslims and African traditionalists. This formed a class of converts who eventually played a big role in assisting the colonialists when they were taking over African territories in the last quarter of the 19th century. 

2.      They  encouraged  and developed  agriculture   through  introducing   new crops,  distributing

seeds  to native  fanners,  establishing   plantations   (development   of  Legitimate  trade)  and putting  up experimental   farms  characterised   by better  methods  of farminu  all of which were aiming  at increased  raw materials  for European  industries.  Examples  of major crops include:   Coffee,   Cloves,   Sisal  and  orange   plantations   that  were  set  up  m  Ghana   by Methodists  missionary  group. Basel  Missionary  Group  also established  Cocoa plantations at  Akropong  in Ghana.  Similar  cases  were  in east and central  Africa  where  missionaries operated.

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3.       Missionaries  encouraged  commerce  and trade through formation  of trading companies  and

developing   cordial  relationship   with  chartered  companies  that  were  operating  in Africa. Example,  in 1892 the Imperial  British East African Company  (IBEACo)  in East Africa ran bankrupt  and  it was financially  assisted  by the Church  Missionary   society  (C.M.S)  until

1893.  They   went  ahead  and  established    trading   centers   through   which   Agriculture products   would  be  sold off  to Europe  while  the manufactured   goods  brought  would  be marketed  to Africans  in these towns.  In west Africa, the Basel  Missionary  Society  formed the Basel Trading  Company  while the C.M.S formed  the west African  trading  company  in

1863

4.    They  introduced, new  architecture   suitable  for the tropics  e.g.  brick  laying,  stone houses, tile  roofing,  corrugated  iron roofing  all were  introduced  in Africa  by missionaries.   This improved  the standard  of living  of Africans  who formerly  lived  in grass-thatched   houses and  huts.   Missionaries     all  over   Africa   used  such   methods    of  Construction    which colonialists  inherited as their offices  i.e. in former mission  stations.

5.    Missionaries   checked  inhuman  African  cultural  practices  that  were  quite  backward  and barbaric   e.g.  they  preached  against  polygamy,   human  sacrifice,   murder  of  twins,  all of which created  social development,  peace  and stability  in Africa.

6.    They  embarked  on systematic  study  of African  local  languages  and even taught  Africans how  to speak  foreign  languages.   They  taught   Africans  how  to read  and write  and  read their  languages,  they taught  them  Germany,  French  and English  languages  depending  on the origin of the missionary  society.  Grammar  books  and dictionaries  were written  in local languages   so  as to make  their  converts   be able  to read  and  write.  ego In Uganda  books were written  in Luganda,  Iteso,  Rukiga  and Runyaokole   while  in West Africa  books  were written  in Tiv, Ewe, Hausa  and Yoruba  language.  Similar  impact  was witnessed  in central Africa.

7.    They   also  encouraged    education    through   the  establishment     of  both  elementary    and secondary   schools  as well  as training  colleges.   In West  Africa  by  1841,  the  C.M.S  had established  21 elementary  schools  in Sierra Leone and in 1845 it found secondary  schools one for boys and another  for girls at Abeokuta  in Nigeria.  In East Africa missionaries  built a secondary  school  in Mengo,  Gayaza  which  began as educational  centers  for daughters  of Buganda   chiefs  while  Buddo  college   was  established    to educate   the  sons  of  Buganda Chiefs.  Included  also are Rabai  high  school  in Tanganyika,   Kakamega  Agriculture   school in Kenya  and in central Africa, missionaries   established   Shire college  and Magomero  High School  in Malawi while  in Zambia  missionaries  established Maclean  Training  college etc.

However, missionary education   concentrated  in elementary  subjects like bible study, reading and writing.  Such subjects   taught to Africans prepared them to be good servants to the colonialists as they worked In position   of secretaries, office messengers, Clerks and interpreters.

Nevertheless  missionary  education  has been credited  to have established  schools  in African continent that educated nuportant personalities in Africa like Kwame Nkrumah  of Ghana, Kenneth  Kaundo of zambia Ben Kiwanuka of Uganda, Dr. Milton Obote of Uganda, Jorno Kiuyatta of Kenya etc, who led the 1960's Nationalistic movements that assisted in the attainment of africa independence from the hands of colonialists.

8.    Creation of  disunity   awl divisionism   among Africans.  The competition  for converts between . Catholics, protestants and Orthodox missionaries left a lot of enemity planted

among Africans that  madethem weak to resist against colonialism. e.g. in Uganda in

1886-1893  period there were religious    war in Buganda among the Muslims, Wangereza

(Protestant) and Wa franza (Catholics)  which were silenced by Lord Lugard in 1893 which saw the triumph of the protestants In politics of Uganda up to now.

9.         Missionaries  established some infrastructural developments in Africa e.g. roads,  hospitals, railways etc. however such  infrastructure    was  a   priority  of the objectives  of  these missionaries forexample, roads   and  railways  were established  in resourceful    areas, Schools were primarily for sons and daughters of the white settlers and the African  chiefs while hospitals   were  to  treat  mainly  the whites, followed by the chiefs and fmaly the Africans who  offered  crucial  forced  labour  e.g.   experts  in  mining:   farming,    close secretanes etc

10.     Missionaries  came  to  expose   the African    continent    to the outside world, This was   done through offering of scholarships to  notable    Africans such as  Sir.  Apollo    Kaggwa    who went  to  London  for  sometime  when  he  came  back,  Baganda  named  him  Apollo Kivebulunvu.    Also central africa Chief  Lewanika  of Lozi was taken to London for sometime and when he returned, he had this to say:

"Now   1 have seen lets  come out of our darkness. our ancient heathenism: come

and hear' the teachings  on Sundays, Send your children to school that we

too become a nation".