CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES IN EAST AFRICA

Reasons for the coming of christian missionaries in East Africa

Missionaries came to East Africa for various reasons. These were economic, social, humanitarian and economic in nature as explained below; 

The missionaries had the ambition to spread Christianity to the people of East Africa. This would be through preaching and teaching the holy gospel so that many would get converted to Christianity.

They wanted to fight against slave trade in East Africa. Earlier travelers like John Speke and James Grant, H.M. Stanley, Dr. David Livingstone and others had reported about the evils of slave trade in East Africa. Christian missionaries therefore came with an intention to stop it and introduce legitimate trade.

Missionaries wanted settle the freed slaves in East Africa by setting up resettlement centers both in the interior and at the coast for example at Bagamoyo and Frere town near Mombasa.

They wanted to check on the spread of Islam in East Africa from the coast with intentions of converting many to Christianity.

Some missionaries came because they had been invited by certain African chiefs, For example, Muteesa I of Buganda wrote a letter through H.M Stanley   inviting missionaries to Buganda.

They came to establish legitimate trade in East Africa. They, for instance wanted to trade in items like glass, cloths, etc. as Dr. Livingstone told Cambridge University students, “I go back to Africa to make an open pass for commerce and Christianity…..” Similarly, his speech in 1857 emphasized the unity between Christianity and Commerce.  

 The missionaries also loved to adventure and explore the interior of East Africa. For example Dr. John Ludwig Kraft of CMS is said to have been the first European to see Mt. Kenya while Johann Redman was the first to see Mt. Kilimanjaro.

They had a mission to clear the way for the colonization of East Africa. The missionaries were tasked by their home governments to preach ideas of love, respect, brotherhood, forgiveness, tolerance and non violence so that when the colonialists come, they would meet less resistance from the East Africans.

It’s also argued that missionaries wanted to “civilize” East Africans. They argued that they came to stop some of the barbaric acts and customs e.g. Female Genital Mutilation among the Kikuyu in Kenya, human sacrifices and the practice of killing twins.

They had interest of reducing tribal conflicts in East Africa. E.g. conflicts between Buganda and Banyoro would be resolved with the coming of the Missionaries.

Early contacts by travelers like Stanley, Speke and Grant, among others encouraged missionaries to come. The information they gave about important places like the source of the Nile, fertile soils, river falls and the climate all attracted the missionaries into East Africa.

The expulsion of some of the missionaries from other parts of Africa led them into East Africa.  For example Johann Ludwig Kraft and Johann Redman are said to have been expelled from Ethiopia around 1842 before they chose to relocate to East Africa. 

Role of christian missionaries in the colonisation of East Africa

• Missionaries signed treaties which were later used by colonialists to take over colonies e.g. Tucker, a British Missionary interpreted the 1900 Buganda Agreement to the regents of Kabaka Daudi Chwa II. This led to loss of political, economic and social powers to the British protectorate government. Sir Harry John stone who signed on behalf of the British government confessed that;
• “I John stone shall be bound to acknowledge the assistance offered to me by the missionaries especially the CMS. Without their assistance on my side, I do not think Uganda’s chiefs would agree to the treaty which practically places their country and land in the British hands”.
  
• (From partition of Africa by Prof Sempebwa).
  
• Missionaries supplied information to the colonialists which they utilized to plan how to effectively impose their colonial rule on how to crash the African resistance. In the religious wars in Buganda, the British fought behind the Protestants. Colonel Saddler a British commander once said;
  
• “The CMS was the first in the field …. Its connection with the political history of early days, the difficulties, it successfully surpassed and the assistance it rendered to the colonial government at the time of the rebellion are too well known to need recapitulation. There has been complete accord between the colonial government and Christian missionaries and in no single instance has there been a friction of any kind. I would wish to thank them for willing fully placing at my disposal a fund of information they have regarding the country and its people”.
  
• In fact there was a reciprocal relationship between missionaries and the colonialists that is why missionaries laid the ground work before the partitioners offered missionaries protection for the success of their evangelization mission. It’s here that words Reverend Willis are partnent;
  
• “We as missionaries are indebted to the presence of the colonial government in this country and we would not forget when we reckon upon the triumph of the cross in Uganda. In how large a measure, these victories have been paved for us by others in the colonial government with its officers around us. We owe a peaceful country”.
  
• The Church missionary society managed to raise enough funds for Imperial British East African Company for its staying in Uganda for at least 2 or more years. The church missionary society and Captain Lugard viewed that the company’s withdraw would live the British and the protestant party in a dangerous position versus Moslems.
  
• Missionaries enhanced the growth of tropical raw materials like coffee, cotton to satisfy the British industrialists urge but disguising everything in Christianity. Bishop K. Boroup for example introduced cotton in Uganda.
  
• They appealed to their home governments for protection in case of attack. It is in this light that Britain came to Uganda during the religious wars of 1884-1892 and later occupied Uganda.
  
• They created a collaborating class by luring it religiously and materially. This class helped colonialists to fight resistors despite the fact that they were all Africans.    
  
• In their evangelization role, they brain washed Africans with biblical teachings as “love your neighbor as you love yourself”, “blessed are the humble for the kingdom of God is theirs”, etc. With these preaching’s they made potential resistance important.
  
• Religion was a mechanism of divide and rule. The converts and the non-converts hated each other which caused division to the advantage of the Europeans.       
  
• Collaboration with chattered companies, European Christian missionaries and their converts worked hand in hand with the Imperial British East African Company to defeat Kabalega’s resistance.
  
• Missionary stations served as military bases from where the European colonial forces launched attacks on the resisting Africans. African Lugard used old kampala hill as a military base against Kabalega.
  
• Mission stations served as colonial government headquarters. The established mission infrastructure was used to help in the establishment and sustenance of European colonial rule. 
  
• Colonialists lacked skilled manpower, so the missionaries by design or accident were very faithful servants of the colonial government i.e. they were Colonial government servants.
  
• They created a peaceful atmosphere for the germination of colonialism in areas of hostility. This is because they emphasized the centralized leadership where peace and obedience were expected.
  
• Missionaries also trained manpower through introduction of education which was used by colonialists. This was done through teaching those academic subjects and manual skills like use of a plough and how to grow coffee. 
  
• They acted as interpreters e.g. Tucker in the 1900 Buganda agreement. 
  

• Through conversion of the Buganda chiefs and pages before Buganda commoners it meant that each party i.e. the Church Missionary Society and France had gained converts. This was a political security of sympathy to the Christian missionaries as against the Kabaka in Buganda’s leadership. This indirectly undermined the Kabaka’s authority and respect i.e. his traditional power base was being eroded.
  

Problems faced by missionaries in East Africa

• Christian missionaries in East Africa were faced with various problems which clipped their activities at times. These include:

• They faced the problem of language barrier. This was because East Africa had a multiplicity of languages hence rendering communication between the missionaries and the local people very difficult.  
  
• There was a problem of the influence of Islam. Arabs being the first group of people to arrive at the coast and interior had deep rooted Islam into the people thus making it difficult for the people to easily adopt Christianity. For example, by the time Sir Edward Frere arrived in East Africa (1873) Rebmann had only 6 converts.
  
• Existence of tropical diseases was yet another problem faced by the Christian missionaries. Tropical diseases like malaria, small pox, claimed many missionary lives thus making progress in their activities very difficult since they could be left very few in numbers.
  
• Another hardship was caused by geographical barriers. These included hilly areas, rivers, lakes and forests. These hindered their free movement to various places thus a threat to their activities.
  
• Divisions and quarrels between various missionary groups for example Catholics versus Protestants was a hindrance to their activities. This could create divisions and biases among the believers thus weakening their capacity to convert more converts.
  
• Poor transport was a hindrance to the missionary activities in East Africa. This was due to undeveloped roads at the time to help in the movement of missionaries from one place to another.
  
• Presence of hostile tribes in East Africa was also a problem that faced Christian missionaries. The Nandi and Masai who believed that strangers were not supposed to pass via their land could attack and kill many missionaries thereby reducing their numbers compared to the increasing number of converts.
  
• The presence of wild animals was also a threat to the missionary activities in East Africa. Man enters in Tsavo National Park consumed and threatened many whites. This clipped their activities at times.
  
• The missionaries faced the problem of lack of supplies. They for example lacked enough money, accommodation and drugs. This was because they originated from very far (Europe) thus making it difficult for them to have full time and constant supplies. Such put their lives at risk and could sometimes lead to death.
  
• The Christian missionaries faced the problem of stiff contradiction and rivals between European missionaries and traditional Africans. Customs like polygamy, satanic worship, etc were deep rooted into African communities which proved a threat for the missionaries to successfully uproot them.
  

The missionaries made their work difficult by involving in politics and judicial systems which were beyond spiritual jurisdiction. Local leaders could misinterpreted them as political rivals and organize their masses for resistance against missionary activities. 

Effects of missionaries in East Africa

• They spread Christianity and baptized many converts. Catechists were also trained who helped in the spread of Christianity for example, in Uganda by 1911 many people had been converted and many cathedrals and churches were built like the Kikuyu churches (Charismatic Arathi or spirit churches.)
• African religious beliefs, culture and traditions were despised and demoralized for example the birth and murder of twins, human sacrifice.
  
• They established hospitals and clinics which offered modern medicine plus research in tropical diseases like malaria, small pox, yellow fever and sleeping sickness which had claimed many lives. For example Dr Albert Cook built Mengo hospital.
  
• They introduced the European system of management and styles of dress and architecture which have been adopted by many people in East Africa today.
  
• They put to an end the inter-tribal or inter-village wars and established a stable and peaceful society under one faithful leader (centralization).
  
• They studied African languages and translated the Bible into various languages. For example Kraft translated the New Testament of the Bible into Swahili, Bishop Edward Steere based in Zanzibar learnt and studied Swahili and translated books from English to Swahili, published the New Testament and the entire Bible in 1891.
  
• They established printing presses like Marianum press and published newspapers.
  
• They opened up primary and secondary schools as well as training collages for teachers and trade schools for craftsmen e.g. Kisubi Vocational School, Kiteredde Brothers in Masaka. In the technical schools, carpentry and brick laying skills were obtained.        
  
• A new class of elite emerged. Africans educated mainly in English and French emerged, these later served as doctors, lawyers, clerks, teachers, catechists, agriculturalists and priests who played a great role of spreading Christianity. For example, in 1890, Africans were ordained as priests of the University Mission to Central Africa in Tanganyika. 
  
• They paved way for the improvement of agriculture through establishing experimental farms and plantations where new crops, better methods of farming and equipment  were introduced for example cotton was introduced by Kenneth Boroup in 1903 and Africans were taught how to use a plough and how to grow coffee.
  
• Missionaries improved communication and transport which in turn led to the opening up of the hinterland of Africa. The building of strong boats and ships gave Europeans courage to travel far from home.
  
• Missionaries destroyed local industries like craft industry e.g. blacksmiths, pottery work were all destroyed and replaced with European products e.g. manufactured items like cups, saucepans, etc.
  
• They contributed to the rise of nationalism. This was made possible through education where the African elite emerged and started demanding for independence e.g. Tom Mboya, Obote, Nyerere, and Kenyatta.  
  
• They fought slave trade which was later abolished and equality and liberty for all was encouraged in East Africa.
  
• Mission stations were developed in towns like Rabai missionary station near Mombasa in 1846 Bagamoyo, Tabora, etc.