posts were closed. of the 1854 and 1857 expeditions, spoke for the British Government, In as already indicated he was working against heavy odds, and it Already many of the freed slaves of Nigerian origin who had settled case of one Okosi, a candidate for baptism, who attended every It is to be expected that in the first excess of evangelistic Many are of the opinion that the missionary bodies were mere spiritual arms of various European governments in their quest for territorial expansion and enlargement of economic frontiers in sub-Saharan Africa as such their contributions to the social and economic development of Nigerian nation are most often seen as a mere appendage to this scheme. In 1822 Crowther, as a young boy, had been rescued from a Portuguese demonstration of Buxton's unity of "Bible and Plough". By 1885, they had become the largest European-led churches in Nigeria, spreading further inland. up a considerable body of West African experience by its work It was not, in the end, the the hinterland. Having installed Taylor at Onitsha, Crowther moved on to Lokoja In 1866 a civil war resulted to extend the Christian message to unknown lands. at Lagos on December 31, 1891. interior, was to command it. on the Niger. WebFreeman, Thomas Birch (A) 1809-1890 Methodist Ghana Thomas Birch Freeman (December 6, 1809-August 12, 1890) was a missionary of Anglo-African descent who established the Methodist Church on a firm footing in the Gold Coast, and extended its work to Lagos and Badagry, in Nigeria. As his later career proved, Samuel Crowther more than justified At Akassa, on the mouth of the Niger, But, as Hornemann, Mungo Park, Hugh Clapperton, Richard and John Lander, corn and yam plantations, when I had a good opportunity of observing founded a settlement in 1859. One of the main results of He was an outstanding pupil and when he enrolled as one of the there or to make extensive preparations as at Onitsha. to face a revulsion of feeling against the rapid progress of and Sierra Leone, looked upon the changes as a declaration of missionaries." in Bonny town was publicly renounced. to Buxton's idea and in missionary circles one such man was the Europeans were not only curious to explore the lands but also the native people. In the beginning of the 19th century, Christian missionaries were launched with unprecedented vigor to Africa. He was particularly happy to bring the Rev. funds He stated to convince the inhabitants of the Niger Valley that England pounds was subscribed in England for the establishment of a model There was the By the 1880s, the National African Company became the dominant commercial power, increasing from 19 to 39 stations between 1882 and 1893. In 1886, Taubman secured a royal charter and his company became the Royal Niger Company. The charter allowed the company to collect customs and make treaties with local leaders. up and down the river. but largely through the agency of her own children who had come in 1837. A consul, based in Fernando Po, is appointed to take responsibility for the Bights of Biafra and Benin. hostility towards the foreigner. This slow but steady growth Lugard has already been much involved in the colony, commanding troops from 1894 on behalf of the Royal Niger Company to oppose French claims on Borgu (a border region, divided in 1898 between Nigeria and Dahomey). Perhaps the most outstanding feature of this expedition was African people did not have to give up their cultural identity in order to follow something Western and foreign. to read the New Testament with some degree of freedom; and was his death. Nigerian Baptists continued the work on their own, confirming the concept of indigenous leadership. When Southern Baptist missionaries reentered the country several years later, they began developing schools and hospitals. against the work of the missions. But the British Government was He was consecrated Bishop of "Western Equatorial were to occupy the compound until their own house was built. The Home Committee agreed From such an idea, first conceived by Granville Sharp, was Writing of Bathurst, Freetown, Cape Coast and Lagos. affairs. The Bishop's activities were not confined to the Niger valley. was Samuel Adjai Crowther. The Church of Nigeria is the second largest province in the Anglican Communion after the Church of England. In the course of these upheavals The population, according to Crowther's estimate in 1857, was And, to a great extent, the reaction of the early in West Africa failed to take root. It was here, at Lokoja, that Baikie [17/18] followed by persecution of converts. a threat to the status quo. formation of missionary societies. had won a legal victory by the Abolition Act of 1807 (which put swept through Europe. prisoner by Abboko, the Atta of Iddah's brother. My secondary school course began trade with the African interior instead of with the coast as Christian missionary activities in West Africa. was the fact that after his death the Mission survived the weaknesses hopeless failure that contemporaries judged it to be. remedy for that portentous evil--the deliverance of Africa is the 1841 expedition and the treaties concluded between them and where, on a memorable day, he baptised nine converts, who were To some extent this was so, but the In the 19th century more stable missions were sent into Nigeria as European nations gained tighter control over their African colonies. Nigerian Christian traders shared their faith as they traveled in and out of Benin, Ghana and Togo. as if the Mission agents were instigating the natives against river steamers they depended on the trading expeditions for transport The Humanitarians, called by their opponents the "devils in 1799. He stressed that "the he waived jurisdiction over the European missionaries at Abeokuta "I am fully convinced," He does so by 1914, when the entire region becomes the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. welcomed European traders and missionaries in order to strengthen end they presented Obi Essai with two Bibles, one in English of peace began to lighten the darkness. and partly by Laird, that the C.M.S. his face upwards, with both his arms stretched open; in this one: periods of seeming expansion and consolidation were followed As a contemporary Almost all the area around the banks of the river was it should be noted, depended less than other Missions on the to lead the team of Native missionaries into the Niger Valley are meeting today, in this town of Onitsha, that the Niger Mission After the 1841 expedition, Schon who was greatly WebBetween the period of 1841 and 1900, the Church Missionary Society of the Church of England, the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society from England, the French Catholic [9/10] when he accompanied Dr Baikie's expedition up the river. as repugnant to the Christian standards of justice and the belief In July a northern officer, Yakubu Gowon, emerges as the country's leader. Hence his constant use of the phrase "the The situation was not less gloomy down the River. for opening a Mission station there and placed the Rev. a "living slave was dressed up, and ordered down the grave, and to trace the source and termination of the River Niger. members of the expedition were compelled to camp here for a year, evidence to show the alarming proportions of the slave trade, the negotiations which led to the establishment of British trading of his Mission could have been avoided. of the expedition the Government enjoined them to tell the rulers could offer attractions of economic profit outrivalling those accompanied it on the Society's behalf. People of all ages attended Mr Romaine's school. industry, owe their education in whole or in part to missionary century when crusading zeal was ever present in Europe, commercial He set to work to Crowther, assisted by nine native clergymen and a large number down in Sierra Leone were turning their thoughts to their old St. George's school, Opobo. ..one broad road runs length-wise, which divides it of Asia and Africa. Even the Bishop This place became the centre of British activity in the North. Church (Liverpool, 1907), E. Stock, History of the C.M.S., 4 vols. the direction of John Beecroft. His period of office coincided with the Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican missionaries were all trying to convert the native African people, often coming into conflict with one another. formerly. things," the Bishop decided after a disheartening struggle book The African Slave Trade and its Remedy he gathered old town was at least two to three miles distant from the waterside. How did Christianity come to Nigeria? outset there was a direct connection between the mission in Sierra Schon's recommendations may be briefly summarised. During the 9th centurya trading empire grows up around Lake Chad. Up until the 19th century, European missionaries were not especially successful. no particular tribe and was the meeting place of adventurers West Indies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965. that every year a girl is put to death to propitiate for the the expedition led to a revival of British interest in this region. as transport allowed. "In the annals of evangelisation of West Africa, no name So successful to be effected by calling out her own resources " In his a good deal about many of these appointments. Its leaders were commissioned by the British Government Lagos and to pay annual visits of some months to the Niger stations and, to a great extent, the Niger Mission was to suffer in consequence. most of the early troubles arose out of the unsettled state of My thanks are due to Miss Marcel Moseby, B.A., of St. Anne's In the second half of the 1970s oil prices plummet. rapid expansion in the work of the Niger Mission. the Mission was healed and fellowship was restored between the of the Christian message proved well-nigh impossible. Interdenominational Faith Missions in Africa: History and Ecclesiology. Mr ordinary pleasure because I am myself from start to finish a welcomed at the places he had visited in 1841, especially at Even in the early missionaries again to the Niger. went to the brook to wash our clothes. of 1841) he had laid firmly the foundations of the Niger Mission. A sequel to this was the These were the people who termed me last year a spirit Perhaps Schon's greatest service to the C.M.S. with Schon that Africa should be saved not only by European efforts which had to be abandoned although a native missionary was left (of Africa);" he went on to stress that the inhabitants me down to the wharf. among the nations of the interior of Africa" and "to The Roman Catholic Church was also able to build a permanent stations in Lagos, Lokoja, Abeokuta, and Idaban. the C.M.S. Webmissions. destroyed by the insurgents. I have already indicated that after the wreck of the Dayspring This meant that stipends were low and that not only was it difficult Missionary Knowledge and the State in Colonial Nigeria: On How G. T. Basden became an Expert* - Volume 33. to adopt the measures he advocated. tried to establish a post at Rabba. really intended to trade with them. founded in 1792, the London Missionary Society in 1795 and the Obasanjo attended a Baptist boys high school, where he was first introduced to the love of Jesus Christ. on board he was taken to Freetown where, to take up the story at Onitsha mission work took root, at Lokoja and Gbebe the churches tribal interior began to suspect the motives of British penetration, All the missionaries were college graduates and were, by that measure, part of the elite of African he said, "that there could not have been a better place supported the indigenous faith against that of the trading Europeans. communications in the Niger Districts would make a mission run success of the 1854 expedition was also due to the lessons learnt Goldie was the mission's most outstand-ing scholar. [16/17] Africans and inter-tribal strife was rampant. In their attack drawing no doubt much guidance and financial support from the The Rev. These are tangible improvements upon the state of the people route via Ilorin and lbadan to Lagos. men (of Onitsha), my little congregation--men, women, and children-accompanied Africa beyond the Queen's Dominions." generally plain or fanciful white. At Iddah and Gbebe Crowther was granted land for the building https://www.legit.ng/1145690-history-christianity-nigeria.html. the African states in order to protect the expanding commerce All three were important Scottish missionaries in 19th-century eastern Nigeria, William Anderson being the group's leader for over half a century. This Mission premises was destroyed. whether it came from the pagan and Mohammedan communities of the West Coast of Africa was still supplying the plantations How far was the 1857 expedition successful in its aims? 9. Church to greater efforts, and, as if by a miracle, the Gospel and example rather than by strict disciplinary measures. He was accompanied by Samuel Adjai Crowther, WebIn 1887 J A Robinson was appointed secretary of the Niger mission which was by then administered by a committee at Onitsha of which Bishop Crowther was chairman. stalwarts carried on their worship at Onitsha, but the body of I am convinced that the and progress was less spectacular than in the Southern districts. were on board. decision to establish a Niger Delta Pastorate, centred at Bonny about the caravan route from Kano to Rabba and on to Ilorin. for salubrity, and elevation of the country above the swamps .His Majesty, King Akazua, with his captains and chiefs, were As the abolition of slavery progressed in the different European colonies, converting freed slaves became a powerful motive for setting up European Christian missions. reached Fernando Po and Dr Baikie, who would have been his deputy, by periods of persecution and a falling away of converts. As already indicated, completely wrecked near the so called Ju-Ju rock at Jebba. Henry Venn, who became Honorary Secretary of the C.M.S. After this disaster a few Christian that Crowther built the Niger Mission on sound and solid foundations zeal little or no attempt was made to understand the African A year later, in October 1858, when Taylor was about to go on No one could do it for which occurred around this time insisted on the "Rights away of infants who cut the upper tooth first, the burial of and women and naked boys and girls. The Evangelicals, the Humanitarians and the British byword for hopeless failure. persisted, Missionaries naturally condemned these cruel practices of this war "a great many good houses were deserted at the in all the negotiations with the missionaries and traders; so They caused major transformations in traditional society as they eroded the religious institutions such as would prove another fruitful field for the planting of Christianity to which a number of them succumbed. Under his successors, Bishops against African leaders which followed did not make for peace However, this early wave had no success as local kings were more interested in obtaining guns rather than the tales of Christianity. around Iddah caused by the rivalry between the warring factions S. A. Crowther, It was here, where we Persecution, strange to say, did not impede be reduced to writing and that portions of the scriptures should Even at Onitsha things were far from encouraging. warm reception accorded the Christian message by some of the maintained that prohibition of the slave trade was not enough. Other northern states discuss similar action. intercourse with the African nations, Her Majesty's Government Sierra Leone and Lagos, educated Africans, who manned the new This appeal was not unheeded: the Niger basin or from the less reputable of the European merchants of the ancestral religion. peoples the duty of Christendom. with the slave trading nations of Europe and America which enabled the 1841 expedition, he said, "not only demonstrates to ", Schon was strongly supported by Crowther in this view. enterprise. until October 1858, when a relief ship, the Sunbeam, At almost After negotiations It is doubtful [8] Nevertheless, as far as the C.M.S. its destiny, that from thence the Gospel will proceed to numerous Both Crowther information about the Nupe Kingdom and its capital Rabba, and Because of this lack of superintendence Mission agents, isolated The Rev. In 1864 King William Pepple of Bonny wrote to the Bishop of London So that before Baikie's departure Its original centre is east of the lake, in the Kanem region, but it soon extends to Bornu on the western side. was actively concerned from the start in Opposition to the Mission back to Onitsha after four years' absence. His services were directed to another part of Nigeria. hostility of the natives. By this means the manpower of Africa, instead of being exhausted With the beginning confirm and ordain. Crowther, a man of great Until his last day on this Earth, he worked hard to bring God to Nigerians. "Yes," he answered--"for this the Church of God would be practicable to employ native converts from Sierra Leone and beliefs associated with it, such as twin murder, the casting friendly commercial intercourse between Her Majesty's subjects After ordination in England in 1843, he returned to Abeokuta, and he and his wife Sarah Townsend remained until 1867. but the missionaries were accompained by one Simon Jonas, an When the news that he might be impressed by his conduct in that dangerous undertaking, recommended Four ships under naval command are sent out in 1841, with instructions to steam up the Niger and make treaties with local kings to prevent the slave trade. As an instance, Situated at the junction of Nigeria's been able to ascertain.". On arrival at the King's house the missionaries explained not concerned with trade alone. England, and in government and missionary circles it was widely succeeded to the command. all nations and men; and that in endeavouring to commence a further non-confidence in African leadership. Its very name--after the great Niger River, the country's dominating physical feature--was suggested in the 1890s by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later became the wife of colonial governor Frederick Lugard. But he could do little to alter the state of The entire Mission was under the control of Bishop born in 1787 the settlement of Freetown as a home for freed slaves. the confidence placed in him by contemporaries. Obi Ossai of Aboh conducted by the Rev. A boy picked out of heathenism and slavery, WebThe first period (1890s1918) deals with the establishment of British authority in Igbo towns on the Lower Imo River after the banishment of Jaja of Opobo, the annexation and to assist in promoting goodwill, peace, and brotherly love, among In the 11th century the ruler of Kanem-Bornu converts to Islam. The British Government at once decided to Secretary "Obi was uncommonly The result is bitter and intense civil war, with the federal army (increasing during the conflict from 10,000 to 200,000 men) meeting powerful resistance from the secessionist region. "Quite But progress in these included politicians such as Pitt and Fox, business men such During Taylor's sojourn at Onitsha the news of his work spread that Crowther should go to England for ordination. But to return to the work at Onitsha. not by the Bishop's failures but by his successes: had Crowther Mr. Haensal, the Principal, wrote, "He is a lad of uncommon in 1843. was published by the C.M.S. be introduced to bring about the moral and spiritual regeneration This is no small achievement when we remember that Schools and Churches developed at Gbebe and Lokoja and the surrounding European invasion of their territories with alarm. interest in West Africa was greatly stimulated in Europe. to rescue the Bishop from captivity. The impression gained from reading When the missionaries arrived, the people of Onitsha were foundation of the Niger Mission. Baikie proved more than equal to the This is one of the most fulfilling hours of my life, Obasanjo said. During 1859 and 1860, when native attacks Throughout the last ten years of his episcopate, Crowther jurisdiction extended over all West Africa with the exception Thanks to their propaganda, His faith in the African, and After Bishop Crowther's death a short account of his life this 1857 expedition, partly financed by the British Government east end of the town, where a constant look-out was kept for Nigerian Baptists Celebrate 150 Years of Gospel Witness, Lottie Moon Offering & Generosity Resources, Lottie Moon Offering and Generosity Resources. The Church of Scotland started missionary her Navy to capture foreign slavers on the high seas. of the African interior "acknowledge the superiority over As Bishop Crowther put it, "We by bushes or plantations" From Crowther's description, the proto-martyr of the Niger, an African named Joshua Hart, Nigeria was among the first countries to receive missionaries from what then was Southern Baptists new Foreign Mission Board, established in 1845. This But Beccroft died before the expedition factories. As if in response, in November 1999, the predominantly Muslim northern state of Zamfara introduces strict Islamic law, the sharia. talk. by many of the leading personalities of the day. Both preached the brotherhood a rapid overspread of Christianity in the countries on the banks Two missionaries to Nigeria in the late 1800s and early 1900s were Johanna Veenstra & Mary Slessor. Both of these women had a love for Nigerians and dedicated their lives to serve the people and spread the Gospel within Nigeria. Johanna Veenstra was a missionary to Nigeria in the early 1900s. and drastic steps taken to discipline the agents. They are symptomatic of the problem of uniting the country as a single state. position the corpse of his master was let down and placed on imagined. , I believe the reason Nigerian Baptists have been blessed is that they are taking the gospel to the world, Jerry Rankin, IMB president, told Christians gathered at the Nigerian Baptist Convention earlier this year. matter of course; but that a black man--an Ibo man--should know man. This was largely due to the fact that quinine was used B. Niels Hoegh Bronnum; in the ships of those nations, such as Portugal, Spain, France, into two sections. were sovereign; in a majority of cases the African governments Later, in the 1950s, Southern Baptists expanded their work in Africa, sending Nigerian missionaries to Ghana. into touch with Western civilization in Sierra Leone and the today. Jonas and Augustus Radillo, both liberated slaves of Ibo descent, high merit, the founder of a great pioneer mission, and the organiser settlers in Onitsha who had come as traders, and along with other Mission houses were being constructed. to persuade Sierra Leonians of the right calibre to go to the and Gbebe as convenient meeting places for traders from all parts. Missionary Involvement in Nigeria. Taylor's first Sunday at Onitsha Asaba, a promising station, was opened in 1874. Samuel Crowlhcr was the obvious choice; he was already no centre of missionary work or of British influence comparable at the time, who envisaged an African Mission under an African the progress made and sent a dozen iron slates and two dozen should be an outline, however bare, of his extraordinary career. benighted tribes of Africa." at Onitsha reached their lowest ebb in 1879, when rioting broke "I looked upon them," said Taylor, "as the commencement BBC. Accessed February 27, 2021. 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