Main Reasons for Missionaries:
European missionaries to southern Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries played a strangely ambiguous role in the history and affairs of the region. On the one hand they were driven by a strong desire to genuinely serve humanity and bring about material and social changes which would improve its quality of life. On the other hand they were possessed of a moral self-righteousness which led them to make hasty and uninformed judgments upon indigenous mores, norms and values they were scarcely equipped to understand. The first manifested itself in an involvement in local agriculture, irrigation and technology which, being environmental and hence independent of larger cultural issues, found a small measure of acceptance in rural society. The second sought to impose an alien morality and work ethos upon the local people without realizing that these undermined their most basic social and cultural tenets and were therefore largely resisted. The ability of missionaries to make converts and hold them on their stations also seems to have been somewhat in doubt. Etherington (1977) stated that only 12% of people on mission settlements were there for "spiritual" reasons. The majority sought either material advantage or psychological security. This right here just shows that the most of the missionary civilians were there for their own good and not to help the ones in need but more for their well being to be in the Cape and prospering off the land and materials that were being freshly found and used everyday in the south.
European missionaries to southern Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries played a strangely ambiguous role in the history and affairs of the region. On the one hand they were driven by a strong desire to genuinely serve humanity and bring about material and social changes which would improve its quality of life. On the other hand they were possessed of a moral self-righteousness which led them to make hasty and uninformed judgments upon indigenous mores, norms and values they were scarcely equipped to understand. The first manifested itself in an involvement in local agriculture, irrigation and technology which, being environmental and hence independent of larger cultural issues, found a small measure of acceptance in rural society. The second sought to impose an alien morality and work ethos upon the local people without realizing that these undermined their most basic social and cultural tenets and were therefore largely resisted. The ability of missionaries to make converts and hold them on their stations also seems to have been somewhat in doubt. Etherington (1977) stated that only 12% of people on mission settlements were there for "spiritual" reasons. The majority sought either material advantage or psychological security. This right here just shows that the most of the missionary civilians were there for their own good and not to help the ones in need but more for their well being to be in the Cape and prospering off the land and materials that were being freshly found and used everyday in the south.
This video was made in fact to show the significance and the importance of the missionaries that happened all throughout the early to mid 1800's. It is a documentary for one that is looking for more facts about the missionary trips and the people involved in them.
The missionaries worked hard in order to push the religion they brought over from their home country and pushed the people of Southern Africa hard to have them be believers and students of that religion.
David Livingstone pictured above
|
People who participated in the Missionaries:
David Livingstone was a medical missionary with the London Missionary Society. He was born in Scotland in 1813, but spent most of his life in Africa as an explorer and doctor. Coupled with his love for the Lord and desire to spread the Gospel, Livingstone used his understanding of nature and science to help him map much of southern Africa.Livingstone never stayed long in any one place. He was driven to map the continent of Africa in preparation for the many missionaries who would come after him.Livingstone is considered one of the greatest missionary heroes. God has used his life to open doors for the Gospel. Livingstone eventually made his way north and set out to trek across the Kalahari Desert. In 1849, he came upon Lake Ngami and, in 1851, the Zambezi River. Over the years, Livingstone continued his explorations, reaching the western coastal region of Luanda in 1853. In 1855, he came across another famous body of water, the Zambezi falls, called by native populations "Smoke That Thunders" and which Livingstone dubbed Victoria Falls, after Queen Victoria. Livingstone is considered the greatest missionary of his time and especially to Cape Town and the southern part of Africa. He named his mission as the "Medical Missionary" in order to help the health of the southern part of Africa.Livingstone is seen to be different type of missionary because of the fact he focused more on the health side of things while most others used religion as their steering horse for the Africans. Livingstone was the most prominent missionary of the time but others include Mary Slessor and Cecil Rhodes who also missioned to the southern part of Africa for the religion. |