Missions and Empire

The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy

“…In much of Northwest Europe and in English-settler colonies (excluding slave-holding U.S. states), the Protestant missions movement was closely tied to social reform movements such as abolition and temperance. Thus many missionaries perceived societal reform as a natural extension of their faith (Etherington 2005;Masters and Young 2007;Young 2006). Second, the abuses made mission work more difficult because they angered indigenous people, turning them against Christianity, which many indigenous people associated with the colonizers.…”

“…For example, colonial magistrates and governors were reprimanded or removed, military officials were put on trial for murder, confiscated land was returned to indigenous people, and so on (Etherington 2005;Hincks 2009, 181;Oddie 1978;Stocking 1987, 240-54, 272;Turner 1998;Woodberry 2004c). Thus, Protestant missionaries spurred immediate abolitionism (Stamatov 2006;Woodberry 2004c;2006a;2006b), as well as movements to protect indigenous land rights, prevent forced labor, and force the British to apply similar legal standards to whites and nonwhites (Chaudhuri 1998;Clements 1999;Etherington 2005;Gladwin 2007;Grant 2005;Knaplund 1953;Oddie 1978;Turner 1998;Woodberry 2004b;2004c;2006b;2011a). Although others participated in these movements, it was the missionaries who provided detailed information and photographs that documented atrocities.…”

“…Missionaries also provided emotional connections to distant people and mobilized large groups through church talks and mission presses. Without missionaries, mobilizing mass protests would have been difficult (Grant 2005;Etherington 2005;Stamatov 2010;Woodberry 2004b;2004c;2006a;2006b). The missionary-enabled mobilization made it more difficult for the British to sustain colonial violence or to apply different legal standards to whites and nonwhites.…”

“…Finally, during the Cold War, communism moderated CPs' willingness to criticize colonial abuses (communist regimes tended to expel missionaries), and independence often created a situation where missionaries no longer served as a bridge between rulers and those being abused. Still, missions initiated most of the reforms that occurred during the colonial period and popularized the idea of "trusteeship" -that the only justification of colonization was the "social uplift" of colonized people (Bradley 2006;Etherington 2005;Porter 2004;Woodberry 2004c). Although missionaries were often paternalistic, colonization would have been far worse without them.…”

Agentive role of government in African education: North Nyanza, 1890–1920

“…Porter (1985) writing on the link between commerce and Christianity in the early years concludes that there was a symbiotic relationship between the two entities. Etherington's (2005) edited work on Missions and empire demonstrates that the colonial experience was one plagued by contradictions in which the interest of Africans was often compromised by the expediency of serving the interest of the European settler and commercial class. In all, however, the colonial establishment did not always serve well the education development interest of African people (Dixey 1997).…”