Explorers in East Africa
Introduction
It is important to note that before the 19th century, East Africa was not well known to the Europeans. This explains why Africa was referred to as a Dark Continent. This ignorance of the Europeans about the African continent is attributed to the fact that a lot of their activities were confined to the coastal areas and therefore they knew little of what was taking place in the interior.
There was a lot of opposition in the interior by the African rulers who wanted to maintain their positions as controllers of trade. For example the sultan of Zanzibar refused Krapf and Rebman to penetrate the interior for fear of interfering with his trade.
Secondly, the rough and complicated physical landscape such as mountains, valleys, swamps and the thick forests hindered their coming to the interior.
Thirdly, the unfavourable climatic conditions further discouraged them. This condition also led to the outbreak of diseases that white men feared most.
Also slave trade was a major activity and it was concentrated along the coast where the African chiefs were still middlemen earning high profits.
Finally before the 19th century, European countries were more interested in other parts of the world such as India, Australia, and America, New Zealand among other areas. They wrote about Africa as a dark continent. Referring to Africa as a dark annoys every living civilized Negro Afrikan. As chief Musamali Nangoli observes;
May be those Europeans came to Africa and left the same night when it was still dark to report that Africa and its history is actually dark. At no time in recorded memory was Africa lost and therefore Africa could not have been found.16
It was therefore the rise of the industrial revolution in Europe and some other social and political forces that prompted Europeans to start penetrating the interior of East Africa and Africa as a whole.
This act of exploration and later scramble for colonies was started by adventurists, scientists, and archaeologists, academicians who have been described in simple terms as explorers. Missionaries and colonial administrators later followed them.
From 1884, a growing number of Europeans started moving from the coast to the interior. Nobody earlier knew what was bringing these people from their home areas up the interior of east Africa. This was to mark the beginning of European colonisation of east Africa.
The first group to come was that of explorers who were interested in discovering the geographical features and the natural resources. Christian missionaries followed them. These came with the Cross-and the bible as preachers of the word of God but through spiritual conquest it became easier for them to promoteEuropean colonialism. Some of the explorers included the following:
- John Speke,
- HM Stanley,
- Sir Samuel baker and his wife as well as
- John Krapf and
- Rebman.
European activities in East Africa is used to refer to work of explorers, Christian missionaries, traders, and later colonialists during the second half of the 19th century. It was the contribution of the above agents that finally led to the colonisation of East Africa.
This was the first group of Europeans to come to East Africa. Their major interest was geographical discoveries particularly the water ways of East Africa in this case, finding the source of the Nile had puzzled the European Geographers.
Some of the explorers were sent by organised societies like the Royal Geographical society for example in 1856, it sent two army officers, namely Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke and in 1860, Speke returned to East Africa with Grant. This is when he discovered the source of the Nile.
Another active society was the London mission society that sent David Living Stone and later H.M. Stanley.
The other group comprising of both missionaries and Explorers was the church missionary society which sent Johann Krapf, Johann Rebman and Jacob Erhardt.
REASONS FOR THE COMING OF THE EXPLORERS
They came to discover the source of River Nile because it had been a mystery disturbing European Geographers.
They came to discover social aspects of African people like cultures, beliefs and customs.
They came to discover the commercial and economic value of Africa e.g. minerals, soils, commerce and trade.
They came to find centres for establishing museums and spread Christianity.
They came to win relationship with African leaders for the eventual European occupation.
They came to look for items of trade e.g. Gold, Ivory, labour, Ostrich-feathers, etc
They came to look for fertile soils where they would carry out agriculture in order to produce raw materials for their industries.
They came to look for areas of settlement for excess population e.g. Kenya highlands.
They came to look for navigable rivers, which would assist in the movement of missionaries, colonial masters and commerce, like River Congo, Niger, and Nile.
They came to find ways of starting possible trade with East Africa after the booming Long Distance Trade and Indian Ocean Trade provided an attraction.
They came to carry out revenge on Arab activities in East Africa e.g. they never wanted Arabs to be the first discoverers of African mysteries. It was a reproach for Arabs to discover first before the whites.
They came to widen the man's knowledge and understanding of the universe in which he lived.
They came to win prestige as discoverers of mysteries in Africa e.g. mountains, lakes, rivers that is to say Mountain Kenya was discovered by Rebman and Mountain Kilimanjaro was discovered by Krapf.
They came because they were courageous to risk odds and evils in Africa that is to say, Africa was regarded as a white man's grave.
They came as spies or agents looking for territories on behalf of their home Governments.
They came because of the influence of early Portuguese explorers at the coast of East Africa.
Some explorers particularly Samuel Baker came as individuals. He was an English land owner who became bored with running his states in England and Ceylon and first came to Africa as a big game hunter, before turning to exploration.
He arrived in Bunyoro in 1864, and became the first European to see Lake Albert which he named after Queen Victoria's late husband.
Sir Samuel Baker and his wife had set out from the mouth of the Nile in Egypt to follow it up to its source in Uganda.
In doing so, they wished to meet their personal friends Speke and Grant and supply them with provisions and medicine.
The two parties met at Gondokoro. They were delighted at the discovery of their friends and were much relieved when they learnt that there was something meant for them that the other explorers had not seen and named
The Bakers experienced so many difficulties on the way to East Africa, arising from the treacherous Khatoumers and slave traders before they arrived at the lake in 1864.They therefore named the lake Albert and also proved that the Nile flowed into it and out of it. On their way along the Nile still, they came across unsafe waterfalls in Uganda which they named Murchison falls.
They were also fought by the Banyoro who hated European interference in their kingdom. They then returned to England through Sudan and Egypt.
In 1857, John Speke and Richard Burton undertook a serious scheme of solving the puzzle of discovery of the source of the Nile. In the same year, they set off from Bagamoyo, a town on mainland Tanzania opposite Zanzibar to march to Tabora still along the main slave trade route.
Their porters carried lots of cloth and beads for use as money. At Tabora, they learnt from the Arabs that there were great lakes a head of them. They also felt that it was their duty to discover them in order to fulfill the premeditated interests of their home countries.
They marched westwards arriving at Lake Tanganyika in 1858. Despite the Arab help in the provision of transport, food and information, both men were very tied and sick. They returned to Tabora without exploring the lake thoroughly.
They learnt from the local people that no great river ran out of it and they therefore concluded that Lake Tanganyika was not the source of the Nile.
Being too sick to move, Burton allowed Speke to move to the North of Tabora and look for other lakes.
He was so fortunate to see a great lake which he named lake Victoria in August 1858, but did not see it clearly since he was temporarily blinded: the local people told him that a bigger river ran out at the North end and concluded that lake Victoria was the source of the Nile. When he told this story to his friend Richard Burton, he was laughed at. Then, they finally went back to England.
The Royal Geographical Society of England asked Speke to return to track the link between Lake Victoria and river Nile.
In 1860, accompanied by Grant, Speke left Zanzibar for Tabora, using the same old route. This time he had to suffer a lot at the hands of greedy African chiefs who were in need of taxes for passing through their territory.
His supplies were heavily reduced and sometimes stolen. He had endless problems with the porters who were not faithful to him. His troubles only ended when he reached the kingdom of Karagwe, which was being headed by king Rumanika. He was a kind and hospitable leader. He provided everything to them.
Grant was too weak to move. He was therefore left with Rumanika and Speke marched off Northwards to Buganda kingdom that was headed by Kabaka Mutesa I.
When Speke arrived in this kingdom in February 1862, he became the first European to enter the kingdom. Mutesa very well received him. Grant later joined him from Karagwe. Mutesa liked them and could not allow them to move Northwards and visit his enemy Kamurasi's territory of Bunyoro.
At the end Speke alone went to see the source of the Nile on 28th July 1862 and named the place Rippon falls. After this discovery they moved Northwards through Bunyoro, to Gondokoro in Sudan where they met Samuel Baker.
Finally they reached and went back to England when the question of the source of the Nile was settled. It appears the plan was how to occupy the country that served as a source of the Nile.
ACHIEVEMENTS OR EFFECTS OF EXPLORERS
The effects of the explorers were both negative and positive.
They opened way for the coming of missionaries to Buganda. Stanley convinced Mutesa 1 to invite missionaries to Buganda. In 1875, Mutesa wrote to London and his letter was published in a British newspaper called the Daily telegraph and by 1877, missionaries from the Church Missionary Society were sent to Buganda in respect for Mutesa's invitation.
They campaigned for the abolition of slave trade and slavery in East Africa.
They discovered physical features in East Africa like the source of River Nile, mountain Kenya etc.
They also gave new names to African physical features e.g Lake Nalubaale was named after their Queen of England Victoria, Mountain Kerinyanga was renamed Mountain Kenya.
They also solved the problem of mystery of the source of River Nile whereby it was proved by Speke that River Nile originated from Lake Victoria.
They discovered the routes of the long distance trade that were later used by missionaries and colonial masters.
They made relationships with Africans most especially the Baganda and these later made the Baganda to become collaborators to the British imperialists or colonialists.
They attracted European traders who came to decampaign slave trade thus after the work of explorers, chartered companies were sent to carry out trade and administration e.g. Imperial British East African Company and Germany East African company.
They introduced new crops e.g. cotton, coffee when they reported that East Africa had fertile soils.
They recommended some African land for European settlement e.g. Kikuyu high lands in Kenya.
They wrote books describing what they had seen about Africa. However, they were biased in their writings that Africa was backward, less civilized e.g. Stanley's book called In the darkest Africa.
They preached Christianity e.g. Johann Ludwig, Kraft, and Dr. Livingstone and Rebman who were missionaries.
They attracted European colonialists through their reports, which they gave about the existence of minerals in Africa.
THE ROLE OF EXPLORERS IN THE COLONISATION OF EAST AFRICA
Explorers played an important role during the colonisation of East Africa and perhaps without them, colonial governments would have faced serious problems than they did. The following points are important to note.
They destroyed the wrong impression on mystery Europeans had about East Africa and Africa in general through their great discoveries that is that Africa was a "Dark Continent without any forms civilisation and economic potential".
They provided important geographical information for example, Speke discovered the source of the Nile in 1862, Krapf reached head waters of River Tana and became the first European to see Mt Kenya in 1849, Rebman discovered Mt Kilimanjaro in 1848, while Samuel Baker discovered lake Albert in 1864. This information helped the later groups of agents.
The explorers mapped the interior of East Africa for example the publication of Erhardt's map in 1856 aroused a flesh interest of European geographers in East Africa. In 1782, David Living Stone sent several maps to London giving locations of caravan routes, lakes and major rivers of southern Tanganyika. In all these maps aided future European agents in penetrating the interior of East Africa.
The explorers established initial good working relations with the African communities they came across. This eased the work of Christian missionaries, traders and colonialists. For example through H. M. Stanley, the Kabaka of Buganda requested for Christian missionaries to come and operate in his kingdom.
Krapf wrote the first Swahili dictionary and Grammar and also translated the New Testament into Swahili thus making it easy for the later Christian missionary groups.
They provided relevant information about the rich economic potential of East Africa which later attracted European colonialists. For example H. M. Stanley reported about the reliable climate and fertile soils of Buganda, Krapf gave information about the cool and fertile Kenya highlands while David Livingstone reported about the fertile Valleys an highlands of southern Tanganyika.
The explorers signed treaties of friendship with some of the African chiefs on behalf of the home societies and governments. For example Carl peters, both an explorer and trader signed treaties with chiefs of Usambara, Chagga and Usingua. These treaties were later used by colonial governments to claim justification for colonising those communities.
They gave relevant information about peaceful and hostile communities for example the Baganda, Karagwe kingdom, Kikuyu, Kamba, Nyamwezi were reported to be hospitable whole Bunyoro, Nandi, Galla and Masai were feared for their hostility to the white man. This explains why most missionaries who came to East Africa and Uganda in particular avoided Kenya and had to use a longer route through Tanganyika.
They indirectly paved way for the future European colonisation of East Africa in the success of their adventurous mission in East Africa had inspired fresh out burst of Christian missionary work growing interest in trade, commerce and finally control of the African communities.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF H. M. STANLEY
H.M Stanley was an outstanding English journalist and explorer. Unlike earlier explorers and missionaries, Stanley was a forceful man. He set himself a task and he allowed nothing and no one to delay his fulfilment of that task. For this reason, he was nicknamed "the smallest of rocks"
He was sent to East Africa by newspaper administration to find out whether David Living stone was dead or alive. Since the departure of living stone in 1866, there had been no information about him yet he was now a public figure in Britain and therefore there was great public concern about him.
Stanley arrived and met Livingstone at Ujiji in October 1877. Together the two men carefully surveyed the Northern end of Lake Tanganyika and proved to Europe that no Nile tributary flowed out of the lake.
However, Stanley failed to persuade living stone to return to England. On 14th 3. 1872, he left Livingstone at Tabora and returned to England. His report excited many of the English people. Stanley had been impressed by the high degree of courage and faith of Livingstone. As remark of respect to the dead hero, he wanted to finish the work he had begun that is to trace the course of river Lualaba.
He therefore made a second journey to East Africa in 1874, this time he moved straight to Lake Victoria and cleared a European dispute about the lake and the source of the Nile. He went round the lake in a cause and proved to Europe that the Victoria Nyanza was one large inland sea.
He established friendly relationship with the Kabaka Mutesa and was impressed by the political organisation of this kingdom. Given the fact that the Kabaka was threatened by internal enemies and Egyptian imperialism, Stanley was requested to send a message to England calling missionaries to Buganda.
He also established friendship with both chief Rumanika of Karagwe kingdom and Mirambo of the Nyamwezi. Thus the Christians who passed through these kingdoms were received warmly.
He also discovered Lake Kivu before moving down to lake Tanganyika and there after pushed on towards River Lualaba in Congo.
He can be summed up as a brave, determined and unscrupulous explorer and journalist of his times who established a true report about the source of the Nile for the benefit of European imperialism.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY EXPLORERS IN EAST AFRICA
They faced a problem of language barrier whereby they never knew African languages and lacked interpreters.
They faced a problem of transport and communication where there were no roads, vehicles, railways and they moved long distances on foot.
There was a problem of lack of food and clean water, they lacked tapped water and felt hungry and thirsty.
There was shortage of funds for food, medicine and yet communication was difficult back home.
They lacked porters to carry their luggage leading to time wastage as they struggled with it.
There was a problem of tropical diseases. Most of them suffered from malaria and sleeping sickness in areas near lakes and forests.
They faced a problem of hostile tribes who fought them e.g. Turkana, Masai and Nandi.
They faced a problem of wild animals and man eaters like lions, leopards, rhinoceros e.g Thomson and his servants were wounded by a buffalo at songoro in Tanganyika.
They faced a problem of African chiefs e.g Omukama Kamurasi detained Sir Samuel Baker and his wife.
They faced a problem of Arab competition in trade and raw materials and this frustrated their work.
There was a problem of accommodation whereby they lacked houses, lodges and they weren't welcomed in palaces and courts of some kings.
They faced a problem of relief e.g mountainous and thick forests hence they got lost, they lacked guides and never knew the geography of East Africa.
They faced a problem of quarrels among themselves e.g Speke and Burton disagreed over geographical discoveries in East Africa.
There was a problem of bad weather or climatic changes and some areas were too hot and others too cold hence they fell sick.
There was a problem of fear of African magic and witch craft.
There was a problem of loneliness and lack of company since Africans feared them and ran away from them fearing that they were ghosts.
CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES IN EAST AFRICA
A missionary is a person who willingly spreads his or her religion to other people. Missionaries were the second group of colonial Agents in East Africa. The missionaries had several organised societies, which operate, in this region between 1840-1914.
The first arrival were German missionaries working for the church missionary society. They were Johann Krapf in 1844, John Rebman 1849 and Jacob Erhardt in 1849. These first lived in Seyyid Said's territory before Kraft established a base at Rabai near Mombasa.
At Zanzibar, Roman Catholic missionaries began to follow the Church Missionary Society in taking interest in East Africa. In 1863, a group of Holy Ghost fathers arrived from Reunion (French Missionaries). These established stations in Bagamoyo.
The Church Missionary Society who were Protestant missionaries were the first group to penetrate the interior of East Africa in 1876, they moved and settled in Kabaka Mutesa's palace in Buganda.
The Roman Catholic missionaries (White fathers) followed in 1879. They set up posts at Tabora, Kibanga and Kabaka Mutesa's palace.
Another group the Scottish missionaries of Livingstonia mission and Church of Scotland mission and Church of Scotland mission set up stations around Lake Nyasa in 1876. By 1880, they had expanded stations to Magila and Masai in Yao land. In addition, the London Mission society of David Livingstone set up stations around Lake Tanganyika.
Other groups in East Africa were the United Free Methods, the Holy Ghost Fathers, Universities Mission to Central Africa, Friends Mission and Verona Fathers.
It is important to note that it was from these early centres that Christian missionaries started expanding their influence throughout East African Communities.
Why the Missionaries were interested in East Africa
Missionary interests in East Africa can be grouped into religious, humanitarian, economic and imperialistic in nature. Hence the following ought to be considered.
Religiously the major interest was to spread Christianity to East Africans. This was the age of Evangelisation in Europe. Therefore the missionaries wished to prepare the souls of Africans for heaven by converting them to the Christian faith. They also urged that their religion was the best throughout the world and that it was their right to convert Africans.
The Earliest missionaries especially from Portugal had conquered the East Africa coast in order to destroy Islam. This came as a revenge against the earlier Moslem occupation of western and central Europe in 711 A.D. Therefore the fact that Islam was deeply rooted on the East Africans coast. Many missionaries wished to up root it.
Some missionaries came to complete the "Great work" of David Livingstone in East Africa for example H.M Stanley. Livingstone was highly respected in Europe because of his great degree of courage, faith, discoveries, written reports about East and Central Africa and there was a number of incomplete missions he had left behind. As a result, the Scottish missionaries of the Livingstone mission of Church of Scotland mission and the London Missionary society sent many missionaries to open up stations in southern Tanganyika.
They also wished to promote western civilisation and education to what they considered the unfortunate Africans in East Africa. This would enable them to destroy the Africans culture, language, religious beliefs and create a new class of Africans who would in future help their governments to promote and protect European colonial interests in East Africa they had a feeling that the Africans were uncivilised and back ward.
From humanitarian, considerations, missionaries wanted to stop slave trade and slavery which in this period, they regarded it evil trade. They argued that it caused inter- tribal wars, heavy loss of lives and property political insecurity and suffering of many communities in areas which were one peaceful.
The missionaries would encourage and promote the establishment of legitimate trade in East Africa following the successful abolition of slave trade. This was a trade mainly in industrial goods from Europe and raw materials from African communities. This was a product of the success in the establishment of the industrial sector in the big power of Western Europe. Therefore missionaries were to help the home governments to open up new market avenue and to ensure that Africans are enslaved within East Africa to offer ready market for their finished products.
Politically the missionaries came indirectly as agents of European Imperialism. They had a mission to establish close friendly relations with African chiefs and in turn prepare ground for the creation of political empire of East Africa hence the common saying that the flag followed the cross" is quite applicable to East Africa either for the British or the Germans.
There was need to rehabilitate freed slaves in the region. Some wanted to resettle and rehabilitate the freed slaves at the East African coast. Others came as explorers or adventurous and wanted to discover what lay beyond their countries.
They wanted to put an end to backward and barbarous African culture such as human sacrifices and cannibalism. They therefore thought their culture was advanced and it was their duty to civilize the uncivilized Africans. However it has to be noted that there was cannibalism in Europe too.
Some came in response to the invitations of African leaders for example on March 24th 1874, Kabaka Mutesa I through H.M Stanley invited Christian missionaries to Buganda through a letter written to them.Ö
Some were motivated because of the donations they got from the church and charity organizations in Europe to carry out evangelical work in Africa.
Easy communication from Europe to Africa as a result of industrial revolution might have motivated missionaries to come and work in Africa.
Missionaries came as a result of a wider Christian revival in Europe in the 16th century. This led to the conversion of many people who condemned sinful ways of behaviors. They became champions of behavior change in Africa.
Lastly, the success of the earlier groups inspired later missionary societies to be formed and to come to East Africa.
SIGNIFICANCE OF MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES IN EAST AFRICA
The activities of missionaries in East Africa can be summed up in social, economic and political developments. They set standards that have contributed to shape the mode of life of communities in East Africa.
Missionaries converted Africans to Christianity and the people's beliefs giving way to the new Christian mode of life. To achieve this, the missionaries built churches and trained African catechists to help in the teaching of the new faith. Until today, the Christians make up the majority of the total population of Africans in East Africa. In the case of Uganda, missionary cathedrals like Rubaga, Namirembe, Jinja Catholic mission remain the most important. By 1911, there were 280,000 converts in Uganda.
Missionaries promoted western education and created a new elite class of Africans who have continued to play an active role in the social, political and economic development of our countries. They opened up mission schools for example in Uganda, we have Gayaza high school Namilyango college, Kings college Budo, Mt St Mary's Namagunga, Mary hill, Nabumali High school among others, today these continue to be the first grade schools.
The general literacy in east Africa increased since they were encouraged to read the 3Rs that is Reading, religion, arithmetic and writing.
There were efforts to elevate women status through introduction of domestic science for example Gayaza.
They came up with technical and vocation education. This was introduced in form of carpentry, block lying, and agriculture.
Introduction of printing press such as that introduced by Catholics at Marianum at Kisubi. This promoted the reading and writing African languages such as Swahili and Luganda
There were a number of new languages such as English, French, and German and Latin introduced in many parts of East Africa. They are being used up to the present day in Africa.
The missionaries indirectly contributed to a high standard of living such as good hygienic conditions, better feeding and some income from employment.
They built hospitals and generally introduced better medical services, equipment and medicine that helped to reduce death rates. This also increased the general welfare of Africans. However, African use of traditional priests and witch doctors was seriously undermined by the teachings of Christianity.
Missionaries pressed their home governments to intervene and effectively abolish slave trade in East Africa. In 1868, the Holy Ghost fathers established a centre for freed slaves at Bagamoyo and another one was opened by the CMS near Mombasa. This induced their home governments to finally intervene.
Missionaries exercised marvellous influence on Africa culture and general social life for example they condemned and destroyed bad practices like human sacrifices in Bunyoro during enthronement of Omukama, condemned polygamy in favour of monogamy, condemned circumcision of women.
Through their influence, new languages like English, French and even Luganda were spread throughout Uganda boundaries because of appointing Buganda chiefs and clergymen in many areas. European architecture and styles of dressing were also adopted by Africans; Burial ceremonies were also conducted along religious lines.
They contributed a lot to the linguistic style and the reduction of many local languages in East Africa. In turn, they translated the bible into Kiswahili while Alexander Mackay translated it into Luganda.
There were some missionary converts who were killed as martyrs because they refused to renounce their faith in 1886 at Namugongo. Kabaka Mwanga made an order for them to be burnt alive.
The missionaries made a serious effort to abolish slave trade and practice of slavery in East Africa.
Many Africans died as a result of religious wars as for the case of the religious wars between Catholics and Protestants in Buganda.
Economic developments
Missionaries introduced cash crop economy in East Africa and most of the crops they brought stand out as the major exports of the three East African countries for example cotton and coffee. In Uganda the British government and the company of K. Borup distributed cottonseeds to farmers in Buganda and Ankole. The missionaries even introduced better farming methods, which have benefited the people of East Africa. However they can be blamed for ignoring industrialisation of East Africa.
Missionaries paved a way for the promotion of legitimate trade in East Africa to replace the evil slave trade. This was achieved through the introduction of cash crop economy and European industrial products on a large scale for example the church missionary society financed the introduction of cotton through K. Borup. A man like David Livingstone was both a missionary and a trader. He recommended the introduction of steamers of large rivers and lakes in order to promote commerce. While Mackay started a printing press in Buganda.
Missionaries financed the survey and construction of Murram roads to open up the interior and as a means to end slave trade. For example in 1877, William Macknnon and his trading company were granted a concession to territory between Tungi and Warsheik and to construct a road from Dar-es-salaam to Malawi. This would ease the development of military battalions and also develop legitimate trade.
They opened up mission stations, which with time grew into important commercial and urban centres for example Rabai, Bagamoyo, Tabora, Ujiji, Unyanyembe and Kibanga in Tanzania.
Missionaries greatly contributed to the development of the major economic infrastructure such as roads. It is important to note that these roads only went to the places with minerals and cotton.
Political Developments
Missionaries indirectly acted as agents of European imperialism for example they softened the hearts and minds of the would be resistors through wonderful biblical preaching and threats that they would go to hell and face everlasting fire. Thus they made communities like Baganda and the Kikuyu hospitable to the establishment of European rule. Such African Christian converts simply collaborated with the new invaders instead of resisting them. They were just too cool to resist. Their political powers were weakened.
Missionaries influenced some local leaders to collaborate with the colonial administrators. Notable for examples are Apollo Kaggwa, Semei Kakungulu, James Miti and Nuwa Mbaguta.
Missionary work paved way for European colonization so as the saying goes that " the flag followed the cross" came true.
Missionaries opened up mission stations that with time grew into important commercial and urban centres for example Rabai, Bagamoyo, Tabora, Ujiji, Unyanyambe and Kibanga.
African Christian converts simply collaborated with the new invaders instead of resisting them. They were even used to defeat those communities that tried to resist for example the Baganda were used against the Banyoro.
Missionaries divided Africans communities along religious lines for example it became practically difficult for Catholics to co-operate with Protestants. The children of Catholics could not be admitted in Protestant schools and vice versa. This was later to determine the nature of Uganda politics. People struggled for political power basing themselves on religious division. The case in point is the foundation of the first Uganda political parties namely UNC with majority support from Protestants while DP depended on Catholics and Moslems.
Missionaries drafted and persuaded African Chiefs to sign treaties of "protection" or friendship with colonial powers. Later those treaties were used against African Chiefs to erode their independence for example the 1900 Buganda agreement weakened the Kabakaship institution. It even became easy for imperialists like captain Lugard to use the policy of divide and rule by allying with the Protestants to protect against Kabaka Mwanga and Catholics.
They interfered with political stability of African communities like Buganda by helping to over throw Kabaka Mwanga and fuelling up religious wars between 1880-1897. The famous "Wangeleza" and "Wafranza" wars caused serious political insecurity, heavy loss of lives and property in Buganda. It completely weakened Buganda making it fall prey to British colonialism. Never again did Buganda exist as an independent kingdom.
Missionary influence also gave rise to modern African nationalism in East Africa. The products of their education system later became pioneers of nationalist movements and helped to achieve political independence for their respective countries for example Milton Obote and Ignatius Musaazi in Uganda, Julius Nyerere and Oscar Kambona in Tanganyika and Tom Mboya and Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya.
Problems faced by Christian Missionaries in East Africa.
Although missionaries registered a lot of success, they at the same time faced several problems in East Africa.
The first problem faced was that of language barrier. This made communication very difficult between the missionaries and the Africans. The missionaries came from different European countries and used different languages and yet each tribe in East Africa had its own language. This required use of interpreters but they were scarce. The few who were available could not present the exact information to the Africans. This therefore slowed down their work.
Secondly, there were tropical diseases. Missionaries suffered from a number of diseases for example small pox, sleeping sickness, malaria fever. This was mainly caused by hostile climate. The ill health therefore hindered missionaries from progressing in their work. They even sometimes died for example Dr David Livingstone while others like Krapf were forced to abandon work.
Thirdly, missionaries faced the problem of poor transport and communication. Before the 1880's most parts of East Africa were covered by thick bushes big rivers which had no bridges, no motor vehicles, ships or trains for easy movements. Therefore the early missionaries walked long distances into the interior. This partly affected their health and slowed progress of their work.
There was also a problem of Inadequate personnel. Before 1850, very few Europeans were willing to work in East Africa because Africa was generally referred to as "A white man's grave". Indeed the few who came were pre-occupied with a lot of work i.e. promoting western civilisation and Christianity over a large area hence this delayed their progress. The missionaries were over worked and they found themselves becoming sickly and died early.
Inadequate financial support was another big problem. The respective home governments were not able to send adequate financial support. As a result, they ran short of essential resources like medicine, food and clothing. The long distance between East Africa and European hindered quick supply of those required which were too slow by then. As a result, construction of schools, hospitals, churches, had to be delayed.
Some hostile tribes and even local chiefs further hindered the progress of the missionaries. Tribes like the Masai, Nandi were generally hostile to any new comer for fear of loosing their political and economic independence. Therefore, it was difficult for the missionaries to operate in the above-mentioned societies chiefs like Unyanyembe forced white fathers to leave in 1889 and at Ujiji; the members of the L.M.S. were forced to leave in 1883.
Influence of Islam; Islam was well established along the East African coast including some interior tribes like Bunyoro. Here the missionaries faced strong influence from the Moslem for example Abushiri and Arabs, Ujiji resisted missionary influence. The Moslems even refused their children to join missionary schools until of late. In Uganda during the rule of Moslems especially Kiweewa and Kalema in Buganda, missionaries were expelled, churches and bibles were burnt and many Ganda Christians were killed.
Rivalry between different missionary groups was another problem that faced missionary work. Each missionary group tended to promote and to jealously defend imperial interests of their home governments. For example in Uganda the Protestant missionaries represented British interests while the Roman Catholics represented French interests. It was this factor that led to famous Wangeleza and Wafranza wars between 1880 - 1897 in Buganda.
Arab slave traders. This became a constant problem to the missionaries especially in the coastal areas. In Kenya, the Arab slave trade dealers near Mombasa often attacked and destroyed Rabai mission station. This was because the missionaries preached against slave trade
In some instances, porters deserted the missionaries and escaped with their boxes of essential requirements. This seriously affected David Livingstone during his third journey in southern Tanganyika.
Strong influence from well-established Africa religious, customs and practices for example Baganda had their Lubale cult, tribe like the Matumbi and Nandi in Tanganyika had their prophets. These tribes attached too much loyalty to their believers hence it was difficult to convince them away hence this delayed their activities.
Bad climatic conditions were yet another problem. They were affected by unfavourable climatic conditions especially in tropical regions that are characterised by heavy rainfall and high temperatures all the time. Thick forests, in some places thick impenetrable forests hindered the work of missionaries. Such areas of the equatorial vegetation became largely impassable.
Limited resources
The missionaries suffered from inadequate resources such as medicine, food, clean water among others. This was caused by lack of reinforcements from Europe.
Resistors
The African leaders in power at that time saw missionaries as representatives of European imperialism who were only interested in taking away their independence. Mwanga planned to arrest and detain all of them on the Islands of L.Victoria.
Wild animals
Such dangerous animals such as leopards, lions, elephants, and buffaloes made missionaries fear to go to certain areas because they would be killed.
Local conflicts
Most East African societies were at war with their neighbours and as a result missionaries found themselves being killed in the war situation. A conflict between Buganda and Bunyoro led to death.
Difficult terrain
Relief features such as high mountains and hills, valleys, rivers and lakes made transport hard for the missionaries and the people they worked with. Finally, many missionaries knew very little about the interior of East Africa.
16 Musamali Nangoli, (1988) No more lies about Africa pp 70
Ö A copy of that letter is in the Uganda Museum.
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