Missionaries: the Faces of the British Empire

At first thought, the idea of British imperialism may include soldiers invading a region,

claiming it as British territory, and forcing the indigenous peoples of the land to adopt British

lifestyles. While this certainly occurred, there were more subtle representatives of the British

Empire: missionaries. By the end of the 19th century, Britain had 10,000 missionaries scattered

throughout 47 territories (Levine 113, 129). They “were often at the frontiers of British influence

abroad” (Everill 790), and played an instrumental role in British presence throughout the world.

Britain only had control over a few of the African territories (Sierra Leone, Nigeria, etc.) prior to

the scramble for land by European colonial powers as a result of the Berlin Conference, and

many British desired more land. Of course, this had to be justified to the public and media, and

the idea of humanitarian missions to “civilize” African peoples softened the harsh concept of

imperialism. While the British were unable to take formal control of territories in Africa prior to

the Berlin Conference in 1884-5, missionaries were able to spread British ideals throughout the

territories. British missionaries took part in cultural imperialism, “the purposeful aggression by

one culture against the ideas and values of another… accompanied by political, economic, or

military pressure” (Porter 367). While missionaries failed to act as bridgeheads in expanding

British presence in Africa, they were quite successful in spreading British culture and ideals, and

thus were active agents of cultural imperialism.

The missionaries’ main goal was to spread Christianity throughout the British territories,

and most major Christian denominations had missions and churches established in the African

colonies. While the British missionaries were successful, the major cultural change came about

when “native missionaries” began preaching in Africa. Indigenous peoples were able to
communicate better due to their shared culture and language, and the spread of Christianity

increased exponentially with the work of native missionaries. However, the religion varied from

the Briton’s Christianity; many Africans mixed Christian rituals with traditional practices from

their own culture. Nonetheless, Christianity spread throughout the British territories. It is

possible that the religion was so popular among indigenous peoples because of Christianity’s

answers to more modern problems, such as disease and poverty, unlike traditional religions

(Porter 384). Christianity seemed all the more appealing as an answer to these problems when

native missionaries- influenced of course by the white, British missionaries- actively endorsed it.

Religion was one of the main ways missionaries spread British influence throughout the

colonies, and was a successful tool of cultural imperialism.

Missionaries also went to the African colonies for humanitarian work, particularly to

stem the slavery that was occurring throughout the region, especially near Lagos. Missionaries

often “saw the populations among which they worked as children in need of saving from their

own ignorance and moral poverty” (Levine 130), and believed it was their duty to correct their

ways and direct them towards Christian tradition. They also took a particularly strong stance

against the Kingdom of Dahomey. The monarch of Dahomey had repeatedly conducted slave

raids at Lagos, disrupting the trade there. In addition to affecting Britain’s trade with the

colonies, the slave raids were seen as a humanitarian issue. Missionaries lobbied and pressured

Britain into action, and an anti-slavery treaty with Dahomey soon followed, preceded by a

bombardment of the area to discourage any more slave trade. Britain later annexed the port, both

for humanitarian as well as economic reasons. Missionaries had successfully ended slavery in

that region, continuing to spread Western ideals, as well as justify British presence in Africa.
 Missionaries also represented Britain abroad by spreading the use of English. In colonial

Sierra Leone in 1854, an estimated 200 languages were spoken (Porter 378). However, to

become a proper Christian, it was required that natives could speak and read English, since

reading the Bible and attending sermons were essential to the religion. The spread of English

usage united indigenous peoples, as well as added another tongue to already multi-lingual

societies. Additionally, the teaching of English increased literacy rates across the colonies, as

missionaries were more than willing to help the native peoples learn to read scripture. The

British were able to spread their culture by increasing the usage of their language, furthering the

idea that British culture was supreme.

Finally, the British conveyed their culture through missionaries by affecting the social

structure of many indigenous peoples. The missionaries sought not only to change people’s

religion, but their way of living as well. Rigid social hierarchies were constructed in colonial

societies, and considered even more separated than mainland Britain’s hierarchies. Working

class colonists were extremely separated from the aristocrats and elites, similar to Britain’s

societies. The spread of Christianity also greatly changed indigenous societies; for example,

converts were often given a “Christian” name that replaced their traditional or historical given

name. Additionally, Christianity gave women more opportunities within a society. Women often

saw Christianity as empowering, as “it gave them a place to stand, from which they could bypass

or challenge male-dominated sacred worlds” (Porter 384). The majority of early Christian

baptisms were women, as many mission stations gave shelter and options to women who didn’t

want to marry (an expectation in many native societies) or were former slaves. Missionaries’

Christian work greatly affected the social structure of the indigenous peoples, furthering the idea
that Western culture was superior and that missionaries were “civilizing” the native peoples, both

being aspects of cultural imperialism.

While missionaries did not directly expand Britain’s worldwide reach or give Britain a

tactical advantage in Africa, their cultural imperialism increased Britain’s presence abroad and

spread the ideals and values of British society. The indigenous peoples of Britain’s colonies

often either willingly accepted the new culture or had it forced upon them, as British

missionaries actively believed they were doing what was best. Missionaries were active agents of

British imperialism, and successfully spread their idea of British superiority.

Bibliography

Andrew Porter (1997): ‘Cultural imperialism’ and protestant

Missionary enterprise, 1780–1914, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth
History, 25:3, 367-391
Bronwen Everill (2012): Bridgeheads of Empire? Liberated African Missionaries
in West Africa, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 40:5, 789-805
Hiroaki Osawa (2015) Wesleyan Methodists, Humanitarianism and the Zulu
Question, 1878–87, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 43:3, 418-437

Levine, Philippa, and Eve Setch. The British Empire: Sunrise to Sunset. Pearson Education,
2013. Print.