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Christianity in Africa South of the Sahara
Protestant Missions in the African Interior
1800-1890
Christianity in Africa South of the Sahara Homepage
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Missionaries in the coastal regions of Africa found it relatively easy to reach their stations, and related primarily to Mission Boards and European powers. Once the missionaries ventured into the interior, however, they became dependent on the good will of local kings. Many missionaries lived in royal courts, since the foreign guests enhanced royal prestige and the kings could keep an eye on them. At the same time missionaries needed to be near population centers to do their work, and the royal capital was often the most substantial town in the region. Having the missionaries living at court was, therefore, mutually advantageous. Kings could also befriend missionaries in ways that were not possible for kings and their subjects.
The close relations between some missionaries and their sponsoring kings, however, did not often lead to royal conversions, in part because of the almost insurmountable cultural and political barriers that prevented kings from converting to Christianity. Probably the greatest barrier the kings faced was the issue of polygamy. Most nineteenth century missionaries and almost all twentieth century missionaries condemned the practice and refused to allow polygamists to join the church. For kings even more than for ordinary citizens, polygamy was essential to their office. Marriages cemented alliances and were important symbols of wealth and power.
The exceptions were those kings who saw westernization as enhancing their powers, often at the expense of traditional priests and traditional cults, which might exercise important checks on royal power. Becoming a Christian might cost such kings their wives, but at the same time it enabled them to free themselves from traditional limits on their power.
Nineteenth century missionaries to the interior of Africa did not emerge with many great success stories. Perhaps the greatest missionary success was the kingdom of the Baganda in modern Uganda, where two missions, one Catholic and one protestant flourished and competed in the 1880s
This page was based on the following sources, which you can consult for more detailed information:
Adrian Hastings, The Church in Africa: 1450-1950. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994. Ch 7, 8
Elizabeth Isichei, A History of Christianity in Africa from Antiquity to the Present. London: SPCK, 1995. 138-150.