Explain six factors that favoured the spread of Christianity in East Africa

1. Missionaries faced no strong opposition from any region especially in the interior.

2. East African coast communities lacked organisation that could resist missionary work.

3. Missionaries got support from the Sultan of Zanzibar, Seyyid Said, who gave them introductory letters to the coastal rulers

4. They got support from African converts who could teach in mother tongue

5. Use of Kiswahili as a language of communication. Dr. Krapf published the first Swahili dictionary and translated New testament into Swahili.

6. Explorers encouraged missionary work.

7. Setting up of missionary work.

8. Setting up of mission centres, schools and medical centres

9. The discovery of quinine; a cure for tropical diseases

10. Emergence of African independent church movement

OR

What were the reasons for the success of missionary work in East Africa ?

a) The missionaries faced no strong opposition from any religion. Islam was only greatly
dominant at the coast.
b) The evils of slave trade made East Africans welcome missionaries as liberators. Their
campaign against slave trade won them much support from different tribes in East Africa.
c) The support they got from some of the local chiefs and kings led to their success. For instance,
the sultan of Zanzibar gave them immense support. Mutesa I of Buganda and Mirambo of
Nyamwezi all gave them protection as well as rights to do their work in their territories.
d) The earlier explores helped to map out potential areas of East Africa for smooth missionary
work. For instance, H.M Stanley had identified Buganda as a hospitable community for the
missionaries and they were later welcomed by the Kabaka of Buganda in 1877.
e) The support missionaries got from their home governments led them to success. This was
inform of finance and physical manpower for instance colonial governments gave protection to
the missionaries whenever they were challenged by local chiefs or other threats. For instance
Captain Lugard supported the Protestants in the religious wars in Buganda.
f) Some missionary groups sought for alliances with African chiefs. Such treaties of friendship
made their work easy since the chiefs would call on their subjects to take on the missionary
teachings.
g) The missionaries’ efforts to translate the bible into several local languages helped them
succeed for example Kraft translated the New Testament of the Bible into Swahili and wrote a
Swahili dictionary and a Grammar book.
h) The missionaries also received the support of African converts in spreading the Gospel.
Converts could now teach in their mother tongue and therefore overcame the language barrier.
i) The industrial revolution had provided such technology like the printing press which made
printing of bibles and other academic work easy.
j) Their efforts in life saving services like medical care (Quinine) won them great admiration
among the people of East Africa that few were ready to oppose them. The discovery of quinine
also facilitated their work as it cured tropical diseases.
k) The missionaries’ practical skills enabled them to survive even when their supplies from home
delayed. They for instance adopted agriculture as soon as they settled anywhere. This ensured
steady supply of food.
l) The building of the Kenya Uganda railway greatly encouraged missionary work in the interior.
The missionaries could now travel between the coast and the interior.
m) Political stability in East Africa favoured missionary work because missionaries could settle.
n) The emergence of the African independent church movement boosted the spread of
Christianity. African initiatives to Africanize Christianity encouraged its growth in East Africa..
o) The death of Dr. David Livingstone in 1873 and other earlier missionaries increased the
determination by many groups to see missionary work succeed in Africa, and East Africa in
particular. E.g. the London news paper wrote after his death, “the work for Africa must hence
forth begin in earnest where Livingstone left it off.”
p) Establishment of resettlement centers for freed slaves e.g. at Bagamoyo and Frere town near
Mombasa where skills like carpentry, and agriculture were taught. Such communities thus
looked at missionary work as “a life- saving mission”

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johnmulu answered the question on March 13, 2017 at 05:40