Results of European exploration in East Africa

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Results of European exploration in East Africa

  • They made East Africa known to the rest of the world.
  • They drew the map of Africa with more details.
  • Explorers like Dr. Livingstone exposed the evils of slave trade in East Africa.
  • Explorers paved a way for colonialists and missionaries to East Africa.
  • They renamed physical features.
  • The source of R. Nile was discovered.

Problems faced by the explorers

  • Wild animals could attack them.
  • Poor transport due to thick forests.
  • Hostile tribes e.g Masai and Nandi.
  • Tropical diseases e.g Malaria and sleeping sickness.
  • Shortage of supplies e.g food, medicine, e.tc
  • Language barrier since they could not communicate in local languages.

European missionaries

A missionary is a person who moves to a foreign land to spread the word of God.
Missionary groups which came to East Africa

Church Missionary Society(C.M.S)

This was the first missionary group to come to East Africa.
These protestant missionaries came from England and were led by Shergold Smith and
Reverend C.T.Wilson in 1877.
In 1878, Alexander Mackay arrived in Uganda.

The White Fathers

  • This was a group of Catholic missionaries from France.
  • They arrived in Uganda in 1879 led by Father Simon Loudel and Brother Amans.
  • They established a mission station at Rubaga

Other groups of missionaries include.

  • The Mill Hill Fathers
  • The Verona Fathers
  • The Holy Ghost Fathers
  • The London Missionary Society LMS
  • The methodologist Fathers

Reasons for the coming of the missionaries to East Africa

  • They wanted to spread Christianity.
  • They wanted to spread western education through formal education.
  • They wanted to stop slave trade.

Dr. Ludwig Krapf

  • He was a German missionary who belonged to the CMS.
  • He was the first missionary to visit East Africa in the 19th Century.
  • He established the first mission station at Rabai Mpya near Mombasa in 1846.
  • He wrote the first Swahili dictionary and grammar book.
  • He translated the New Testament into Kiswahili language.
  • He became the first European to see Mt. Kenya in 1849

Johan Rebman and Jacob Erhardt

  • Krapf was joined at Mombasa by two other German missionaries to help him with his work.Rebman was the first missionary to go into the interior of East Africa. He influenced the lives of
  • the Chagga who liked him for his kindness. He was the first European to see Mt. Kilimanjaro in
  • 1848.
  • Krapf and Rebman had many problems such as bad climate and tropical diseases. They often fell
  • sick.
  • Krapf returned home in 1853 due to sickness but Rebman stayed until 1873 when he became
  • blind.
  • Jacob Erhardt attempted to draw the first sketch map of East Africa though it wasn’t accurate.
  • Erhardt went back to Europe in 1855 after experiencing health problems.

Achievements of the missionaries
Positive achievements

  • They spread Christianity.
  • They stopped slave trade.
  • They built schools e.g. Namilyango, Buddo, Gayaza, e.t.c
  • They introduced formal education.
  • They built hospitals e.g Mengo, Rubaga, e.t.c
  • They built churches e.g Namirembe, Rubaga, e.t.c
  • They introduced new crops e.g. cotton by Kenneth Borup.

Negative achievements

  • They undermined the African culture.
  • Their activities led to religious wars in East Africa.
  • They paved a way to colonialism thus loss of independence.

Problems faced by the missionaries

  • Tropical diseases e.g malaria.
  • Hostile tribes e.g Nandi and Masai.
  • Wild animals e.g lions attacked them.
  • Lack of easy means of transport.
  • They lacked enough funds to run their activities.
  • Hostile climate.
  • Language difficulty.

European trading companies

The third group of missionaries to come to East Africa were the traders.
European traders came to East Africa to carryout legitimate trade.
They also wanted to invest their surplus capital.
In order for the traders to perform their major work effectively, they had to form trading
companies, these trading companies included.

IBEACo
GEACo

The Imperial British East Africa Company

  • It was formed in 1888 by sir William Mackinnon. •
  • Its original name was British East Africa Association in 1887 and later changed to
  • Imperial British East Africa company.
  • Its first headquarters were at Mombasa but later transferred to Machakos

Aims of IBEACo

  • To stop slave trade and promote legitmate trade.
  • To protect the missionaries.
  • To promote and establish British rule in East Africa.

Achievements of IBEACo

  • Controlled slave trade at the coast.
  • Promoted peace in Uganda by stopping religious wars.
  • Promoted the construction of the Uganda Railway.

Failures of the IBEACo

  • It failed to raise enough money to complete the Uganda railway.
  • Slave trade wasn’t fully stopped.

Why IBEACo run bankrupt?

  • Spent a lot of money in fighting and stopping religious wars.
  • A lot of money was spent on constructing the Uganda railway.
  • A lot of money was used to pay the Sudanese soldiers who kept order in the area.
  • The company had corrupt and-extravagant officials.
  • It lacked a reliable source of income.