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  • © 2019

Christian Missionary Engagement in Central Nigeria, 1857–1891

The Church Missionary Society's All-African Mission on the Upper Niger

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  1. Femi J. Kolapo

    1. University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

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  • Investigates an overlooked Christianization effort led by a group of all-African missionaries, focusing on the significance of the African staff

  • Examines Christian-Muslim encounters in Africa before the European partition of Africa

  • Highlights exchanges between missionaries and local people inflected by traditional and religious practices, finding evidence for local consternation, rejection, reinterpretation, approval, and adaptation of missionary ideas

Part of the book series: African Histories and Modernities (AHAM)

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  • ISBN: 978-3-030-31426-2
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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
    PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Femi J. Kolapo
    Pages 1-45

  4. CMS Niger Mission Agents’ Field Practice

    • Femi J. Kolapo
    Pages 85-132

  6. Women and the CMS Upper Niger Mission

    • Femi J. Kolapo
    Pages 189-231

  7. A Stalled Christian Transition

    • Femi J. Kolapo
    Pages 233-281

  8. Concluding Thoughts

    • Femi J. Kolapo
    Pages 283-295

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 297-301
    PDF
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About this book

In the decades before colonial partition in Africa, the Church Missionary Society embarked on the first serious effort to evangelize in an independent Muslim state. Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther led an all-African field staff to convert the people of the Upper Niger and Confluence area, whose communities were threatened or already conquered by an expanding jihadist Nupe state. In this book, Femi J. Kolapo examines the significance of the mission as an African—rather than European—undertaking, assessing its impact on missionary practice, local engagement, and Christian conversion prospects. By offering a fuller history of this overlooked mission in the history of Christianity in Nigeria, this book reaffirms indigenous agency and rethinks the mission as an experiment ahead of its time.  

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Keywords

  • Missions in West Africa
  • Christian Missions
  • Spread of Christianity
  • Mission-African relations
  • the Islamic state in Africa
  • Muslim-Christian engagement
  • Church Missionary Society
  • Samuel Ajayi Crowther
  • Christianization in Africa
  • Christian-African encounters
  • Islam in Africa
  • Nigeria
  • Nupe
  • precolonial Africa
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Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

    Femi J. Kolapo

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About the author

Femi J. Kolapo is a professor of African History at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He is the author of The Journals of Church Missionary Society Agent, James Thomas, in Mid-Nineteenth Century Nigeria.
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Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Christian Missionary Engagement in Central Nigeria, 1857–1891

  • Book Subtitle: The Church Missionary Society's All-African Mission on the Upper Niger

  • Authors: Femi J. Kolapo

  • Series Title: African Histories and Modernities

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31426-2

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-31425-5Published: 09 December 2019

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-31428-6Published: 28 December 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-31426-2Published: 28 November 2019

  • Series ISSN: 2634-5773

  • Series E-ISSN: 2634-5781

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVII, 301

  • Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations, 2 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: African History, Cultural History, Imperialism and Colonialism, Christianity

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Access via your institution
eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-3-030-31426-2
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions