Ten (10) Roles played by colonial Agents or forerunners in colonizing Africa.

Roles played by colonial Agents in colonizing Africa.

• Missionaries often invited their home governments to occupy areas they worked. In case they faced resistance or hostility from Africa they would be assured of security. In society like Buganda Christian Missionaries helped to overthrow Kabaka Mwannga who was then replaced by his son Daudi Chwa because Mwanga hindered in promotion of British colonial interest.

• The colonial agents facilitated the spread of Christianity. Missionaries for example soften the hearts and minds of Christian African converts to the extend not resisting colonization.

• In some societies they contributed to internal division and weakening the state. Example in Buganda they divided people along religious lines. This caused conflicts and war between Catholic and Protests.

• They were in the forefront in promoting legitimate trade in order to protect the economic interest of their home colonial powers as they increased desire for cheaper sources of raw materials and markets.

• The explorers mapped the interior of East Africa, example the publication of Jacob Erhadits in 1856 also in 1872, David Livingstone sent several maps to London giving the location of Caravan routes, lakes and major rivers of Tanganyika.

• They provided important geographical information, for example Rebman discovered Mount Kilimanjaro in 1848, Krapf became the first European to see Mount Kenya in 1849 and John Speke discovered the sources of river Nile in 1862.

• Explorers established good working relations with African as they came across with which eased the work of Christian Missionaries, Traders and Chartered Companies. For example through Henry Morton Stanley, the Kabaka of Buganda requested for Christian Missionaries to come and operate on his Kingdom. Krapf write the first Swahili Dictionary and grammar also translated the New Testament into Swahili, making it easy for the later Christians Missionaries groups.

• Missionaries provided education to the people who later became instruments in the colonization process of Africa

• They signed many treaties with African leaders. The agents acted as propagandanistss and interpreters. For example, Moffat a missionary who stayed in Ndebele land for more than 30 years was a useful interpreter to British South Africa Company (BSAC).

• They fought for abolition of slavery and slave trade and established legitimate trade which replaced slave trade.