Portuguese Influence on Religion, Trade, and Collaborations in West Africa

Abstract

Portuguese influence in West Africa dealing with religion, trade and collaborations Introduction During the age of exploration and the establishment of trade routes, Portuguese influence in West Africa had significant effects on various aspects of that region ranging from trade, collaborations and religion. It was a great period that spanned from the late 15th century to the 17th century. While analyzing religion, it is open that Portuguese explorer and missionaries played a significant role in introducing Christianity to the West Africa. Explorers like Henry the Navigator and Jesuit missionaries were the main figures behind religious mission seeking to spread Catholicism. It is the interactions between the Portuguese Christians and local African religions that resulted to syncretism form of worship creating unique religious expressions. Establishment of trade routes was another influence of Portuguese to West Africa whereby they opened maritime trade routes along the West African coast. These Portuguese aimed at bypassing the overland trade routes controlled by Muslim merchants and instead establish direct sea routes aimed at accessing direct wealth of West Africa. They also engaged in exchange of various goods like ivory, gold, spices, ivory and later slaves. Collaborations with local kingdoms through alliances with local African kingdoms and rulers directed to mutual benefits as well as military collaborations also express Portuguese influence in West Africa. Analyzing Portuguese influence in West Africa from different scholars’ arguments will offer better insights on their dealings with religion, trade and collaborations for their own benefits as well as West Africa’s benefits. In their documentary history “Africa and the West,”Worger, Clark and Alpers (2010) analyzed the transition between slave trade to conquest, 1441-1905. These authors aimed at understanding the influence that Portuguese had in Africa and the West confirming that Portuguese tried to regulate the trade in slaves during early 16th century among other areas like religion to ensure they took control over African. As expressed from their text “In 1491, Nzinga a Nkuwa, king of Kongo Kingdom which was inland and south of Congo River adopted Christianity and was baptized by the Portuguese as Jodo I while his son Afonso I declared Christianity the state religion in 1509” (Worger, Clark & Alpers 2010, pp. 25). Such an expression is a clear indication that Portuguese aimed at introducing and converting Africans to Christianity whose influence became defined through engagements and collaborations with rulers whose final words determined their stance and their expectations from their followers. However, as much as these authors try to explain how Portuguese aimed at introducing Christianity, it is open that their attitude towards slave trade was facing rebellion from African as Afonso I complained of their kingdom and its people as well as it resources being taken advantage off by strangers that disrespected the Kingdoms embraced values. For instance such complains are well reflected on one of his letters to the king of Portugal stating that “And we cannot reckon how great the damage is since the mentioned merchants are taking every day our natives, sons of the land and sons of our noblemen and vassals and our relatives, because the thieves and men of bad conscience grab them wishing to have the things ad wares of this kingdom which they are ambitious of; they grab them and get them to be sold…depopulating our country”( Worger, Clark and Alpers 2010, pp 26). Based on the complainant, it is clear that as much as Portuguese pretended to be religious, their main aim was not as clean as the Christianity belief would perceive it but rather a selfish motive aimed at taking advantage of Africans in their own territories. However as much as the Portuguese aimed at benefiting themselves, Africans also aimed at benefiting from Portuguese as Afonso express in another letter seeking for help citing that the letters allowed them to ask the Portugal king for anything they needed as peace and health of their kingdom depended on them thus sought for medical practitioners to address their health issues while working within their kingdom. Basically, this article offer great insights on how Portuguese benefited from Africans as well as how African also benefited from the Portuguese with supportive evidence from direct letters from African leader directed to Portugal leader in explanation of the exact state of affairs on the ground. In another article “The Ghana Reader,” the authors considered various petitions regarding Gold Coast Chiefs some of which advocated for continuance of domestic slaveholding while others were against such an act deeming it ungodly regardless of how the British governance viewed slavery. In the petition of the principal Mulatto Females of Gold Coast to the Right Honorable Lord John Russell, Cape Coast Castle, on 29th March 1841, the petitioner advocated for the need to reconsider domestic slaves and ensure equity and justice to them. This woman argued that “that...