The Gospel on the Banks of the Niger

Abstract

This 1859 publication contains the journals kept by Samuel Crowther (who in 1864 became the first African bishop of the Anglican church) and John Christopher Taylor during their respective missions to the banks of the Niger in 1857 and 1858. Crowther, a rescued slave educated at the Anglican mission in Sierra Leone, and Taylor, another Sierra Leonean, travelled on a trade expedition endorsed by the British government. Taylor disembarked at Onitsha and founded the first mission among the Ibo people, while Crowther landed further up the river, at Rabba. Revealing great Christian zeal and enthusiasm, both journals offer compelling insights into the daily life of a missionary in Africa and also serve as a valuable source of local history. The book includes the account of a canoe expedition undertaken by Crowther, along with a table of expenses for the trip, and a fascinating collection of Ibo proverbs compiled by Taylor.

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