The Headstrong Historian

Though modern readers might know the colonial context of missionaries in Africa during the 19th century, their task to corrupt and erode the cultural identity of African citizens under the guise of the “redemption of black heathens” remained surreptitious upon their arrival (209). Initially, when the Holy Ghost Congregation settles near Nwamgba’s clan, they are seen as a means to acquire a type of power. As Ayaju explains to Nwamgba, “she wanted Azuka to learn the ways of these foreigners, since people ruled over others not because they were better people, but because they had better guns” (204). For Nwamgba, learning the language of foreigners will eventually allow Anikwenwa to acquire his inheritance. As a whole, therefore, the missionary school seems innocuous to the clan members, if a little odd for believing in a god “who had come to the world to die, and who had a son but no wife, and who was three but also one” (205).

As children like Azuka and Anikwenwa attend classes, however, they become ideal targets for the missionaries. First, they insist on baptizing the children, which requires “that Anikwenwa […] take an English name, because it was not possible to be baptized with a heathen name” (208).