Page 186 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

remains a French territory. As a result, more than 90 percent of the people
claim to be Roman Catholics. The Assemblies of God has a growing work
with a multifaceted ministry, thanks to missionaries from France.

Seychelles

A group of 92 small islands form the Republic of the Seychelles. The
French occupied these islands in 1742, and then the British assumed
control in 1794. When the republic received independence in 1976,
it was the smallest Republic in Africa with a population of less than
100,000. Like Reunion, approximately 90 percent of the people claim
Roman Catholicism as their religious preference.

Comoros-Mayotte
Very similar to Zanzibar off the coast of mainland Africa, the
Comoros were settled by Arabs, who Islamized the local Bantu and
Malagasy people. Therefore, the people were almost entirely Muslims
until the French occupied the islands in the mid-1800s. Because of the
predominance of Islam, Christian missionaries made little progress.
Thus, when the islands, with the exception of Mayotte—which remained
loyal to France—received their independence in 1975, there were only
a few thousand Catholics and very few Protestants. The Comoros, as
well as other islands off the coast of Africa, represent a challenge for the
fulfillment of Isaiah 24:15: “Exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
in the islands of the sea.”

The Scramble for Africa

While this is not a general history course, I want to interrupt our study
of the church to include a few comments about what historians refer to
as the “scramble for Africa.” Some history books refer to the “scramble
for Africa” as the period of colonialism. Although some students of
African history believe that colonial powers ruled the continent for more
than 100 years, this is not true. As some scholars observe, “In 1879
more than 90% of the continent was ruled by Africans. By 1900 all but
a tiny fraction of it was being governed by European powers” (quoted in
Hildebrandt, 136). Early explorers like Burton, Livingstone, Baker, and
Stanley reported about expeditions to the interior of the continent. The
interest created was for more than spreading the gospel.

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