To what extent was religion an effective tool for integrating conquered territories in the British Empire?
The British Empire had accumulated a large and diverse number of territories, from which integration had
become essential for maintaining them under British rule. The factors which constitute a successful integration
can be depicted as: loyalty to the empire, social control against uprisings and shared values. This had
manifested itself in a variety of ways, dependent on the specifics of each territory. Very few territories had been
successfully integrated through religious means, and where it was successful, it was primarily due to
pre-existing political and religious norms which easily aligned with the Empire’s. Its success in religious
transformation was cut short by the lack of meaningful social integration, as the aftermath of the slave trade
left racist ideologies, which highlighted a wider divide between the metropole and its territories. Therefore,
integration was more successful in places where religion was adapted or aided the locals. As the major religion
of the British Empire, Christianity as a whole will be the focus for this argument, and when applicable, a
discussion between its different strands or pre-existing religious structures. It will explore whether religion was
effective on its own, not as a comparison of more effective tools (i.e violence, law, etc), but as an assessment
of how far religion aided the integration of the conquered territories. As outlined above, its effectiveness varied
in each case study according to each territory’s homogeneity with the Empire’s norms and political
frameworks, and had a bilateral effect, meaning both the territories and the metropole saw at least some level
of effect from the attempted colonial integration.
Within the wider debates on Empire and its religious utilizations, academics such as Catherine Hall and Frantz
Fanon seek to explore the dynamics of this system. Hall’s interpretation builds on Fanon’s idea that its colonies
were not the only influential bodies, but that it had a bilateral effect, as colonialism essentially defined
‘Englishness’. As Hall identifies, Jamaica was instrumental in influencing the English discourse on slavery and
freedoms, shaping English ‘modern political thought’.1 Despite Jamaica being mostly an exploitative slavery
hub within the 18th century (hence not attempted integration), its origin had indeed been monumental in the
influence which Jamaica had on Britain. Along with other territories which demanded an end to slavery, their
revolts and efforts sought an ideological development of the metropole, from which enlightened thinkers placed
in action ideals of ‘freedom’ and fundamental rights. The Baptist War of 1833, led by the enslaved Baptist
preacher Samuel Sharpe, was perhaps the most influential in fueling these ideas. The uprising demanded
fundamental freedoms and a livable wage, for which around 500 slaves were killed as a response, of whom
around 310 to 340 were executed for minor offences. Henry Bleby’s account had described piles of executed
slaves being buried in mass graves.2 The result of parliamentary inquiries initiated the process of emancipation
that very year, leading to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, and seeing an end in Jamaica by August 1834.
Meanwhile, the metropole had been restricted to the worship of the established church, and these parishes
were confined to the moral and religious instructions of the British state, written in law in 1815 as ‘one
protestant episcopal church with a unified doctrine, discipline and government’. The 19th century had begun
experiencing growing concern over the Anglican identity primarily due to its greater role within the empire, and
due to the increasingly evident abandonment of clerical discipline of the clergy, whose sexual misconduct and
greed left growing discontent with the Anglican image in 1815. Steward Brown argues that the growing
evangelical revival in the North Atlantic left Anglicans dissatisfied with the ‘cold churches’ which were ‘formal
and overly politicised’, and with the pressures of war and economic distress, saw a rise in ideas of spreading
the gospel message.3 Hence, it is convincing to say both the metropole and the conquered territories had
influenced each other, even if it was limited, as the metropole had developed its ideas on religion and
1
Catherine Hall, Civilising Subjects: Metropole and Colony in the English Imagination, 1830–1867 (Cambridge: Polity
Press, 2002), pp. 65–70.
2
Cécile Révauger, The Abolition of Slavery: The British Debate 1787–1840 (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France,
2008), pp. 107–08.
3
Stewart J. Brown, Providence and Empire: Religion, Politics and Society in the United Kingdom, 1815–1914 (Oxford:
Taylor & Francis Group, 2008), pp. 32–40 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com [accessed 20 May 2025].
1
, fundamental freedoms, while the territories saw somewhat of an influence of religious ideas, which differed
due to their unique characteristics.
In some respects, religion was an effective tool for integrating territories where pre-existing religious and
political structures aligned, more or less, with those of the British Empire. For example, religious organisations
provided educational institutions, which appeared to subsidise anti-imperial and radical sentiments. Just like
the society of promoting Christian knowledge, and the society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign
parts, the CMS had been principal in the education and medical bodies established in territories, and through
such education had established local individuals to represent their statement. Such is Samuel Ajayi Crowther,
who became the first African bishop in 1864, in Nigeria. His education in missionary school, his freedom from
slavery granted by the British ban on the slave trade and his devout duties following in the evangelical mission
demonstrate a positive impact of the mission, as his integration had extended to a higher ranking in society,
having gotten a doctoral degree from Oxford University and being a main translator of the Anglican Bible into
Yoruban.4 The elite class of natives born from missionary education was particularly effective. Emily
Manktelow’s insight into providentialism demonstrates the effect the justification for colonialism had on African
natives. The case she puts forward of the foreign students of St Augustine’s missionary college proposes that
their opportunities were a modality to integrate the South Africans into the British Empire, to prevent
anti-colonial sentiments, which would fuel resistance. In some cases, there was a partial integration. David
Killingray acknowledges how African speakers, for example, brought over and educated by the missions were
often popular attractions, as it appeared as a reinforcer of the ‘white man’s burden’ and of how far the gospel
can civilise ‘savage’ hearts.5 While it can be perceived as a method of displaying the extent to which the
mission aided territories, the extent to which they integrated some civilians is undeniable. The priests were by
far the most effective, and while discrimination prevented a full integration, their successes within the
metropole undeniably present some form of integration. Manantu Dundula N’lemvo, one of the founders of the
Wathen church in 1889 and deacon had began a life of evangelical mission after being brought up working for
the Catholic church, doing translation work of the Kongo Language, and had built the first brick chapel at
Nionga, from which helped convert around 9,000 of his countrymen. Yet, however successful his conversion
was, his integration could never be realised. From an account of Mrs Bentley (the wife of N’Lemvo’s priestly
teacher) stated that N’Lemvo’s eyesight had deteriorated, and the lack of interest in treating black patients in
the metropole had left him with irreversible blindness.6 St Augustine's College in Canterbury is another
example as its education of all national priests had, according to John Brent, “become a home and a school for
missionaries to the heathen world”.7 While it had house south african students (Geoffrey Ngcobo) for furthering
the missionary goals, its racist tones and lack of documentation on African students, in comparison to the
numerous white cleargy, displays a lack of clear integration. The overwhelming theme among the majority of
these individuals is their preaching against the slave trade. Along with the lack of independence and equal
opportunities, it is evident that religion was not enough to integrate territories within the wider British Empire,
despite the aims of religious movements achieving conversion at times.
Manktelow’s attention to its effects within the local indigenous areas suggests that the relationship between
Empire and religion is of an unplanned utility, which “created, mediated and disseminated a colonial culture”.8
4
‘Yoruba Diaspora Item 3339’, SlaveryImages.org, archived 2 June 2021
https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215526/http://slaveryimages.org/s/yorubadiaspora/item/3339 [accessed 17 May
2025].
5
David Killingray, African and Black Agents Promoting Overseas Work for British Christian Missions c.1790–1950, lecture
delivered at the Institute of Historical Research, 21 May 2025.
6
Daniel Gerrard, ‘Mantantu Dundulu, N’lemvo. Linguist, Pioneer, Man of Faith’, The Angus Library and Archive, 9 October
2020 https://theangus.rpc.ox.ac.uk/mantantu-dundulu-nlemvo-linguist-pioneer-man-of-faith/ [accessed 17 May 2025].
7
John Brent, Canterbury in the Olden Time: From the Municipal Archives and Other Sources, 2nd edn (London: Simpkin,
Marshall & Co., 1879), pp. 65–70.
8
Emily J. Manktelow, ‘Creating Colonial Christian Cultures in Canterbury: St. Augustine’s Missionary College’, Journal of
Religious History, 48.1 (2024), p, 19 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.13022 [accessed 17 May 2025].
2
The British Empire had accumulated a large and diverse number of territories, from which integration had
become essential for maintaining them under British rule. The factors which constitute a successful integration
can be depicted as: loyalty to the empire, social control against uprisings and shared values. This had
manifested itself in a variety of ways, dependent on the specifics of each territory. Very few territories had been
successfully integrated through religious means, and where it was successful, it was primarily due to
pre-existing political and religious norms which easily aligned with the Empire’s. Its success in religious
transformation was cut short by the lack of meaningful social integration, as the aftermath of the slave trade
left racist ideologies, which highlighted a wider divide between the metropole and its territories. Therefore,
integration was more successful in places where religion was adapted or aided the locals. As the major religion
of the British Empire, Christianity as a whole will be the focus for this argument, and when applicable, a
discussion between its different strands or pre-existing religious structures. It will explore whether religion was
effective on its own, not as a comparison of more effective tools (i.e violence, law, etc), but as an assessment
of how far religion aided the integration of the conquered territories. As outlined above, its effectiveness varied
in each case study according to each territory’s homogeneity with the Empire’s norms and political
frameworks, and had a bilateral effect, meaning both the territories and the metropole saw at least some level
of effect from the attempted colonial integration.
Within the wider debates on Empire and its religious utilizations, academics such as Catherine Hall and Frantz
Fanon seek to explore the dynamics of this system. Hall’s interpretation builds on Fanon’s idea that its colonies
were not the only influential bodies, but that it had a bilateral effect, as colonialism essentially defined
‘Englishness’. As Hall identifies, Jamaica was instrumental in influencing the English discourse on slavery and
freedoms, shaping English ‘modern political thought’.1 Despite Jamaica being mostly an exploitative slavery
hub within the 18th century (hence not attempted integration), its origin had indeed been monumental in the
influence which Jamaica had on Britain. Along with other territories which demanded an end to slavery, their
revolts and efforts sought an ideological development of the metropole, from which enlightened thinkers placed
in action ideals of ‘freedom’ and fundamental rights. The Baptist War of 1833, led by the enslaved Baptist
preacher Samuel Sharpe, was perhaps the most influential in fueling these ideas. The uprising demanded
fundamental freedoms and a livable wage, for which around 500 slaves were killed as a response, of whom
around 310 to 340 were executed for minor offences. Henry Bleby’s account had described piles of executed
slaves being buried in mass graves.2 The result of parliamentary inquiries initiated the process of emancipation
that very year, leading to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, and seeing an end in Jamaica by August 1834.
Meanwhile, the metropole had been restricted to the worship of the established church, and these parishes
were confined to the moral and religious instructions of the British state, written in law in 1815 as ‘one
protestant episcopal church with a unified doctrine, discipline and government’. The 19th century had begun
experiencing growing concern over the Anglican identity primarily due to its greater role within the empire, and
due to the increasingly evident abandonment of clerical discipline of the clergy, whose sexual misconduct and
greed left growing discontent with the Anglican image in 1815. Steward Brown argues that the growing
evangelical revival in the North Atlantic left Anglicans dissatisfied with the ‘cold churches’ which were ‘formal
and overly politicised’, and with the pressures of war and economic distress, saw a rise in ideas of spreading
the gospel message.3 Hence, it is convincing to say both the metropole and the conquered territories had
influenced each other, even if it was limited, as the metropole had developed its ideas on religion and
1
Catherine Hall, Civilising Subjects: Metropole and Colony in the English Imagination, 1830–1867 (Cambridge: Polity
Press, 2002), pp. 65–70.
2
Cécile Révauger, The Abolition of Slavery: The British Debate 1787–1840 (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France,
2008), pp. 107–08.
3
Stewart J. Brown, Providence and Empire: Religion, Politics and Society in the United Kingdom, 1815–1914 (Oxford:
Taylor & Francis Group, 2008), pp. 32–40 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com [accessed 20 May 2025].
1
, fundamental freedoms, while the territories saw somewhat of an influence of religious ideas, which differed
due to their unique characteristics.
In some respects, religion was an effective tool for integrating territories where pre-existing religious and
political structures aligned, more or less, with those of the British Empire. For example, religious organisations
provided educational institutions, which appeared to subsidise anti-imperial and radical sentiments. Just like
the society of promoting Christian knowledge, and the society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign
parts, the CMS had been principal in the education and medical bodies established in territories, and through
such education had established local individuals to represent their statement. Such is Samuel Ajayi Crowther,
who became the first African bishop in 1864, in Nigeria. His education in missionary school, his freedom from
slavery granted by the British ban on the slave trade and his devout duties following in the evangelical mission
demonstrate a positive impact of the mission, as his integration had extended to a higher ranking in society,
having gotten a doctoral degree from Oxford University and being a main translator of the Anglican Bible into
Yoruban.4 The elite class of natives born from missionary education was particularly effective. Emily
Manktelow’s insight into providentialism demonstrates the effect the justification for colonialism had on African
natives. The case she puts forward of the foreign students of St Augustine’s missionary college proposes that
their opportunities were a modality to integrate the South Africans into the British Empire, to prevent
anti-colonial sentiments, which would fuel resistance. In some cases, there was a partial integration. David
Killingray acknowledges how African speakers, for example, brought over and educated by the missions were
often popular attractions, as it appeared as a reinforcer of the ‘white man’s burden’ and of how far the gospel
can civilise ‘savage’ hearts.5 While it can be perceived as a method of displaying the extent to which the
mission aided territories, the extent to which they integrated some civilians is undeniable. The priests were by
far the most effective, and while discrimination prevented a full integration, their successes within the
metropole undeniably present some form of integration. Manantu Dundula N’lemvo, one of the founders of the
Wathen church in 1889 and deacon had began a life of evangelical mission after being brought up working for
the Catholic church, doing translation work of the Kongo Language, and had built the first brick chapel at
Nionga, from which helped convert around 9,000 of his countrymen. Yet, however successful his conversion
was, his integration could never be realised. From an account of Mrs Bentley (the wife of N’Lemvo’s priestly
teacher) stated that N’Lemvo’s eyesight had deteriorated, and the lack of interest in treating black patients in
the metropole had left him with irreversible blindness.6 St Augustine's College in Canterbury is another
example as its education of all national priests had, according to John Brent, “become a home and a school for
missionaries to the heathen world”.7 While it had house south african students (Geoffrey Ngcobo) for furthering
the missionary goals, its racist tones and lack of documentation on African students, in comparison to the
numerous white cleargy, displays a lack of clear integration. The overwhelming theme among the majority of
these individuals is their preaching against the slave trade. Along with the lack of independence and equal
opportunities, it is evident that religion was not enough to integrate territories within the wider British Empire,
despite the aims of religious movements achieving conversion at times.
Manktelow’s attention to its effects within the local indigenous areas suggests that the relationship between
Empire and religion is of an unplanned utility, which “created, mediated and disseminated a colonial culture”.8
4
‘Yoruba Diaspora Item 3339’, SlaveryImages.org, archived 2 June 2021
https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215526/http://slaveryimages.org/s/yorubadiaspora/item/3339 [accessed 17 May
2025].
5
David Killingray, African and Black Agents Promoting Overseas Work for British Christian Missions c.1790–1950, lecture
delivered at the Institute of Historical Research, 21 May 2025.
6
Daniel Gerrard, ‘Mantantu Dundulu, N’lemvo. Linguist, Pioneer, Man of Faith’, The Angus Library and Archive, 9 October
2020 https://theangus.rpc.ox.ac.uk/mantantu-dundulu-nlemvo-linguist-pioneer-man-of-faith/ [accessed 17 May 2025].
7
John Brent, Canterbury in the Olden Time: From the Municipal Archives and Other Sources, 2nd edn (London: Simpkin,
Marshall & Co., 1879), pp. 65–70.
8
Emily J. Manktelow, ‘Creating Colonial Christian Cultures in Canterbury: St. Augustine’s Missionary College’, Journal of
Religious History, 48.1 (2024), p, 19 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.13022 [accessed 17 May 2025].
2
