Africa has more than 250 million
Christians, making Christianity the second most prevalent faith
on
the continent. Africans learned of the faith through devout Christians
who traveled to Africa on a mission to teach their religion. The
missionaries did more than share their faith; they also taught the
African people modern science and medicine.
David Livingstone was the most famous
African missionary. Livingstone first planned to become a medical
missionary in China, but the Opium Wars made China a bad place for
a westerner with good intentions. Livingston turned instead to Africa
and, after a four-month journey, landed in Cape Town, in modern
South Africa, in 1841.
Livingstone treated the Africans
with respect. He learned their
languages
and customs and explored a great portion of the continent. Livingstone
believed the best way to share his faith with the Africans was to
teach them about the outside world. Livingstone supported his missionary
work by writing books about his travels.
Livingstone was a very religious
man who was appalled by the way the Dutch and Portuguese colonists
treated the African people. His writings told the world about the
slave trade, which Livingstone called "the open sore of Africa."
When he died in 1873, most of his body was returned to England,
but Livingstone's many friends buried his heart in Africa.