SOCIOCULTURAL ROLE OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN GERMAN TOGO (1892-1914)
SOCIOCULTURAL ROLE OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN GERMAN TOGO (1892-1914)

Summary/Abstract: This article concerns the social and cultural role of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in German Togo ‒ the Catholic missionary order that commenced its operations in the colony in 1892 ‒ and specifically the importance of its schools for the German colonial project in that part of Africa. I seek to substantiate the thesis that Christian missions were, in fact, vital for modern co­lonial states as holders ‒ mainly through their educational efforts ‒ of cultural/symbolic capital that is imperative for a proper functioning of any polity. The SVD mission made a considerable impact on social development of the colony through a network of competitive schools that it established, and for which it also secured a large part of the financial resources provided by the colonial govern­ment. The importance of mission schools for the colonial project, on the one hand, and their reliance on government funding, on the other, were also important factors in the settling of a protracted conflict about social justice between the order and the government (1903-1907). One essential com­ponent of the educational success of the SVD missionaries in Togo was a genuine interest of indige­nous elites in the acquisition of Western-style education, especially in the south of the colony, which had been exposed to direct European influences for centuries.

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