Those Who Came Before Us
Most of us are aware of how badly represented Africa is. The continent is too often reduced to a number of degrading stereotypes. But Africa has a rich and diverse history. A history that is usually ignored or poorly understood not just by the world but by (sometimes) its own people. A certain British historian once referred to its past as darkness.
Well, I hope to be among those who hold a lantern to this so-called darkness of a history. Take my hand, as I guide you down the pathways of Africa’s supposed night covered past. Allow me to show you her numerous and diverse people, their perspectives, religion, and their stories.
Hosted by David Ibanda( a devoted student of African history with a penchant for Corny jokes)
Follow podcast instagram page at @twcbupod.
Those Who Came Before Us
The Missionary Who Never Arrived | Across the Ugogo Plains (Ep. 2)
The missionary James Hannington crosses the harsh Ugogo Plains of Tanzania’s Dodoma region, home of the Wagogo people. Battling wind, dust, and disease, his faith is tested in one of the most unforgiving stretches of the 19th-century East African caravan routes.
Sources
- Ashe, Robert Pickering. Chronicles of Uganda. London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1894
- Bennett, Norman Robert. Mirambo of Tanzania, 1840?-1884. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1971.
- Berry, Grinton . “Bishop Hannington and the Story of the Uganda Mission.” New York, Revell, 1908
- “Church Missionary Gleaner (afterwards C.M.S. Gleaner).” [London: Church Missionary Society, year varies]. https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Church_missionary_gleaner_afterw_C_M_S_g/5xkFAAAAQAAJ.
- Dawson, Edwin Collas. Lion-hearted: The Story of Bishop Hannington's Life, Told for Boys and Girls. United Kingdom: Seeley, 1890.
- Europeans in East Africa: Biographical Database. Accessed September 27, 2025. https://www.europeansineastafrica.co.uk/_site/custom/database/default.asp?a=viewIndividual&pid=2&person=4252.
- Hannington, James. Peril and Adventure in Central Africa. Being Illustrated Letters to the Youngsters at Home, by the Late Bishop H. With Illustrations from Original Sketches by the Bishop, and a Biographical Memoir. N.p.: London, 1886.
- Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography. Vol. 1, no. 2 (February 1879): 135–38. Report of the Evening Meetings, Session 1878–79.
- Michael, Charles D. James Hannington, Bishop and Martyr. London: SW Patridge & C. Ltd. 1910
- Rockel, Stephen. Caravan Porters of the Nyika: Labour, Culture, and Society in Nineteenth Century East Africa. University of Toronto, 1997.
- Stock, Sarah Geraldina. The Story of Uganda and the Victoria Nyanza Mission. United Kingdom: Religious Tract Society, 1894.