the work of the Propagation of the Faith and the new missionary institutes. It all led to a considerable expansion in Oceania, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The Treaty of Berlin and the carving up of Africa
Towards the end of the XIX century, the Conference of Berlin (1884-1885) systematically divided up Africa amongst the European nations, "to arrange the most favourable conditions for the development of trade and civilisation".
France, Germany and England were the principal beneficiaries of the colonisation of Africa, The Treaty of Berlin (1886) created a completely new situation for the life and work of the missionaries, as can be seen from the following extract:
"All the powers exercising rights of sovereignty or influence in the aforesaid territories commit themselves to supervise the conservation of the indigenous populations and the amelioration of their moral and material living conditions and to contribute to the suppression of slavery and above all the trade in Blacks; they will protect and encourage, without distinction of nationality or creed, all the religious, scientific or charitable initiatives created and organised to these ends or aimed at instructing the natives and helping them to understand and appreciate the advantages of civilisation.
Christian missionaries, scholars, explorers, their escorts, possessions and collections will likewise be the object of special protection.
Freedom of conscience and religious tolerance are expressly guaranteed just as much to the natives as to nationals and foreigners. Free and public exercise of all forms of worship, the right to build religious buildings and to organise missions belonging to all the religions will not be subject to any restriction or constraint."
The commercial relations between the colonising countries and their colonies considerably affected the life and presence of the missionaries. It brought certain facilities that hardly existed until then: greatly improved transport and facility of movement, postal communications, availability of goods and materials etc. Rome took advantage of this collaborative movement between colonisation, civilisation and mission, but the Pope also voiced his reservations about the dependence of mission on the colonial powers.
Leo XIII and the end of slavery
A minister from Brazil, Mr. de Souza Correa, paid a visit to Leo XIII on behalf of the Emperor in January, 1888. On that occasion, the Pope said that he wanted to give Brazil a special sign of his affection concerning the emancipation of slaves.
Four months later, he addressed his encyclical "In Plurimis" to the Bishops of Brazil. In it, he wrote:
" Freedom has been restored to a large number of those who were groaning under the yoke of slavery in the vast territories of this empire.
"If the shameful trade in human beings has finished on the high seas, it is still widely practised on land with a great deal of barbarity...especially in certain countries in Africa. These abominable expeditions start out from Egypt, Zanzibar and the Sudan. Men, weighed down by chains, are forced to travel huge distances, barely kept alive by a miserable diet and constantly beaten. Those who cannot stand up to this treatment are left to die; those who survive are condemned to being sold en bloc and paraded before cruel and cynical buyers. They are then separated from their wives, children and relations, and the master, under whose power they have now fallen, subjects them to a hard and abominable slavery..."
Brazil was the last country to abolish slavery officially in 1888, but the practice was widely continued. So many missionaries based their apostolate on the redemption and welcoming of slaves, children and adults, those who had escaped or been bought, ill-treated or exposed to the danger of being sacrificed.
Leo XIII and the missions
Leo XIII increased the authority and the scope of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. It was put in charge of all the missionary activity of the Church. Its priority was mission to the pagans and the creation of new dioceses. It set up a new fund to help the missions and made renewed efforts to stabilise the new Churches by the creation of a local clergy. So Rome introduced a new missionary model.
Villages of freedom
The missionaries pushed inland from the stations founded on the East and West coasts of Africa and began the evangelisation of the interior. They set up "Freedom Villages" for those who had been released from slavery.
These villages gave shelter to men, women and children for a long or short period when they felt they were still in danger, so that they could begin to build a new life. The village consisted of a series of huts set in lines, built of mud and thatched with straw. Each had a small garden attached and a plantation outside the village. They were designed to be places where they could put their new-found liberty into context, and restore order and balance to their lives. In this way, they gradually lost their fear of the master and discovered a freedom and dignity that they had never previously known.
