John Roscoe (1861–1932) was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

missionary to East

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. He conducted anthropological data collection of the Africans he encountered on mission. Roscoe was born in 1861, during the height of the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

era. Roscoe's career heavily echoed the Victorian notion of improving natives under British rule. He studied civil engineering before joining the Anglican

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

. In 1884, on mission, he travelled to what became the

Uganda Protectorate The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the Br ...

, and lived there among several African tribes until 1909. From his experiences in Africa, Roscoe wrote ''

Twenty-Five Years in East Africa 25 (twenty-five) is the natural number following 24 and preceding 26. In mathematics It is a square number, being 52 = 5 × 5, and hence the third non-unitary square prime of the form ''p''2. It is one of two two-digit numbers whose squ ...

'', which was published in 1921. He intended the book to be an anthropological reference for Britons. The trajectory of Roscoe’s career seems to mimic that of

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

, and indeed, Livingstone was a prominent influence on Roscoe. Though Roscoe’s attitude toward Africa’s salvation was more pragmatic and less fervent than that of Livingstone, reflective of his later imperial era in which the British had already established their presence in Africa, he recognized Livingstone’s contributions to British endeavours on the continent. He directly cited Livingstone’s “excellent work in exposing lavery”Twenty-Five Years in East Africa and references and expands upon Livingstone’s ideas of how to best approach the continent. Like Livingstone, Roscoe believed that Christianity would benefit the Africans, and like Livingstone, Roscoe also believed that the scientific study of Africa was necessary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roscoe, John 1861 births 1932 deaths English Anglican missionaries English anthropologists Anglican missionaries in Uganda Uganda Protectorate people