Kolobeng Mission David Livingstone's Third Mission - Thamaga - Botswana

Kolobeng Mission David Livingstone’s Third Mission. The Kolobeng Mission was a mission station established by the famous Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone during his third mission in southern Africa. This mission is remembered for its attempt to evangelize local peoples and the context of Livingstone’s explorations, which marked a milestone in African history and European colonial expansion.

Context of the Kolobeng Mission

The Kolobeng Mission was established in 1847 in what is now Botswana, near the Kolobeng River. Livingstone founded it alongside his wife, Mary Moffat Livingstone, with the goal of converting the Batswana (particularly the Bakwena group) to Christianity, as well as providing education and medical assistance to the local population. The mission also promoted agriculture and aimed to improve the living conditions of the people it interacted with.

Objectives of the Third Mission

In this third mission, Livingstone went beyond evangelizing. While preaching, he was also highly motivated to explore the continent, particularly in search of trade routes and navigable rivers that could help combat the slave trade, one of his main causes. He sought to open new lines of communication between Africa and the rest of the world, especially via the Zambezi River, which he reached in his later travels.

Achievements and Challenges

One of the significant milestones of the Kolobeng Mission was the conversion of Sechele I, the leader of the Bakwena people. Sechele converted to Christianity and was baptized, although the adoption of Christianity was neither complete nor without tensions. Polygamy and other local customs clashed with the Christian teachings that Livingstone promoted.

However, the mission was not successful in the long term. In 1852, attacks by the Boers (descendants of Dutch settlers in South Africa) destroyed the mission during a series of conflicts known as the Boer Wars. This destruction, along with the failure of his evangelistic mission, led Livingstone to focus more on exploring the African continent and his fight against the slave trade.

Legacy

The Kolobeng Mission marked the beginning of David Livingstone’s long relationship with the African continent, a relationship that would make him a key figure in the history of colonialism and European exploration of Africa. Although his work at Kolobeng was not fruitful in terms of religious conversion, it did leave a significant mark by highlighting the abuses of slavery in the region and paving the way for future exploration and missionary work in the continent’s interior.