Chapter 3 explores the role of religion in the expansion of British imperial influence. During the 19th century, the British Empire entered a new phase driven by moral and spiritual ambitions. For many Victorians, the empire was an opportunity to reform and “improve” societies they regarded as “backward.” Evangelical Christianity became a powerful force, inspiring missionaries’ efforts to spread both religious belief and British cultural norms throughout the empire.

The Victorians largely viewed the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa as uncivilized “heathens,” a misconception rooted in cultural differences. Many African societies were economically organized and politically complex, yet Europeans interpreted the absence of monotheistic religion as evidence of cultural inferiority. European vulnerability to diseases such as malaria and yellow fever also reinforced perceptions of the region as mysterious and dangerous. At the same time, the African participation in the slave trade—where some groups captured and sold others—appeared to confirm European assumptions about moral disorder. Missionaries, therefore, believed that introducing Christianity could transform African societies while also undermining the slave trade that had long connected Africa to the Atlantic economy.

In Britain, a group of evangelical reformers known as the Clapham Sect spearheaded a campaign against enslavement. Among its leading figures were Zachary Macaulay and William Wilberforce. Their movement combined religious conviction with organized political activism. Through public campaigning, they mobilized widespread support for abolition. When petitions demanding reform gathered signatures from a majority of adult British men, the government could not ignore the public pressure. Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which halted the transportation and sale of enslaved people in British territory, while the subsequent Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 dismantled the legal right to enslave humans, freeing those already in bondage. Ferguson argues that this reform reflected a broad moral awakening within British society.

Evangelical enthusiasm also inspired missionary organizations dedicated to spreading Christianity overseas. Groups such as the Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen and the Church Missionary Society sent missionaries to Africa, New Zealand, and other regions. Their work was often hazardous, as disease, inhospitable climates, and resistance from local populations claimed many lives. For example, in New Zealand, the missionary Carl Volkner was killed and decapitated by members of the Māori community he had attempted to convert. The location of the murder was his own church. In addition to preaching Christianity, missionaries sought to encourage Indigenous peoples to adopt British customs, clothing, and education.

The most famous missionary of this era was David Livingstone. Trained both as a doctor and a minister, Livingstone believed that Christianity, commerce, and civilization could advance together in Africa. Initially working as a missionary, he soon realized that local communities were more interested in his medical expertise and firearms than in religious sermons. 

Gradually, Livingstone’s mission evolved from preaching to exploration. Traveling widely through central Africa, he came to respect the intelligence and humanity of the people he encountered, rejecting the idea that Africans were inherently inferior. He concluded that the slave trade could only be eradicated if legitimate commerce replaced it. To achieve this goal, Livingstone sought navigable routes through the African interior that would connect resource-rich regions, enabling the transport of goods such as coffee and minerals to global markets.

Livingstone’s expeditions led him to the Zambezi River, which he hoped would provide a commercial highway. However, he eventually discovered that parts of the river were unnavigable due to shallows and waterfalls. Livingstone spent the last years of his life wandering through central Africa in search of geographical knowledge and anti-enslavement alliances, dying there in 1873. Many of Livingstone’s ambitions were realized after his death: The East African slave trade was gradually suppressed, and Christian communities expanded across the continent. Today, large parts of Africa have Christian populations that exceed those of many European countries. Ferguson attributes this development to a more aggressive approach to exploration and conversion, relying on armed expeditions to secure cooperation from African communities. By 1904, a third of Africa had been claimed by the British Empire, while other European powers had annexed the rest.

While missionaries were active in Africa, the expansion of Christian influence also affected India. For more than a century, the East India Company had discouraged missionary activity, fearing that religious interference would disrupt profitable relations with Indian societies. However, Evangelical reformers in Britain eventually pressured Parliament to end this restriction. The Charter Act of 1813 allowed missionaries to operate in India and established an Anglican ecclesiastical structure there. Reformers also sought to eliminate Indian cultural practices they regarded as barbaric, including female infanticide and the ritual burning of widows known as “sati.” British authorities pursued campaigns against these practices as part of what they saw as a program of modernization.

The British attempt to reshape Indian society produced a violent backlash. Tensions rose within the Indian army, whose soldiers, known as “sepoys,” often viewed British reforms as threats to their religious traditions. In 1857, the Indian Mutiny erupted after rumors spread that new rifle cartridges were greased with animal fat, which was offensive to both Hindu and Muslim religious beliefs. This rebellion reflected broader resentment toward British cultural interference. The conflict, which lasted nine months, involved intense fighting, and British civilians were massacred. British forces retaliated with severe reprisals against the mutineers and the general Indian population, burning villages and killing indiscriminately.

Ultimately, the Indian Mutiny forced a fundamental change in imperial policy. In 1858, Queen Victoria announced that the British Crown would assume direct control of India from the East India Company. The new government promised to respect local religions and customs rather than impose British cultural practices. A Viceroy would govern India on behalf of the Crown, marking a transition from commercial empire to formal imperial administration.