James Africanus Beale Horton: pioneer philosopher of Western education in West Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	James Africanus Beale Horton: pioneer philosopher of Western education in West Africa
Author:	Ayandele, E.A.
Year:	1972
Periodical:	West African Journal of Education
Volume:	16
Issue:	2
Pages:	115-121
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	English-speaking Africa West Africa
Subject:	educational philosophy
Abstract:	James Africanus Beale Horton was born in the village of Gloucester, a settlement of African recaptives, in the Province of Freedom (Sierra Leone) in 1835. His father, belonging to the Ibo tribe, had been rescued by the British Navy and resettled in Sierra Leone Colony. The Reverend James Beale trained Beale Horton gratis at the primary and secondary school levels. In 1853 Beale Horton was admitted to Fourah Bay Institution. He left Fourah Bay for England in 1885 for medical training. He obtained the M.D. degree. Horton was a credit to Western-style education. Erudite and articulate, he used his intellect to argue the biological equality of Africans with other races of mankind and to present the vision of the educated elite of West Africa to the British audience. In respect of Western-style education the ideas and thinking of educated Africans differed essentially in several directions from those of their white mentors and from the ideas and thinking of educationists in contemporary Europe. It is to illustrate this point that Horton's philosophy is made the subject of this article.