James Hannington

James Hannington was born on September 3, 1847, in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England. His father was a merchant and a man of means, and the family was comfortable. He was a lively and energetic boy, fond of adventure and sport. He was educated at a private school and then entered his father's business. He was not particularly religious. In his early twenties, he decided to become a clergyman, and he went to St. Mary Hall, Oxford, where he studied for ordination. He was ordained in 1873 and served as a curate in a country parish in Devon.

He was a man of great vigor, and he loved to hunt and ride. He took an active part in the life of the church and spent time with his parishioners. He also took an interest in the work of the Church Missionary Society. In 1882, when news came of the death of a number of missionaries in Uganda, he felt a call to go. He offered himself and was accepted. In that year, he sailed with a party for East Africa. He was a man of thirty-five, with a wife and children. He was determined to go.

The journey was a hard one. He was struck down by fever and dysentery, and he had to return to England in the same year. He recovered and then was consecrated as the first Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa in 1884. He was thirty-seven years old. He was given charge of a vast region, covering what is now Kenya, Uganda and part of Tanzania. In 1885, he set out again for Africa, with a party of fifty porters and a few helpers. His plan was to go to Uganda by the northern route, through Busoga, the land to the east of the Nile, instead of the usual route through the south.

The northern route was dangerous. It was believed in Buganda that a foreigner coming from the east would bring about the downfall of the kingdom. The new king, Mwanga, was suspicious of the missionaries, and he was fearful of any approach from that direction. Hannington was warned, but he decided to go on. He was an impetuous man, and he did not heed the advice. When he reached Busoga, he and his party were seized by the local chief, Lubwa, who held him prisoner for eight days. He kept a diary during this time in which he wrote of his hope and his faith.

On October 29, 1885, he was taken to a place near the Nile and put to death by the spear. It is said that his last words were a message for the king, to the effect that he had purchased the road to Uganda with his life. The order for his death was given by Mwanga. His porters were also killed, and only a few escaped to bring the news. He was thirty-eight years old.

His death caused a great wave of sorrow in Britain. The missionaries in Uganda were shaken, and they were soon to endure the persecution of the next year, in which the Uganda martyrs died. His death did not stop the work. It spurred others to go. The church in Uganda grew steadily in the decades that followed.

He was not a perfect man, and his rashness cost the lives of many. He chose the dangerous route against good advice, and his critics have said that he was foolhardy. Yet he gave his life for the people of Africa. His life shows that courage without caution may bring a high price, and that those who go to the unreached must be ready to give everything.