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Black and white photograph (in an illustrated frame) of a scene is on the grass outside the mission church. Sweens, a White man with a beard, stands on the left, raising his hand to bless a group of Black, indigenous, shaven-headed children who are facing him in profile to the left. He wears white robes. Other White, bearded missionaries stand behind the group in white robes.

Researching Religious Coloniality in East Africa: A Summer at the GHIL

Colonial Rule and Religious Resistance: My Research Project

My habilitation project, ‘“Arming the Natives and Inspiring Them to Resist German Influence”: Functions of Religion in Colonial Rule and Indigenous Resistance in German East Africa and Tanganyika (1885–1961)’, explores how religion functioned both as a tool of colonial domination and as a means of indigenous resistance. My research examines the period between 1885 and 1961, when German and British authorities used Christianity to establish their rule over present-day Tanzania.

I focus on how the very same religion employed by colonizers in their rule was appropriated and transformed by colonized indigenous groups, such as the Swahili, Sukuma, and Nyamwezi, into a vehicle for resistance that, eventually, proved decisive in achieving political autonomy. Leaders like Julius Nyerere, an alumnus of mission schools and later the first post-colonial Prime Minister of Tanganyika, exemplify this paradoxical legacy: the colonial classroom became a training ground for anti-colonial leadership. This resistance, captured in the words of German colonial administrators who criticized Christian missionaries for ‘arming the Natives and inspiring them to resist’, reveals the tension between indigenous reception of Christianity as a means of agency and the colonizers’ astonishment at seeing their own instrument of domination transformed into a catalyst of opposition. The aim of my study is to understand this dual, hybrid role of Christianity in both stabilizing and undermining colonial rule, a dynamic I call ‘religious coloniality’.  

The Archival Treasure Trove at Kew

Three rows of labelled cardboard box files on shelves.
Fig. 1: A day’s work: Reviewing and analysing archival documents at the UK National Archives in Kew. Photo by Daniel Müller.

I came to London between July and October 2024 on a GHIL scholarship. The primary purpose of my research stay was to examine the extensive collections at the UK National Archives in Kew. I reviewed approximately 100,000 documents, laying the foundation for the British section of my habilitation.

My weeks at Kew followed a steady rhythm of archival labour. The mornings began with the ritual of ordering files from the Foreign Office or Colonial Office and the afternoons were spent deciphering spidery notes in the margins of War Office memoranda, or tracing the paper trail that linked Julius Nyerere’s letters to the bureaucratic machinery of Whitehall.

At first glance, the files are divided by bureaucratic provenance: Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office, or the Prime Minister’s Office, to name the most prominent ones. Yet read sequentially, they trace the very trajectory of my project: how religion under colonial rule oscillated between its roles as an imperial instrument and a vehicle for indigenous resistance.

The Foreign Office files, brimming with reports on missionary stations, show how missions were engaged as ambassadors of the Empire. Religion was cited in the same breath as taxation or policing: a device to establish and stabilize order. But buried in the same correspondence are hints that conversion, once translated into literacy and organization, produced the very infrastructures that later enabled indigenous agency, and even later indigenous autonomy. Hence, even the earliest documents, some taken over from the German period, illustrate the irony of Christianity as both a tool of control and a seed of resistance.

The Colonial Office records reinforce this paradox. Ostensibly concerned with ‘native education’, they debate curricula that were meant to instil discipline, promote a British ethic of labour, or teach technical skills. Yet these documents, when read with an eye for their unintended consequences, chart how mission schools generated a cohort of literate indigenous people able to challenge colonial hierarchies. Julius Nyerere, himself a product of this system, exemplifies how the colonial classroom doubled as a nursery for political autonomy.

The War Office intelligence reports and memoranda from Whitehall officials supplemented the picture. Designed to anticipate rebellion, they inadvertently recorded the circulation of Christian idioms through which indigenous leaders mobilized for self-determination. Here, the complaint by German administrators that missionaries were ‘arming the Natives and inspiring them to resist’ finds its echo in British concerns that the very tools of governance might catalyse opposition.

Taken together, these archival strands embody what I call ‘religious coloniality’: the hybrid role of Christianity in stabilizing and destabilizing colonial rule, sometimes in that order, and sometimes all at once. My weeks at Kew, moving from Foreign Office files to War Office memoranda, occasionally felt like a guided tour through the contradictory logics of an empire. Each department’s papers opened a different angle on the same problem: how the religion intended und employed to underpin foreign domination became, in indigenous hands, a grammar of resistance.  

Spine of a large volume containing despatches. Black book with three red bands and gold lettering that says: German East Africa 1917. Vol 3. Despatches (Sep.–Dec.)
Fig. 2: Invaluable insights: Detailed overviews of despatches from German East Africa to the homeland, here covering records from the Great War. Photo by Daniel Müller.

Unexpected Discoveries and Future Directions

Several discoveries during my stay in London were particularly noteworthy. For instance, the extensive use of Christian educational networks by both German and British colonial authorities became clearer. I found detailed records showing how the missions balanced loyalty to colonial regimes with a commitment to empowering local populations. Additionally, it became evident that the religious leaders involved in Tanganyika’s independence movement, such as Nyerere, were not merely products of colonial education but actively reshaped Christian teachings to serve local political goals.

These findings will significantly shape the next phases of my habilitation. My time at the GHIL has not only expanded my understanding of the colonial–religious nexus but has also provided a wealth of material for future publications and conference presentations.

Life at the German Historical Institute London

In addition to archival work, the GHIL itself provided an intellectually stimulating environment. I had the chance to engage in discussions with other scholars whose work intersects with my own, enriching my understanding of colonialism, mission history, and the dynamics of power. The Institute’s library offers a wealth of secondary literature, making it an ideal place to contextualize my primary findings.

One of the most valuable aspects of my stay was the exchange with fellow researchers at the GHIL. The collaborative atmosphere fostered both informal conversations over coffee and structured academic discussions, which helped refine my project’s key arguments.

One of the highlights of my stay was the opportunity to present my research in a lecture at the GHIL Colloquium. The lecture sparked lively discussions with scholars from various disciplines, whose feedback provided valuable new perspectives for refining my argument. This exchange underscored the value of interdisciplinary dialogue, allowing me to place my work within broader debates on colonialism, religion, and resistance.

My months in London proved instrumental in advancing my work on colonial religious dynamics in German East Africa and British Tanganyika. The GHIL provided access to invaluable archival materials and introduced me to a vibrant research community whose insights enriched my project.

I am deeply grateful to the Institute for its support and hospitality. As well as to its directors, Christiane von Hodenberg and Michael Schaich, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to the brilliant staff and extremely amiable researchers who have now become friends. The Institute provided a space not only for rigorous academic inquiry, but also for personal growth, professional networking, and social engagement.

I leave with both a clearer direction for my habilitation and a strong archival foundation for future publications and collaborations. I look forward to sharing the insights gained in London with the wider scholarly community.


Featured Image: Msgr. Sweens blesses the Formations of the Mission of the White Fathers on the island of Ukerewe (German East Africa) (1910). Public domain.


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Daniel E.D. Müller (September 26, 2025). Researching Religious Coloniality in East Africa: A Summer at the GHIL. German Historical Institute London Blog. Retrieved November 6, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/14rbi


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Daniel E.D. Müller

Daniel E.D. Müller studied history, theology, philosophy, economics, and educational sciences at the University of Bonn and the University of St Andrews between 2013 and 2019, earning degrees in each field. From 2019 to 2021, he served as a senior speechwriter for the Hessian Prime Minister and Deputy to Angela Merkel, Volker Bouffier. From 2021 to 2023, Daniel pursued his PhD at the University of Bonn and Harvard University, investigating the strategic use of religion by the Nazi regime to consolidate power in pre-war Germany. His research interests include the intersections of power, resistance, and political strategy, with several books and essays published on the history of fascism and authoritarian rule. Currently, Daniel is working on his habilitation project, which examines the role of religion in colonial governance and indigenous resistance in East Africa, focusing on German and British colonial rule from 1885 to 1961.

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