Joseph Booth (1851-1932) was a British Baptist missionary in British Central Africa (present-day Malawi).
He first came to Africa in 1892 along with his wife and daughters, and established the Zambezi Industrial Mission at Mitsidi , close to Blantyre and the Nyasa Industrial Mission . He recruited locals to plant coffee, and within a year had over 30,000 acres (120 km²) being worked. This was part of his desire to have Africa be for the native Africans instead of Europeans, a view unpopular with most other missionaries of the time.
He made a trip to Britain and the United States in 1897, taking along household employee John Chilembwe. Chilembwe stayed in Virginia to study, while Booth returned in 1899 and established a new mission to the south of Blantyre. Booth continued his pro-African efforts, proposing that the colony revert to local control in 20 years, and that at least five percent of the natives should receive higher education. These views did not go over well with the colonial administration, and commissioner Alfred Sharpe threatened to deport Booth for his "seditious remarks".
After an unrelated dispute with his coreligionists, Booth went to South Africa in 1902. In 1907 he was officially barred from returning to the Blantyre colony, and eventually moved back to England, where he died some years later. His daughter Emily Booth would later write of their experiences in Africa.
Reference
- Owen J. M. Kalinga and Cynthia A. Crosby, Historical Dictionary of Malawi, 3rd ed. (Scarecrow Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8108-3481-2) pp. 40-41
