Africa House

John Chilembwe

Born in Nyasaland in the 1880s; baptized by Rev. Booth; taken to England and America to raise money for missions; entered the Virginia Seminary and College in Lynchburg, VA; graduated and went back to Nyasaland; married and had children; became a successful missionary with many churches; tried to change colonial policies towards native Africans peacefully; was not successful so in 1915 conducted the first armed uprising against the colonial powers;  he was killed and his followers imprisoned or hanged. He is now venerated as a hero in Malawi (formerly Nyasaland). His image appears on their banknotes

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