Abstract
Drawing on recent re-interpretations of literacy that see it as a socially-embedded process rather than a neutral skill, this article examines how a group of Swiss missionaries spread a set of Protestant reading practices and texts in late nineteenth- and early twentiethcentury south-east Africa. I argue that their experience at home led them to view literacy as a revolutionary tool for the transformation of society. I then look at the different contexts in which Africans adopted the skills of literacy, and the different meanings with which they imbued the practice. The fourth section ties these ways of reading to the interpretation of texts and local networks of power. The final part examines literacy as a sign and source of power employed by a new class of national politicians. Here, I draw parallels between the missionaries' objectives in pursuing literacy and those of the mass literacy campaigns organised by Frelimo in Mozambique.
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