“Missionary activity was the main reason for the growth of British interest in Africa in the late nineteenth century.”

This question is asking students to assess what drove British interest in Africa.A top level answer will thus explore the role of missionary activity and other factors in provoking British interest; assess who is meant by the term "British"; explore what British interests were.
First, Missionaries led to actual expansion in africa and so opened up land for the British government, hence their interest was sparked and interest in expanding in africa grew.-Livingstone opened up Nyasaland and encouraged the British gov to make it a protectorate. -1883 Mackenzie pressurised the British gov to put a protectorate over Bechuanaland due to missionary links with indigenous communities there and they did so in 1884 and made him deputy commissioner. -Kirk stamped out arab slave trade in Zanzibar and expanded gb control there.Missionaries therefore opened up new land and opportunity in africa which caught both the British government and British public’s interests. Livingstone travelled to africa and hunted for river nile, he wrote 200 letters and books on imperial travels. These were loved by the public whose curiosity and wonder were heightened by these moral individuals who spread Christianity and brought back tales of exotic foreign cultures. Burton and Speke and their rivlalry and race for the source of the river Nile caught public interest, and final revelation Speke's findings were correct saw Queen Victoria erect an obilisk in his honour in London.-Victorian era was a time of strong religious fervour and belief in need to civilise rest of world. -People donated money to their churches for missionary expeditions to feel connected to empire.-Women missionaries travelled to empire.
However, other factors made the British gov interested in expansion in Africa. Initially significant missionary activity opened up the land and but also crucial was the role of traders e.g.: Goldie- bought up 30 trading posts in the Niger and acquired a monopoly, signed 450 trading agreements wth local leaders so then at the Berlin Conference the British gov could have claim to the Niger, getting rid of France. As a result trade between Britain and the Niger grew to £4m a year, resulting in Britain claiming a it a protectorate in 1890. Traders also opened up Africa and gave British gov an economic incentive for expanding there. This was especially important after the industrial revolution which saw increased demand for rare materials. Explorer and trader Rhodes bought up diamonds mines and created the Debeers diamond syndicate, owning 90% of total. He then became Prime Minister of Cape and worked with British gov to expand in South Africa.Also in 1870, threats from other European countries such as France and Germany provoked Britain to expand more aggressively and claim land that was actually of little direct value such as the Sudan.British public therefore had their interest in the expansion in Africa heightened by many other means other than just missionaries.The reform acts which widened the electorate to 5 million men and the education act of 1870 saw literacy rate rise to 97% suggesting people were more politically aware. The press provided the public with information and images of land in Africa.New school syllabus and textbooks focused on the empire and its importance for Britain. Example of public opinion informing gov policy seen by pressure on Gladstone to invade Egypt after press reporting on 50 europeans killed in riots 1880. This resulted in a veiled protectorate.
Overall student should reach a conclusion based off evidence and argument cited. Sufficient conclusion may suggest: Missionary activity was the main reason for opening up land in Africa to British explorers and government. But the increased interest and dramatic expansion led by traders and British government was primarily due to economic motives and international competition which saw land in Africa become a site for the expression of power, prestige and a way to extract raw materials.