1/ Scholars have long debated why British colonialism is associated with better developmental outcomes. A key explanation points to Christian missions, which advanced education and human capital across the colonial world. But are all missions the same? 🤔

2/ Prior research points towards differences between Protestant and Catholic missions, but has largely overlooked another source of variation—not all missions shared the same national identity as the colonial state. Does this difference matter for long-term outcomes? We argue: YES. ✅

3/ Our paper posits that shared national identity between British colonial governments and British Protestant missions lowered transaction costs, fostered trust and cooperation, and enabled greater governmental support for missions.

4/ This preference for "nationally aligned" missions had significant consequences. British Protestant mission areas saw greater educational expansion and now show stronger long-term support for democracy than non-British or no-mission areas.

5/ To test our argument, we analyzed historical mission data from the World Missionary Atlas (1,895 Protestant missions) and contemporary Afrobarometer survey data on education and democracy from 19 former British African colonies.

6/ Our findings reveal that areas with British Protestant missions have higher education levels and stronger democratic support compared to regions with non-British missions. Education emerges as a key mechanism driving these effects.

7/ These results hold across various robustness checks, including accounting for precolonial conditions, alternative measures of mission and education variables, and scope tests confirming the specificity of British Protestant missions in British colonies.

8/ This work contributes to studies on colonial legacies, showing how shared national identity shaped governance and cooperation. It also highlights how these dynamics continue to influence present-day education and democracy in Africa.