INVASION in WRITING London Missionary Society Missionaries, the Civilising Mission, and the Written Woxd in Early Nineteenth-Century Southern Africa

INVASION IN WRITING London Missionary Society Missionaries, the Civilising Mission, and the Written Woxd in Early Nineteenth-Century Southern Africa by JENNIFER COOPER A thesis submitted to the Department of History in conforrnity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Queen's University Kingston, Ontario, Canada January, 2002 copyright O Jennifer Cooper, 2002 Bibliiuenationaie du Canada Jlguisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services senrices bibliographiques 395 Wdlhgm Street 395. rue WMngûm OUawaON KlAON4 OUawaûN KIAW canade Caneda The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence dowing the exclusive permettant à la National Ll'brary of Canada to Biblothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, 10- distriiute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/fh, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Ab&-act This thesis focuses on a group of British evangelical missionaries who proselytised under the auspices of the London Missionary Society (LMS) in early nineteenth- century southern Africa. These missionaries employed the written word in a number of ways during their colonial careers . Considering their texts within the broader frameworks of the colonising, "civilising" and evangelising movements can illuminate the impact of imperial and settler expansion during this era. Missionary texts concerning African Christian religious experiences, particularly accounts of conversion and dying, as well as missionary translation and transliteration efforts, al1 informed a new system of knowledge about the colonial "Other" that was currently being formulated in the metropole. Such an examination of the role of the written word involves a contentious debate about how missionaries might have contributed to the eventual establishment of colonial dominance. Bearing in mind that the missionaries were dxiven primarily by spiritual motivations further complicates the issue. Their ideals of conversion, however, demanded that the convert adopt, together with a relationship with Christ, certain culturally-ascribed norms of appearance, behaviour, and consciousness. These precepts of "civilisation," which iii accompanied both colonial policy and mission agenda during this era, were intended to "uplift" Africans according to a hierarchical scale of societal progress, and argument can be made for their effectiveness in establishing control over indigenous comunities. The teaching of literacy and the translitexating invasion of African vernaculars which the LMS missionaries undertook, nonetheless simultaneously represented acts of domination and empowerment - When missionaries researched and produced texts that they intended for the use of their African converts, they as a matter of course came to new understandings of indigenous cultures and social systems, These foms of writings evolved after some level of cultural exchange, and as such challenge the notion that European colonisers imposed their own systems of knowledge ont0 unquestioning African "receptors." Furthes, LMS missionaries enabled and encouraged the use of vernacular Bibles, which aided Africans in developing a Christianity, and ultimately an identity, separate from colonial enterprises. 1 am particularly grateful to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Alan Jeeves, for his skilled guidance and endless patience. His constant encouragement and support were extremely reassuring, and helped to sustain my enthusiasm for the proj ect . 1 also owe thanks to Yvonne Place in the history department at Queen's for her administrative support, and to Jeremy Martens for his insightful comments on a draft. Without the unfailing devotion of my family 1 would not have completed this paper. Their help at intervals with moving and childcare, and their indulgence over an extended writing period is greatly appreciated. Sophie's patience with a distracted mother and the pleasant diversions she offered deserve recognition. Especially deserving of praise is Jon, whose faith, tact, and unconditional support did not go unnoticed. To him 1 owe profound gratitude. Tablœ of Contontr 1. Introduction: Missionary "Civilising" and the Links Between Metropole and Periphery 1 2. Literature Review 28 3. LMS Missionary Writing About Religious Experiences 43 4. Literacy, Translation and Transliteration 77 5. Conclusions 109 6. Bibliography 111 7. Vita 119 Misaion- Wivilising8,and the tinku Betwœen Metropole and Petipheq British irnperialism has often been viewed as first and forernost a builder of new foms of knowledge-the deliberate constructor O£ identities and stereotypes about non-European societies and cultures. Early nineteenth-century evangelical missionaries working in southern Africa undeniably made key contributions to this knowledge-forming process. As a result, they have often been condemned as "agents of imperialism and capitalism" acting in unity with a colonising £orce bent on the subjugation of indiyenous societies. Indeed, as John deGruchy argues, there is proof to support the claim that many missionaries did overtly support the establishment of European political and economic hegemony. However, consideration of motivations and ideological underpinnings which Lay behind their contributions to the colonial endeavour uncovers evidence that the role of missionaries within imperialism was decidedly more complex. Recent studies have taken into account that missionaries communicated colonial authority while focussing more on imperialism as a series of related struggles for power and the political, economic, and - - 3.W. deGruchy, "Remernberin- a Leqacy, " in desruchy, ed., The London Missionary Society in Southern Africa, 1793-1999: Historical Essays in Celebration of the LMS in Southern Africa, (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 20001, 2. cultural subtleties which shaped them. Scholars have begun to question the dominating elements of colonialisrn and highlighted the struggles apparent between but not exclusive to, Britain and its colonies, missionary societies and colonial governments, missionaries and their sponsors, and missionaries and the colonial "other." Sorne of the most influential among these works inspect the broader undercurrents of empire in order to shed light on the intricacies of power struggles within the colonial relationship. C.A. Bayly, for instance, acknowledges that external factors played a vital role in facilitating British expansion in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, but maintains that British agents overseas supporteci and were ruled through London. He warns scholars against neglecting the impact of British ideological baggage on the overseas dominions. 2 H.V. Bowen argues that imperial poliry was affected by a fear of the possible negative influence that the periphery would have on the economic and social balances at the centre of Empire, given the much-publicised infighting and corruption which characterised the 3 Ronald Hyam eighteenth-century East India Company. argues for the significance of a European "intermediate C.A. Bayly, Imperia1 Meridian: The British Empire and the World 1780-1850, (New York: Longman Znc., 1983!. H.V. Bowen, "British India, 1765-1813: The Metropolitan Context," in Marshall, ed., Oxford Hiskory of the British Empire, Vol. 11, (New York: Oxford University Press, 19981, 531. proconsulate" who afone decided the middle ground, if any, where pressures from the periphery and policies handed dom from the metropole would converge. Lastly, and particularly relevant for purposes here, Elizabeth Elbourne8s upcoming book details how competing factions in Britain and in southern Aflrica furthered their individual aims and put forward their particular conceptions of social order by using competing interpretations of Christianity. Elbourne' s analysis displays a more fluid and two-directional flow of ideas between coloniser and colonised to convincingly reveal how missionary encounters always operated within the context of colonial politics.' This thesis will also attempt to explain some aspects of the relationship between metropole and periphery, and, like Elbourne8s study, will concentrate on the missionaries of the London Missionary Society (or LMS), who represented a particularly strong presence in southern Africa during this era due to the political outspokenness of a handful of its members and their fame and influence in Britain. It will examine some ways in which LMS missionaries infomed the imperial enterprise, while keeping an eye to both their ideological origins E. Elbourne, Blood Gromdi Colonialism, Missions, and the Contest for Christianity in the Cape Colony and Britain, 1799-1853, (Montreal and Kingston: McGili-Queens University Press, 2002) Note: This work is forthcornino; al1 citations are from the unpublished manuscript. and the circumstances of their encounters in southern Africa. The bulk of the study wi11 deal specifically with missionary writing, and wi11 examine how the "civilising" discourse inherent within Christianising efforts helped to justify feelings of dominance

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