NEGOTIATING THE FIELD : AMERICAN PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES IN OTTOMAN SYRIA , 1823 TO 1860 Christine Beth Lindner A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY University of Edinburgh 2009 In loving memory of my grandmother, Sophie Jaekel ii ABSTRACT This thesis examines the work of the missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) and the rise of a Protestant community in Ottoman Syria, from the commencement of the missionary station at Beirut in 1823, to the dissolution of the community in 1860. The primary goals of this thesis are to investigate the history of this missionary encounter and the culture of the new community. This analysis is guided by the theoretical framework of Practice Theory and employs gender as a lens to explore the development of the Protestant identity. It argues that the Protestant community in Ottoman Syria emerged within the expanding port-city of Beirut and was situated within both the American and Ottoman historical contexts. The social structures that defined this community reflect the centrality of the ABCFM missionaries within the community and reveals a latent hierarchy based upon racial difference. However, tensions within the community and subversions to the missionaries’ definition of Protestantism persisted throughout the period under review, which eventually led to the fragmentation of the community in 1860. The contribution of this thesis lies in its investigation onto the activities of women and their delineation of Protestant womanhood and motherhood, as an important manifestation of Protestant culture. This work demonstrates the centrality of women to the development of the Protestant community in Ottoman Syria and reveals the complex interpersonal relationships that defined this missionary encounter. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTENTS This thesis is the result not only of the research conducted over the past four years, but of various adventures, for which I have many individuals to thank. I would first like to thank my friends and family, whose support encouraged me to continue on this journey of often uncharted territories. I am indebted to my supervisor, Anthony Gorman, who agreed to take on this challenge and guide the not-so-straightforward development of my work. The advice and kind words provided by Kamran Rastegar and Willy Jansen, who examined my work, allowed me to finalise this project. Numerous colleagues and friends read through earlier drafts of this thesis and helped me refine my understanding of this material. I would like to specifically thank Sarah Sheesley, Scott Spurlock, Kifah Hanna and Frauke Matthes for the insight they offered as well as the comic relief and lively banter that got me through the dark days of completing this thesis. The participants of the Christian Missionaries in the Middle East: Re-Thinking Colonial Encounters Workshop in Raleigh, North Carolina, 4-5 May 2007 offered innovative insights onto missionary encounters, while introducing me to a new cadre of colleagues. I am grateful to Ellen Fleischmann, Eleanor Doumato, Aleksandra Majstorac Kobiljski and Michael Marten for not only sharing resources and data, but for their kind words and encouragement. The early guidance provided by John Chalcraft, Andrew Newman, Janet Starkey and Paul Starkey continued to influence my work and I am thankful for their support. Habib Badr shared with me invaluable data on the National Evangelical Church in Beirut, which helped me to better understand this community. This study would not have been possible without the assistance of the various archivists and librarians who helped me access, identify and interpret the sources, particularly those at Harvard’s Houghton, Lamont and Andover-Harvard Theological Libraries, the American University of Beirut’s Archives and Yale Divinity School’s Archives. And to all those who reminded me to smile and continue persevering with this project: you are too many to name, but played an important role in my completing this thesis and I am grateful for that. I declare that thesis has been composed of myself, is of my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualifications. ……………………………………………………….…. ..………….…… iv Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Contents v Illustrations vii Abbreviations viii Glossary xi Map of the Protestant Circle xiv Introduction 1 A Historiography of Missionary Encounters 3 Theoretical Approach 10 Sources For Analysis 17 Outline of Thesis 28 Chapter One: The American Context: Changes In The Antebellum United States 31 Demarcating An ‘American’ Identity 32 Modifications in Antebellum American Protestantism 41 Americans within The Global Context 55 Categorising Syria 59 Chapter Two: The Syrian Context: The Dynamic Space of Mount Lebanon and 69 Beirut Reconfiguring Political Power 70 The Transformations of Christian Communities 81 The Struggles of the ‛Abidat 87 The Rise of Beirut as a Space for New Identities 93 The Option of ‘Amerika’ 100 Chapter Three: The Protestant Circle 10 7 Members of the Protestant Circle 10 8 Locating the Circle 11 7 Protestant Capital 126 Social Capital 12 6 Cultural Capital 13 8 Religious Capital 14 9 Decentring the ABCFM Missionaries 154 Chapter Four: Protestant Womanhood 163 The Roles for Protestant Women in Ottoman Syria 166 The Roles for Missionary Women 167 v The Roles for Syrian Women 175 Protestant Women’s Networks 17 9 Missionary Women’s Networks 180 Syrian Protestant Women’s Networks 190 Protestant Womanhood as a Form of Capital 195 Women, Protestantism and Education 196 The Struggles of Housekeeping 20 4 Chapter Five: Mothering the Protestant Circle 215 Protestant Perceptions of Childhood 21 8 Mothering the Mosaic Family 220 Mothering as a Form of Capital 23 8 The Mother as Educator 23 9 Mothering and Religious Development 24 8 The Troubles with Baptism 252 Conclusion 263 Appendix I: ABCFM Missionaries of the Syrian Station 271 I:A - List of Missionaries with their Dates of Service 271 I:B - List of Single Female ‘Assistant Missionaries’ 272 I:C -Certified Doctors of the Protestant Circle 272 I:D - Missionary Families (Including biological, foster and adopted 273 children) Appendix II: Syrians Protestants 274 II:A - Syrian Protestant Families 274 II:B - List of ‘Native Assistants’ 275 II:C - Students at ABCFM Female Boarding Schools 276 Appendix III: Other Groups within the Protestant Circle 277 III:A - Other members of the Protestant Circle 277 III:B - Members of Syrian Society for the Arts and Sciences 27 9 Appendix IV: The Protestant Circle: 1823 to 1860 280 Appendix V: Confession of Faith and Covenant for the ECB 281 Appendix VI: Scripture Passages Referenced to in the Text 284 Bibliography 287 vi ILLUSTRATIONS Map of the Protestant Circle xvi Different Races of Man, illustration, f rom : J.L. Blake, American Universal 38 Geography, for Schools and Academics. On the Principles of Analysis and Comparison , (Boston: Lilly, Wait &c., 1833): 140. The Greek Slave in the Dus seldorf Gallery, New York City , engraving, R. The w, 61 Cosmopolitan Art Journal , 2 (1858). Early Missionaries, photograph, from: Henry Harris Jessup, Fifty -Three Years in 109 Syria: Volume I and II, (London: Garnet Publishing, 1910). Courtesy of American University of Beirut Archives. Syrian Protestant Group, 1863 , photograph, from: Jessup, Fifty -Three Years in 112 Syria . Courtesy of AUB. Burj Bird, The Old Mission House , photograph, from: Jessup, Fifty -Three Years in 119 Syria. Courtesy of AUB. Map of Beirut . 121 Portrait of Sarah Smith , painting. Courtesy of Yale Divinity School Library 170 Archives. Port rait of Rebecca Williams Hebard , painting, from: Samuel H. Williams, 206 ‘Rebecca Williams Hebard of Lebanon, Connecticut: Missionary in Beirut, Syria and to the Druze of Mount Lebanon, 1835-1840’, (1950). Courtesy of AUB. vii ABBREVIATIONS ABC Papers of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission ABCFM American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Anderson, HM Rufus Anderson. History of the Missions of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to the Oriental Churches: In Two Volumes. Boston: Congregational Publishing Society, 1872. Anderson, MV Rufus Anderson. Memorial Volume of the First Fifty Years of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. (Fifth Edition). Boston: The Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 1863. AUB American University of Beirut Archives Badr, CHME Habib Badr et al . (eds.). Christianity: A History in the Middle East. Beirut, Lebanon: Middle East Council of Churches, Studies & Research Program, 2005. Bliss, RDS Fredrick Bliss. (ed.). The Reminiscences of Daniel Bliss . New York, Chicago, London and Edinburgh: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1920. CMS Church Missionary Society Comaroff and Comaroff, RR:I John L. Comaroff and Jean Comaroff. Of Revelation and Revolution: Volume One: Christianity, Colonialism and Consciousness in South Africa. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1991. Comaroff and Comaroff, RR:II: John L. Comaroff and Jean Comaroff. Of Revelation and Revolution: Volume Two: The Dialectics of Modernity on a South African Frontier. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1997. ECB Evangelical Church of Beirut ES Eli Smith Papers EWIC Encyclopaedia of Women and Islamic Cultures FO Foreign Office Gebhardt , HSSCB Hans Gebhardt et al. History, Space and Social Conflict in Beirut: The Quarter of Zokak el-Blat. Beirut: Ergon Verlag Würzburg in Kommission, 2005. viii HHJ