DOCSLIB.ORG

Missionary Activity in Bakunduland, Cameroon, 1873 – 1960: an Historical Appraisal

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Missionary Activity in Bakunduland, Cameroon, 1873 – 1960: an Historical Appraisal Global Advanced Research Journal of History, Political Science and International Relations Vol. 1(2) pp. 048-055, March, 2012 Available online http://garj.org/garjhpsir/index.htm Copyright © 2012 Global Advanced Research Journals Review Missionary activity in Bakunduland, Cameroon, 1873 – 1960: An historical appraisal Joseph Ebune Betoto Department of history, faculty of arts, university of Buea, P O Box 63 Cameroon. E-mail: [email protected] Accepted 20 March, 2012 This paper is a historical analysis of Missionary activities in Bakunduland in the southwest region of Cameroon in the 18 th and 19 th Centuries. These activities such as Christian proselytization, Western education, health care took place in a context of opposition from the Bakundu local population. This opposition can be explained as a from of resistance to what was perceived by Western colonists and missionary officials as a civilizing mission, and by the same token considered traditional culture of the Bakundu inferior. As a result of these missionary activities, the Bakundu society was transformed. But this transformation was never complete for as the paper highlights, there is a blend of Western and African cultures expressed in syncretism, a situation that still prevails among the Bakundu. Keywords: Missionary, Bakunduland, Evangelization, Culture INTRODUCTION Christian missionaries from Europe penetrated into the and industrialisation. interior of Africa before colonial occupation. The African image of Christianity was coloured by colonial rule and all that it entailed, although missionary enterprise and The Pioneer Phase progress sometimes preceded imperial annexation and expansion in Africa. Missionary explorations in the nineteenth century marked African society is intensely religious (John. S. Mbiti, the beginning of the pioneer phase of the missionary African Religions and Philosophy . Second Edition (New effort in Bakunduland. The first missionary to reach the Hampshire: Heinemann Educational Publishers 1997), interior and contact the Bakundu from the coastal base at 1.), and religion was the strong factor in traditional African Bimbia was Quintin Thomson in 1873. The arrival of worldview since it exerted the strongest influence on the George Grenfell and Thomas Comber in 1875 and 1876 people’s daily life. African religious and belief systems respectively marked a new era in the history of the and practices rose from one people to the other in mission in Bakunduland. They formed populous ethnic general. The traditional religious were born of and groups eager for the missionaries and teachers. Comber sustained a strong community life and values which penetrated to Bakundu territory, where Thomas Levis required individual participation in ceremonies, rituals and subsequently settled as a missionary (J. Du Plessis, The festivals. These traditional values became a source of Evangelisation of Pagan Africa, A History of Christian tension and conflict between the Bakundu and Missions to the Pagan Tribes of Central Africa (Cape Europeans as the Bakundu became literate, semi-literate Town and Johannesburg: C Juta and Co., Litd. 1929) and were exposed to the secular forces of urbanisation 115.). In Bakunduland, effective mission work started in Betoto 049 1897 with the building of the first chapel at Bombe on the it as their own without abandoning everything of the old banks of the Mungo. That same year, the station had its ways. first resident missionary, the Rev. Nathaniel Lauffer, and The Basel Mission missionaries, and later the Catholics in a short time six out-stations were opened in and Baptists took different approaches in converting the neighbouring Bakundu and Balong villages (W. Keller, J. Bakundu to Christianity. Schnellbach and R. Brutsch, The History of the Presbyterian Church in West Cameroon (Victoria: Presbook Printing Press, 1969), 10.). Evangelism The opening of a mission station at Bombe began the pioneering phase of effective missionary activity among The missionaries took different approaches in converting the Bakundu thereby making Bombe a ‘model’ station. As the Bakundu to Christianity. First they preached a a result, other stations were created based on the Bombe message of love and equality. This message appealed model. The station was built away from the native village most to social groups like slaves, outcasts and the lowly and on a hill which marked a sharp contrast to the village in the Bakundu society because for the first time they community because of its well organised community life, were recognised as people with the same rights as the which provided a striking example of the European way other members of their communities. Gifts of European of life to which the Africans would aspire. goods like textiles, mirrors and wrist watches, essentially The Bombe station was a complex which comprised “bribes”, were sometimes made to people to entice them the missionary residences, a school, a catechist’s house, to the new religion (Interview with Ebenezar Obase, a a dispensary, a chapel and a garden. retired Presbyterian Church head teacher at Kumba on 16 October 2011.). Such methods are only one of the reasons why “conversion” is a difficult concept. It is Missionary Evangelism possible that many early Bakundu converts were not converted from conviction but from such ulterior material To aid understanding of the conversion process among interests. the Bakundu, it is necessary to begin with a description of One notable convert was Ndo Mbile of Mbu, a freeborn, Bakundu cosmological ideas in order to show their in northern Bakundu. A farmer and a hunter, he was compatibility or incompatibility with western beliefs. apparently a man of outstanding qualities and father of These beliefs included the belief in a supreme deity, the seven children. He was touched by the christian message relation between man and his environment on which he which led him to abandon secret societies. He became depends, the belief in the ancestors who were seen as more tolerant, condemned witchcraft, and called on his the intermediaries between the living and the dead. On family to accept Christianity and western education the other hand Bakundu chiefs, like their counterparts (Interview with Andrew Diongo, an accountant, and is a elsewhere in Africa, were thought to be endowed with member of the Bakundu royal family, in Douala on 16 spiritual powers, were sacred, and could not live like November 2011.). He became a lay preacher and always ordinary people. This was the essence of divine kingship. welcomed Basel Mission missionaries to his home and Conversion to Christianity among the Bakundu wanted one of his sons to become a pastor. This dream therefore began with the social context in which it was fulfilled when his nephew, Abel Modika, became a occurred including the economic interests of the people pastor. He also hoped that his daughters would marry like farming and trade. Christianity and Bakundu belief pastors, a dream that was also fulfilled when his first system had much in common. For example, the Bakundu daughter married Pastor Ekembe from Nyassoso in believe in a supernatural being, while christians believe in Bakossiland (Ibid.). one God or monotheism. Also, the fact that the To show how much he valued the new teaching and missionaries contributed to the people’s well-being was education, he expressed it in simple terms when he told an important factor in the process of conversion. Andrew Diongo that, “when you write a letter, you take it Therefore, belief in a supreme deity, love for one’s to the post office and drop it there. You do not see when neighbour, the fulfilment of people’s economic and social the letter gets to its destination and after sometime, the needs were common in christian and Bakundu belief reply comes; that is the best witchcraft and not that which systems. In this view, the Bakundu saw Christianity as kills” (Ibid.). This was the testimony of a truly transformed close to what they believed was essential for happy life and worldview. Rare as it was, it is a measure of the living. Since christian teaching did not seem to differ depth of change among Bakundu by christian much from what they knew was good for them, they missionaries. accepted it believing that it would improve their well- To bring genuine conversion, the Bakundu were asked being. In view of these compatibilities, they were able to to abandon their works of art and totems which they grasp the essentials of western Christianity and to adopt worshipped as gods. Objects like carved statutes, 050 Glo. Adv. Res. J. Hist. Polit. Sci. Int Relat. portions and other traditional amulets worn round the overemphasised. Their conversion was the beginning of waist in villages were destroyed. The leaders of the a social revolution as their place in Bakundu society people of Bakundu like Abia of Supe and Mosongo of changed after they received western education which Mbu were also prime targets for conversion. It was enabled them to express themselves in the European believed that once they were converted, their subjects language, first German and later English, dressed like would follow them. Europeans, worked for the missionaries and the colonial The Bakundu had values inherited from the distant government, and the economic freedom they now forebears, which included solidarity among them, the enjoyed enhanced their social status and prestige in development of resources for common good of the Bakundu society. community, and the veneration of ancestors who were Another group to whom the chritsian message considered the intermediaries between the living and appealed a lot was the women. They like the slaves God. These were ultimately tied to their worldview. enjoyed no liberty in Bakunduland. They were In their fight to convert the people, the missionaries traditionally subject to men and were regarded as their challenged the worldview and lifestyle and sought to property and had no control over their sexuality and did change it radically.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jeremy Mcmaster Rich
    Jeremy McMaster Rich Associate Professor, Department of Social Sciences Marywood University 2300 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509 570-348-6211 extension 2617 [email protected] EDUCATION Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Ph.D., History, June 2002 Thesis: “Eating Disorders: A Social History of Food Supply and Consumption in Colonial Libreville, 1840-1960.” Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Phyllis Martin Major Field: African history. Minor Fields: Modern West European history, African Studies Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. M.A., History, December 1994 University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. B.A. with Honors, History, June 1993 Dean’s List 1990-1991, 1992-1993 TEACHING Marywood University, Scranton, PA. Associate Professor, Dept. of Social Sciences, 2011- Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN. Associate Professor, Dept. of History, 2007-2011 Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN. Assistant Professor, Dept. of History, 2006-2007 University of Maine at Machias, Machias, ME. Assistant Professor, Dept. of History, 2005-2006 Cabrini College, Radnor, PA. Assistant Professor (term contract), Dept. of History, 2002-2004 Colby College, Waterville, ME. Visiting Instructor, Dept. of History, 2001-2002 CLASSES TAUGHT African History survey, African-American History survey (2 semesters), Atlantic Slave Trade, Christianity in Modern Africa (online and on-site), College Success, Contemporary Africa, France and the Middle East, Gender in Modern Africa, Global Environmental History in the Twentieth Century, Historical Methods (graduate course only), Historiography, Modern Middle East History, US History survey to 1877 and 1877-present (2 semesters), Women in Modern Africa (online and on-site courses), Twentieth Century Global History, World History survey to 1500 and 1500 to present (2 semesters, distance and on-site courses) BOOKS With Douglas Yates.
    [Show full text]
  • Love and Death in the Mission Compound: the Hardships of Life in the Tropics for Victorian Missionaries and Their Families
    29 JOHN DARCH Love and Death in the Mission Compound: the Hardships of Life in the Tropics for Victorian Missionaries and their Families Drawing extensively on unpublished archive material, John Darch opens a fascinating window onto the harsh personal experiences of Victorian missionaries. Isolation, loneliness, extra-marital liaisons, disease and death are all here. Yet the very human frailties of these people make their achievements all the more remarkable. The author acknowledges, with thanks, permission to quote from the archives of the Church Missionary Society, the London Missionary Society I Council for World Mission and the Methodist Church (MMS Archives). Introduction When Bishop James Hannington remarked in 1885, with some disapproval, on the 'palatial residences' he observed at the Church Missionary Society (CMS) settlement at Frere Town and the fact that the missionaries lived 'in every comfort', 1 his remarks were, no doubt, received with some surprise on account of their rarity value, for luxurious accommodation and working.conditions were not normally the experience of Victorian missionaries nor were they expected by their supporters at home. More typical were the remarks of John Geddie, pioneer Presbyterian missionary in the New Hebrides, who commented about one of his junior colleagues, James McNair: 'he is a very excellent man, but he is unfit for the hardships of missionary life.' 2 Henry Venn, Honorary Clerical Secretary of the CMS and Victorian missionary strategist par excellence, was well aware of those hardships endured by his missionaries. He wrote in 1867: 'I often plead before the throne of grace that those who have sacrificed home comforts for the Lord's sake may experience such comforts abroad as may be consistent with the brightening of their final crown of glory.
    [Show full text]
  • Catalogue Four Allsworth Rare Books Travel & Exploration
    TRAVEL & EXPLORATION CATALOGUE FOUR ALLSWORTH RARE BOOKS TRAVEL & EXPLORATION Above from left: items 197, 56, 38, 189 & 14 Above, item 36 Above, item 168 Title-Page: item 161 CATALOGUE FOUR Above, item 41, to right, 22 Front cover: Prince Archibong II of Calabar, original ALLSWORTH RARE BOOKS photograph (see item 140). Rear cover: Noble Calabar woman, original photograph (see item 141). CATALOGUE FOUR Allsworth Rare Books P.O. Box 134 1 [AFRICAN SULTAN / GER- 235 Earls Court Road MAN EAST AFRICA.] An origi- London SW5 9FE nal photograph of the Sultan of the United Kingdom Wa-chaga tribe, with his six wives and dog. Unidentified photographer, Tel/fax: +44 (0)20-7377-0552 Mobile: +44 (0)7884-054114 circa 1890s. E-mail: [email protected] Gloss silver print (17.5 x 23 cm), laid Website: www.allsworthbooks.com on thin card, with the title written in a Enquiries: Jenny Allsworth contemporary hand below. £275 Items in this catalogue are available for viewing by appointment at: 2 [ANDAMAN ISLANDS.] A rare group of four original photographs showing 23 Bedford Square natives of the Andaman Islands. Port Blair, Unidentified photographer, December Bloomsbury House 1896. London WC1B 3HH (Nearest tube station: Tottenham Court Road. Or a short walk from the Three albumen prints mounted British Museum). on card (each 20 x 15 cm), and one unmounted silver print Bankers: HSBC, 69 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5EY (14.5 x 10.5 cm), each image Sort code: 40-05-20. Account number: 21401750 captioned and dated in a con- IBAN no: GB11MIDL40052021401750 temporary hand.
    [Show full text]
  • FULL ISSUE (48 Pp., 2.6 MB PDF)
    • Vol. 18, No.3 nternatlona July 1994 etln• Youth: Mission's Neglected Priority ccording to BryantMyers in the lead article of this issue, category in their own right. Not until New Delhi (1961) was A every third person in the world today is a youth under formal notice taken of youth as a category. The Youth Depart­ the age of fifteen, and almost four out of five are growing up in ment of the WCC identified a new phenomenon-"youth cul­ non-Christian settings. ture"-and announced: "The present-day population explosion Three-quarters of today's urban slum population-more has made our world a world largely populated by youth." than 400 million-consists of young people under the age of The Lausanne Movement has devoted some attention to twenty-four. As many as 100 million under fifteen live on city children as a focus of mission, but as Myers notes, "Most mis­ streets. There are half a million prostitutes under the age of sions focus on people groups and send adults to reach other twenty in Brazil, 800,000 under sixteen in Thailand. Every year adults." Conclusion: It is time to address the youth lacuna in upward of a million children are forced into the sex industry. world mission! Childrenin manyregions of the globe are beingexploited as child laborers in ways some of us might have supposed had ended in the last century. Wondering to what extent children of earlier generations havebeenidentified as a categoryfor specialmissionconcern, we On Page invested an afternoon in the Day Missions Library at Yale Uni­ 98 State of the World's Children: Critical versity Divinity School-and found relatively little.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of the Colonization of Africa by Alien Races
    OufO 3 1924 074 488 234 All books are subject to recall after two weeks Olin/Kroch Library DATE DUE -mr -^ l99T 'li^^is Wtt&-F£SeiW SPRIHG 2004 PRINTED IN U.S.A. The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924074488234 In compliance with current copyright law, Cornell University Library produced this replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1984 to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. 1994 (Kambtitrge i^istotical Series EDITED BY G. W. PROTHERO, LiTT.D. HONORARY FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. THE COLONIZATION OF AFRICA. aonbon: C. J. CLAY AND SONS, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE, Ave Maria Lane. ©lasBoiu: 263, ARGYLE STREET. Ecipjis: F. A. BROCKHAUS. jjefagorl:: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. JSomlaj: E. SEYMOUR HALE. A HISTORY OF THE COLONIZATION OF AFRICA BY ALIEN RACES BY SIR HARRY H. JOHNSTON, K.C.B. (author of "BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA," ETC.). WITH EIGHT MAPS BY THE AUTHOR AND J. G. BARTHOLOMEW. CAMBRIDGE: AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 1899 9 [All Rights reserved-^ GENERAL TREFACE. The aim of this series is to sketch tlie history of Alodern Europe, with that of its chief colonies and conquests, from about the e7id of the fifteenth century down to the present time. In one or two cases the story will connnence at an earlier date : in the case of the colonies it will usually begin later.
    [Show full text]
  • FULL ISSUE (48 Pp., 2.3 MB PDF)
    Vol. 18, No.4 nternatlona• October 1994 etln• Can Historians Learn front History? goodmanyyearsago the GermanmissiologistJohannes the service of American national identity. Or to undertake mis­ A Rommerskirchen, O.M.I., raised the question, Can mis­ sion studies without due attention to the two-way cross-cultural sionaries learn from history? The major article of this issue, interchange that accompanied American endeavors. "From Missions to Mission to Beyond Missions," by Dana L. In any case, the contemporary cadre of historians of nine­ Robert, can be viewed as an answer to another question: Can teenth- and twentieth-century American Protestant missions historians learn from history?-in this case, the history of Ameri­ includes women, blacks, Europeans, and Third World scholars, can Protestant missions. with the latter writing from their viewpoint as recipients of Sophisticated observers of human affairs no longer accept mission. It is a whole new world, with lessons for us all! anyone's research-whether in science or history or religion­ without asking about the author's presuppositions. "Objective" scholarship is understood nowadays as a concept that must be carefully qualified. On Page Robert's probing essaybegins by noting the ecumenical bias of mission historian R. Pierce Beaver, which led him, thirty years 146 From Missions to Mission to Beyond Missions: ago, to project a vision for mission-in-unity, while he underval­ The Historiography of American Protestant ued the evangelical legions that were already well on the way to Foreign Missions Since World War II numerical if not qualitative leadership in the cause of Christian Dana L. Robert overseas ministries.
    [Show full text]
  • Catalog-A-Books
    Cameroon Mission History Collection North American Baptist Heritage Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA Catalog Section A: Books (including unpublished manuscripts and English translations) Page 1 of 11 Many of these books came to the NAB Heritage Center from former Cameroon missionaries. These were read in preparation for Cameroon service or acquired while they were in Cameroon to learn more about their adopted country. The books are authored by missionaries or others familiar with Cameroon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameroon). The order is alphabetical by author (or editor if no author named, or publisher if neither was given), as they are on the shelves. Almost all materials are in English with a few in German, French, West African Pidgin English, or Duala (a language of coastal Cameroon). There are annotations for most books relating it to the work of the NAB missionaries and/or CBC ministries. The following acronyms are used throughout: CBC for Cameroon Baptist Convention, the Convention of Baptist churches in Cameroon related to the North American Baptist Conference. NAB for North American Baptists, a denomination of churches in North America (USA & Canada) related to the Cameroon Baptist Convention. CBM for Cameroon Baptist Mission, the legal organization name of the NAB Conference mission in Cameroon, 1942-1975. Achebe, Chinua. 1959. Things Fall Apart. New York: Random House. 214 pages. A novel about the effects of Christian influences and clash of Christian and African traditional religion values in Nigeria. Describes the cultural situations NAB missionaries dealt with in understanding Cameroonians and Nigerians. Considered the most widely read book of African literature.
    [Show full text]
  • PEACE and GOODWILL George Grenfell on the Congo - I
    139 PEACE AND GOODWILL George Grenfell on the Congo - I Some thirteen years ago in Gateshead, I was shown a small rectangular piece of iron a few inches square. The owner, Miss Peggy McKercher, proudly told me it was a fragment of the BMS ship, Peace. My interest caught, I have since pursued the largely forgotten story ofdetennination and dedication to Christ. Modern Zaire is very different from the land and peoples that the first BMS missionaries encountered so I have kept to the old name of Congo to describe situations and events of the past. Beginnings Written European history of the Congo begins in 1485-6, when the Portuguese navigator, Diego Cam, reached the mouth of the Congo river (also called the Nzadi, from which the name Zaire derives). He sailed to Matadi, the highest navigable point from the Atlantic, and proceeded overland to the capital of the King of Congo, now the Angolan town ofMbanza Kongo (under Portuguese rule, San Salvador). In 1491 another Portuguese expedition came to the area and the King and Queen of Congo were baptized, taking the Christian names of John and Leonora. In the reign of the next king, Alphonso (1492-1525), Portuguese dominance was established, and with it a veneer of Roman Catholic Christianity. There is a reasonable history of Congo up to 1670 by the Catholic missionary, Father Cavazzi. This suggests a somewhat chaotic relationship: the Portuguese priests and monks sent to Congo were not of high calibre. King Diogo (1532-1540) was so disillusioned with them that he ordered all immoral and unruly clerics and monks to be tied up and shipped back to Silo Tome.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of the Expansion of Evangelical Christianity in Nigeria
    A HISTORY OF THE EXPANSION OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY IN NIGERIA I ) ) A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in ■•v Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of ;■ Doctor of Theology Charles William Knight 1951 SOUTHERN BAPTIST _ THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY LIBI^V IjOUISVILLE.Kt 2825 L£MNGTON ROAD 1 .V., '• •- •*' ■■ -- r;" C" » To Jfy Mother, Wife and Mjr Son .n s-;-. v[ •V PREFACE . I On January 11,• 1940>I received appointment from the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Conven- ■ tion as a missionary to Nigeria. My first work' as a missionary was that of teaching in the theological seminary. While teaching there 1 began,to collect 'material for the writing of the story of Southern Baptist Missions iii Nigeria. My desire was enlarged to include the efforts- of all evangelical groups who soiighf to introduce Christianity in Nigeria. ■ During my' first term of service I had the advantage of living in Western Nigeria at Ogbomosho where I received my first impression of mission work . in 'Nigeria. On my second term of service I lived in Northern Nigeria, at Kadtina and had the opportunity of - - ■ ' Vrewini:^thi"wbrk oT the missionary sbcieties in this areja. I also'had the-'privilege of'spending some time ... ■ in-Eastern Nigeria and saw. the societies at work th^re;. ' During these two terms of service I was' constantly on the alert for any materieil, books, pamphlets or con­ versations that would give me a true picture of Christ- ianity as it expanded. This thesis is the result of the collection of this material.
    [Show full text]
  • JAMAICAN and BRITISH BAPTISTS in WEST AFRICA, 1841-1888 by Paul R
    Baptist World Alliance Heritage and Identity Commission Paper July 2001 Charlottetown PEI JAMAICAN AND BRITISH BAPTISTS IN WEST AFRICA, 1841-1888 by Paul R. Dekar, Niswonger Professor of Evangelism and Missions, Memphis Theological Seminary, 168 East Parkway South, Memphis TN USA 38104. (c) Paul R. Dekar After three years of United States government and church service in Cameroon, Dekar wrote a Ph.D. thesis on Presbyterian work in Cameroon (University of Chicago, 1978). From 1976-1995 he taught at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Books include For the Healing of the Nations (Macon: Smyth and Helwys, 1993) and Holy Boldness: Practices of an Evangelistic Lifestyle (Macon: Smyth and Helwys, in press). Abstract This article surveys West Africa outreach between 1841-1888 by the London-based Baptist Missionary Society (hereafter BMS) and the Kingston-based Jamaican Baptist Missionary Society (hereafter JBMS). Documentation focuses on responses of mission board leaders, missionaries, the local Creole community and African Christians to the reality of growing interference by European powers and the imposition of colonial rule on the region. This case study elucidates the complex role of missionaries in the process by which the West came to exercise political and economic domination of Africa. It complements a survey of the role of black Americans in the Protestant missionary movement in Africa.(1) Introduction This study explores the complex role of missionaries in the process by which the West came to exercise political and economic domination of Africa. As a case study, the article surveys West Africa outreach between 1841-1888 by the London-based BMS and the Kingston-based JBMS.
    [Show full text]
  • GUIDE to MICROFILM of BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY ARCHIVES 1792-1914 London, England
    GUIDE TO MICROFILM OF BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY ARCHIVES 1792-1914 London, England Microfilm No.5350 Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives GUIDE TO MICROFILM OF BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY ARCHIVES 1792-1914 London, England Microfilm No.5350 Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives The Archives of the Baptist Missionary Society of England comprise one of the most significant Baptist manuscript collections in the world. The Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, Nashville, TN, is grateful to the Baptist Missionary Society for permitting the Historical Commission, SBC, to microfilm this valuable manuscript collection and to make microfilm prints available to other libraries. Through this cooperative project, these resources are now available for study of the modern missionary movement, which began in 1792 with the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society and the appointment of William Carey and others to India. From that small but historic beginning, the work of the Baptist Missionary Society eventually spread around the world. Historical Background The Baptist Missionary Society was founded in 1792 by William Carey (1761- 1834). As a youth, Carey had developed an interest in missionary work in the South Seas through reading the accounts of Captain Cook's 1769-1770 voyages to that region. This interest was accentuated when Carey read Jonathan Edwards' book Life of Brainerd. In 1792, Carey himself authored a paper, "An Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen." His two sermons in that year, one before the Baptist Association at Nottingham and the other before the Baptist Association at Kettering, were impassioned pleas for missions, and these are generally credited with spurring the interest in others which resulted in the founding of the Baptist Missionary Society on October 2, 1792.
    [Show full text]
  • Missionary Life in South East Africa. Decorated Hots in a Native Kraal
    Missionary Life in South East Africa. Decorated Hots in a Native KraaL This is an exterior view of one of the “ homes” of the three million that populate the Portuguese East Africa Province, where some of our Methodist missions are located. These huts, photographed by Superintendent Richards, are beautifully decorated with particolored skins, which in the deep tropical foliage present a pleasing picture. The doorway is the only opening to the uninviting interior. The fire burns in the center of the one room, and over it, resting on three stones, is an earthen pot in which corn or farina is cooking— little variation in diet, except in locust or caterpillar season. On a wicker sticlf above the fire grain is stored and pottery dried. A round the hut hang hatchet, spear, bow and arrows, hoe, water bottles and cooking pots— that is all, except the mats on which all sleep with their toes toward the fire. ILLUSTRATED CHRISTIAN WORLD. January, 1897. GENERAL MISSIONARY COfiniTTEE AND OUR WORK IN AFRICA. recommends that the appropriation for the work as it is shall be $300 less, and fixed at $5,000. The A Happy Adjustment of the Vast Interests Involved, and an Open Door for Still Larger Successes. committee also recommends that $3,000 be appro­ BY BISHOP J. C. HARTZELL, D.D., LL.D. priated for reinforcements to fill vacancies. 2. The ten stations and five substations among HE General Missionary Committee of the Report on Africa. the heathen in Liberia, heretofore administered Methodist Episcopal Church is composed of by Bishop William Taylor, include eleven mission­ T the twenty-one Bishops, representing the Bishop Foss presented the report of the special aries, with several native preachers and teachers.
    [Show full text]