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Scottish Missions and Religious Enlightenment in Colonial America: the SSPCK in Transatlantic Context Rusty Roberson Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of History, Classics and Archaeology University of Edinburgh 2012 Acknowledgements My acknowledgements must begin with Robert Calhoon. A gentleman and scholar of the highest calibre, Professor Calhoon facilitated my graduate work in North Carolina and continued his support long after the degree. His unfailing encouragement and critical eye, as well as his inspirational prose and challenging ideas, culminated in his suspicion that much more was to be done on the SSPCK. I cannot thank him enough. Also central to my project were my supervisors at the University of Edinburgh. Frank Cogliano provided keen insights sprinkled with optimism that allowed me to conceptualise the project more fully. Paul Quigley gave unyielding support coupled with careful scholarly insights all along the way. Alexander Murdoch was an informal supervisor who tirelessly offered valuable criticism and direction. All three of these scholars were overwhelmingly patient and generous during the development and completion of the thesis. Thomas Ahnert was particularly helpful both in facilitating a discussion early on about the direction of my project and in his meticulous assistance as my internal examiner. As my external examiner, Colin Kidd scrutinised the core ideas and terms of the thesis, and also offered substantive guidance more generally. Ned Landsman gave superb insights regarding the scope and direction of my project at its nascent stages, and Anthony Kronman helped me think more clearly about my research in relation to larger questions of the humanities. Peter Onuf also asked the larger questions that forced me to re-evaluate several assumptions of my thesis. Christine Patrick, David Silverman and James Green assisted in my understanding of the colonial missionary context, and Owen Dudley-Edwards furnished much-needed inspiration and perspective. Stewart Brown’s class on religion and Enlightenment proved essential to the formative phases of this project. Kevin Kenny, Adam Budd and Warren Hofstra offered valuable advice on sources and methodology. Many scholars engaged with my research at innumerable conferences, seminars and workshops including the University of Edinburgh-University of Virginia Transatlantic Seminar and the workshops in American History, the Scottish Diaspora, and the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion and Culture. Several colleagues were particularly generous with their time and expertise. Tawny Paul lent her critical eye more than once, and Katherine Nicolai offered solid readings and advice. Iain McIver read portions of my thesis, and Linda Tym, Hisashi Kuboyama and Brij and Frances Singh gave much-needed insights. Others aided in reading and references including Brad Bow, Matthew Dziennik and Daniel Clinkman. Special thanks to Jay Voss as well as to Nicole Cleary, Jorine Willems, Sora Sato and Catherine-Rose Stocks-Rankin. Regarding administrative staff, Niko Ovendon and Richard Kane (amongst others) were always efficient, and Anne Brockington, Karen Howie and Lyndsay Scott were particularly supportive and kind. Several funding opportunities helped to make this research possible. I am very grateful for the funding from the University of Edinburgh that came with being a McMillan scholar. The Library Company of Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania also granted funding for this research: Connie King was especially helpful in Philadelphia. The International Centre for Jefferson Studies bestowed generous funding, collegial advice and southern hospitality throughout my residency there: Jack Robertson was ever so kind at the Jefferson Library, and Gay Wilson made me feel right at home. The staff at these libraries and archives, and also those at the Centre for Research Collections at the University of Edinburgh, the National Library of Scotland and the National Archives of Scotland were very erudite, professional and always eager to assist. I owe a distinct debt of gratitude to Kathleen. She has been along for the ride every step of the way with a sharp eye for revision and a keen sense of the local. Even more, though, her love sustained this project and its author through both exhilarating and disquieting times. Also to Art for thinking this was possible in the first place. A special thanks goes to Robbie, Nicole, Josh and Maggie for their unfailing love and support. Brooke, Bryce, Autumn and Logan have been inspirational through it all. Finally, in so many ways, my mother and father have made this project possible. To Dad, who began to ask the big questions and inspire (and support). And to Mom, who was my number one fan through this entire thesis (and in life more generally). The encouragement and support you gave, along with the coffee you provided, left an indelible mark upon this project. I am forever indebted for such kindess, inspiration and love. For my parents Candidate’s Declaration of Own Work This thesis has been composed by the candidate alone, and the work belongs fully to the candidate. This work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. _________________________ Rusty Roberson May 2012 Abstract In recent years, the relationship between religion and Enlightenment, traditionally cast in opposition to one another, has received increasing reconsideration. Scholars now recognise that even orthodox religion played a central role within the Enlightenment project. This development has marked a paradigm shift in Atlantic world and Enlightenment historiography. However, while the relationship between religion and Enlightenment has been greatly clarified, there remain major gaps in our understanding of the nature and parameters of this relationship. This thesis contributes to the understanding of religion’s function within Enlightenment thought and practice through a case study of the colonial missionary work of the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK). Using primary sources such as institutional records, sermons, journals, diaries and letters, it examines evangelism within the framework of the Enlightenment. The study demonstrates first how both the founders of the SSPCK and the Society’s most fervent advocates of missionary work in the colonies were simultaneously the foremost leaders of the British and American Enlightenment. It then traces the implications of this religious Enlightenment dynamic, illuminating not only the ambitions of the Society’s leadership but also certain contours of intimate encounters between Native Americans, Native Christians and white missionaries. As the SSPCK’s missionary endeavours demonstrate, the relationship between evangelism and Enlightenment not only changed all individuals and institutions involved. It also transformed the very landscape of British Protestant religion. This assessment points to the overarching conclusion that the Enlightenment shaped the very foundation of modern missions. In the process, however, British Atlantic Protestants of many different varieties wove the discourse of the Enlightenment into the tapestry of their understanding of evangelism as a primary means of identity formation, both personally and institutionally. Historiographically, this research forces a reexamination of the nuances of the religious Enlightenment. It also problematizes the static (albeit dominant) interpretation of evangelicalism by observing its emergence in light of the broader conditions of British Atlantic Protestantism. Table of Contents List of Abbreviations viii Introduction Evangelism and Enlightenment 1 Chapter 1 Scotland and the Age of Improvement 38 Chapter 2 Piety and Religious Instruction: the SSPCK’s First Colonial Endeavour 74 Chapter 3 The SSPCK and the Great Awakening, 1740-1745 102 Chapter 4 Encounters 131 Chapter 5 ‘To Live Like Christian People’: Post-Awakening Evangelicalism in the Pennsylvania Borderlands 158 Chapter 6 Evangelism and Native Christian Identity 185 Chapter 7 ‘Without Regard to…Sects or Parties’?: the Question of Unity within non-Anglican British Protestantism 225 Conclusion Evangelism and Enlightenment: the Legacy of the SSPCK 258 Bibliography 270 List of Abbreviations CMH, 1 -- James Robe, The Christian Monthly History: or an Account of the Revival and Progress of Religion, Abroad, and at Home, vol. 1 no. 1. CMH, 2 -- James Robe, The Christian Monthly History, for the Month of May, 1745, no. 2. CMH, 5 -- James Robe, The Christian Monthly History: Or, An Account of the Revival and Progress of Religion, Abroad, and at Home, no. 5, for March,