My thesis analyses the relationship between the Capuchin missionaries of the "Missio Antiqua" and the Portuguese colonial empire between the seventeenth and eighteenth century.
A Master Thesis study in which missionaries from two Dutch protestant missionary organizations (the Nederlandse Zendingsraad and the Vereenigde Nederlandsche Zendingscorporaties) are discussed and...Show moreA Master Thesis study in which missionaries from two Dutch protestant missionary organizations (the Nederlandse Zendingsraad and the Vereenigde Nederlandsche Zendingscorporaties) are discussed and analyzed in order to see how they positioned themselves, based on some of the central themes discussed in the monograph Over de Grens, during the Indonesian Independence War from 1945 till 1949. In this study the focus was put on missionaries who were active on Java and Bali during the war.Show less
This thesis analyses missionary reactions to the sleeping sickness epidemic that haunted East and Central Africa in the early 20th century. Sleeping sickness was an inevitably fatal disease endemic...Show moreThis thesis analyses missionary reactions to the sleeping sickness epidemic that haunted East and Central Africa in the early 20th century. Sleeping sickness was an inevitably fatal disease endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. In focusing on the German protestant Bethel Mission and the French catholic White Fathers mission, this thesis argues that missionaries had distinct approaches towards sleeping sickness and that the disease was less prevalent in the African Great Lakes Region than previously assumed. Past scholarship on sleeping sickness has relied almost exclusively on the Belgian, German, and British colonial states’ archives. Sleeping sickness threatened these states’ claim to power and consequently induced profound colonial anxieties. Missionaries, instead, were less anxious in light of sleeping sickness. Missionary medicine and missionary mobility regimes aided the Bethel Mission and the White Fathers to cope better with the epidemic. Their archives offer an alternative to colonial archives that does not conflate the disease, and also acknowledges that vast areas in the African Great Lakes Region were free of sleeping sickness. The disease was one among many diseases the missionaries and their communities faced. The missionary sources this thesis relies on suggest that scholarship on sleeping sickness reflects a colonial imaginary rather than the lived reality of non-colonial individuals in the African Great Lakes Region.Show less
This thesis focused on the question of how it had been possible for Europeans to become ‘white rajas’ in eastern Indonesian contexts. In order to answer this question, I have conducted a...Show moreThis thesis focused on the question of how it had been possible for Europeans to become ‘white rajas’ in eastern Indonesian contexts. In order to answer this question, I have conducted a microhistorical study on the ‘social life’ of the ‘successful’ missionary Ernst Steller, who had been working on the island of Sangihe Besar. Ernst Steller eventually managed to acquire significant social status in local society, an extraordinary large following, access to a large free labour force, a large plantation, and eventually the ability to dominate local chiefly politics. In order to explain Ernst Steller’s political, social and economic rise, I have utilized Tony Ballantyne’s concept of ‘imperial entanglement’, which positions the missionary as a dependent social actor within local society. As Ernst Steller had been largely dependent on local elites, he became a part of local society, and had to adapt to local culture and institutions. Ernst Steller actively participated in the competitive and ritualistic politics of Sangihe Besar – in the process adapting and manipulating local cultural conceptions and institutions in order to achieve his own goals. Due to his connections to the Netherlands and the Dutch colonial state, Ernst Steller eventually managed to gain an edge over the local elites. Ultimately, Ernst Steller became one of the dominant figures in the Sangirese political arena, together with a small number of European actors who had used similar ways to acquire their political, social and economic positions. These ‘white rajas’ competed amongst each other, perpetuating the competitive and ritualistic political culture of Sangihe Besar. This thesis has demonstrated that 1) missionaries had – given the right political and social circumstances – been able to transform their dependent social positions into positions of political power, and 2) social mobility in Sangirese contexts greatly resembled processes of social mobility in both eastern Indonesian and Melanesian contexts.Show less
Between 1911 and the end of the 1920s a large number of single female Protestant missionaries from the United States was working in China. By this time, the work of missionaries had evolved from...Show moreBetween 1911 and the end of the 1920s a large number of single female Protestant missionaries from the United States was working in China. By this time, the work of missionaries had evolved from being engaged in direct evangelism to providing social services in educational and medical institutions, and through these services indirectly spreading Christian civilization. This thesis questions if imperialism carried out by missionaries can be beneficent, and specifically focuses on the American New Women who came to China as single female missionaries. The reasons why these women came to China were diverse, some came because of their vocation others because they were longing for adventure. However, many of these women had more practical reasons. At the beginning of the 20th century it was difficult for educated women to find suitable jobs in the United States, China offered them career possibilities as well as a social position. The American government supported the missionaries in their effort to spread Christianity and American civilization, but the reasons for this support were far from altruistic.Show less
This thesis looks at the effects of two Protestant Missionaries in 17th Century New England and their effects on the indigenous population and how the indigenous population reacted to them.
In this thesis the changing landscape of mission in global christianity is analyzed with a focus on reverse mission: missonaries from East Asia and the Global South coming to (Western) Europe...Show moreIn this thesis the changing landscape of mission in global christianity is analyzed with a focus on reverse mission: missonaries from East Asia and the Global South coming to (Western) Europe aiming to rechristianize the secularized West. This thesis combines a literature study looking at the causes for this changing missionary landscape with two case studies of the Roman Catholic Church in the netherlands and a local congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Wales.Show less
