| Summary: |
Incoming correspondence from missionaries in Europe and Russia to the London Missionary Society headquarters. Includes correspondence from Holland, 1797-1845, Germany, 1801-1838, Scandinavia, 1798-1843, Switzerland, 1798-1843, France, 1801-1849, the Greek Mission, 1808-1846 (including Malta, 1808-1835, Zante, 1819-1822 and the Greek Mission, 1832-1846), and Russia, 1802-1848.
Most of the correspondence with North West Europe is with missionary societies, tract societies, bible societies and other supporters of evangelical mission emerging alongside existing protestant churches, in Rotterdam, the Ruhr, Berlin, East Friesland, Stuttgart, Basel, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Christiania [Oslo], Copenhagen, and the Moravian headquarters at Herrnhut. The new missionary societies exchanged reports and publications as well as collaborating over Scripture translation. Some letters make arrangements for missionaries from one country to work abroad under the aegis of another country’s society. Training institutions at Berlin, Basel and Rotterdam report on preparedness of candidates. Some of the travel arrangements are affected by political matters – earliest missionaries to India and Ceylon [Sri Lanka] travelled in Danish ships; continental Europeans entered countries in the southern hemisphere on British vessels during the Napoleonic wars; collaboration between the LMS and the Netherlands society eased the evangelisation of territories which alternated between British and Dutch control in Guiana [Guyana], South-East Asia and South Africa. A correspondent whose name crops up in every area is Carl [Karl] Friedrich Adolf Steinkopf, a native of Stuttgart who first corresponded with the LMS from Basel, soon became a director of the LMS and of the British & Foreign Bible Society and devoted himself to fostering mission and bible societies in many European countries.
|
| Arrangement: |
Incoming correspondence from Europe is organised into sub-sections for Holland, Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland, France, Greece & Malta, and Russia. Correpondence from all regions in Europe ends by the mid 19th century. |
| Finding aids: |
A detailed list (List B1) is available for consultation in the Special Collections Reading Room, SOAS Library, which covers Incoming Correspondence for Holland, 1797-1845 (much in Dutch, including correspondence with Johannes Van der Kemp before he went to South Africa), Germany, 1801-1838 (some in Latin and German), Scandinavia, 1798-1843 (some in Latin and Swedish), Switzerland, 1798-1843, France, 1801-1849, and Russia, 1802-1848. Digitised copies of these lists are available on SOAS Digital Collections - see URL links in catalogue records by region.
|
