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The missionary effort and the establishment of missions took a different path in various regions. Latin America was the location of the first mass conversion led by the Christian missionaries who accompanied the Conquistadores. Missions were estblished in frontier areas such as northern Mexico in areas where the Spanish could not oversone hostile tribes. Major cities in the American Southwest began as Spanish nmissuins. They were also established in the frontier areas like Paraguay between Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Since World War II, Protestant missionaries have had an imnpact throughout the region. Asia was another area in which mostly Catholic missinaries were active, but joind by Protestants (19th century). Christian missionaries were founded throughout China. They did not have a major religious impact, but played an important role in the bginning of building a modern education system and medicine. The Espeys were part of this missionary effort. We do not know about missioins in Japan, but Christinity was largely eradicated (16th centuty). Missions in India also had a minor relgious impact, but a major impact on education and the independence movement. Europeans did not begin to penetrate the interior of Africa until several centuries after major contact began. It is then that the first missions were established. Oceania was colonized beginning with the Philippines and Indonesia (16th century). Next was Australia (17th century). The small islands were colonized and missions established in many of them (19th century).
Europeans did not begin to penetrate the interior of Africa until several centuries after major contact began. Chapels were established along the coast, mostly for the Europeans. There was no serious effort to make converts.
Until the 19th century, the principal European contact with sub-Saharan Africa was the slave trade. European merchants were primarily interested in sailing around Africa to get to the East. In the process the Americas were discovered and the indigenous population collapsed, primarily as a result of disease. As a result the slave trade dvloped as a major economic activity. Gradually Europeans began to penetrate further into Africa (late-18th/early-19th century). This conincided with two important largely religious movements in Europe and America. First, an evangelical revival movement primarily among Protestant sects (late-18th century). Anglicans and Roman Catholics followed (early-19th century). Second an abolitionist movement began to take root. After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain using the Royal Navy launched an epic effort to end the slave trade. Associated with the revival movement was a massive Christian missionary enterprise into Africa, Asia, and Oceania, much of which was in the process of being colonized.
Important missionry socities were formed in Britain (1790s). Shortly after that the first missions were established (19th century). This has been called the fourth great age of Christian expansion. As part of their effort to spread the Gospels outside Europe and the Americas, missionaries set up missions throughout Africa. The slave trade anf thevoprimitice character of muchbif sub-Saharan Africa gave a dustunctuve character to the African missions. Their goal was not only to win converts, but to transform Africa. These missions were not only churches, but also included an humanitarian inpulse. They founded schools and medical clinics in an Africa that had neither. These missions played a major role in devloping both educational and health systems in Africa. Mmedical compounds like the work of Dr. Schweitzer in the Congo are famous. Others missions sponsored schools, like the Ovan mission in Gabon we see here (figure 1) received less publicity. Both efforts are fairly well known. Less well publicized is their vluable work with African languages. They produced grammars, dictionaries, textbooks and translations of religious texts. Christian missionaries essentially laid the foundations for the modern literature in African languages. [Pawlikov�-Vilhanov�]
Latin America was the location of the first mass conversion led by the Christian missionaries who accompanied the Conquistadores. The missions were a Catholic undertaking in latin America. The Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits were active in founding missions (16th-19 centuries. The best known missions were estblished in frontier areas such as northern Mexico and the border between Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Northern Mexico (the American southwest) was an in areas where the Spanish could not overcome hostile tribes. Partially as a result, few Mexicans settled in the area. The missions were places that Nativ Americns could securely pursue their lives, free from persecution by Mexican hcendados and hostile tribes. The Camino Real conncted 21 Spanish missions in California. Major cities in the American Southwest began as Spanish missions (San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego). Tuson in Arizona began as a mission. There were some 25 missions in Texas. The most important city developing from the Texas missions in San Antonio. They were also established in the frontier areas like Paraguay between Spanish and Portuguese colonies. The Jesuits were primarily involved and even formed armies to protect the natives from slave raide Portuguese Bandisrtes. The Jesuit miissions were called reduciones and for some 150 years they protected ghe Guarani in Paragusy from Portuguese slave raiders, bandeirantes from S�o Paulo). They taught the Gospel, isolated then from European vices, and permitted them to express their creatibity.
The Spanish missions in Central, America, Mexico (including what is now the southwestern United States), and Florida are all in North America. It makes more sence, however, to deal with them as part of the Latin American section because they were Spanish missions. We think the French had some mission in Canada, but are still looking into that.
Asia was amnother area in which mostly Catholic missinaries were active, but joind by Protestants (19th century). Christian missionaries were founded throughout China. They did not have a major religious impact, but played an important role in the bginning of building a modern education system and medicine. Mission schools were especislly important in China. The Espeys were part of this missionary effort. We do not know about missions in Japan, but Christinity was largely eradicated (16th century). Missions in India also had a minor relgious impact, but a major impact on education and the independence movement. We notice Christian missions in India taking in orphans. We notice quite a number of active missions such as the House of Ruth Nava Bharat Mission.
Oceania was colonized by the Europeans beginning with East Indies (Indonesia) and the Phillipines. The Protestant Dutch emerged as the colonial power in the East Indies. They did not pursue any effort to Christianize the indigenous population. The Spanish did in the Philippines. Magellan claimed the Phillipines for Spain (1521). He was killed, but in insuing years as in the Americas, Conquistadores securd the islands as part of the Spanish Empire. This began (1560s) as was mot the bloody campaign experienced in the Amerucas. The Philippines was not as rich as Mexico and Peru, but was strategically important, epecilly when the silver trade with China began. And as in the Americas, Spanish colonial policy included the estblishment of missions. Many Filipino tiwns and cities began as missions. This can be seen with the imposing stone or brick mission church at the center of town. Commonly we also see connected convent and belltowers, Than across a church atrium or plaza is the municipio government building. Nearby is the town market. Spanish missionaries from the Philippines Christianized thecnearby islands (Marianas), but then headed north (17th century). Christian missions elsewhere in the Pacific only began emerging after a religious revival in Britain and the foundation of the London Missionary Society--LMS (late-18th century). Soon we see mission appearing throughtout the South Pacfic, this time Protestant missions (19th century). There were also Catholic missions on the French islands. Christianity was intoduced to the Pacific Islands by evangelical Protestant missionaries from Western Europeand (especially Britain) and the United States. The first LMS missionaries reached Polynesia (1797). Many different churches launched missionary projects (19th century). Anglicans, Methodists, Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, French Reformed, Lutherans, and Seventh-day Adventists were all involved. The islanders before the arrivals of the missionaries were exposed to Western traders and whalers and with them Christianity. The islanders more or less embraced the Christianity preached by the missionaries. Not all missionary efforts were sucessful, but the missionaries persisted. The greatest resistance was in Melanesia which tended to have a warrior culture. The embrace of Christianity was basically voluntary which is somewhat surprising given the cultural gap. Christianity for one thing was prudish and the island cultures rather permissive. We are not sure why they were so successful. Perhaps the theolohy appealed, but we rther doubbt it. We suspect tht the islanders admired the power and affluence of the Westerners. The missionaries set up missions that offered education and eventually medical care. The process began before the different islands were colonizd and while local governments existed. Often they supported local governments and efforts to remain independent. Pacific Island teachers helped speed the spread of Christinaity South Pacific (Polynesia and Micronesia). In each of these island groups, the first mission to introduce Christianity usually eventually received the support of the majority of the population. The missionary effort of the more populous and fragmented societies of Melanesia was slower process and in New Guinea is still incomplete. Australia is a separate story as it was used as a Brtish penal colony. Here the settlers soon outnumbered the idignenbou population. Missions were not established for the Europeanb settlers, msny of whom were convicts. Missions were estblished for the abotiginees. Each islanf group has it own individual story.
Pawlikov�-Vilhanov�, Viera. "Christian missions in Africa and their role in he transformation of African socities," Asian and African Studies Vol. 16, No. 2 (2007), pp. 249-60. countriues
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