A Survey of African Material in the Libraries and Archives of Protestant Missionary Societies in England

Abstract

The libraries and archives of mission societies provide rare, often unique, source material concerning the last two centuries of African history. The following survey of Protestant mission societies in England is based on a survey done in 1970. In 1978 letters were written to all societies listed in order to update the material. Replies were received from twenty-one. When no information was received in 1978 this has been indicated in the text. Bibliographical and reference material has also been updated. Included for each of the societies covered is a list of the areas where the society worked in Africa, the types of material held, the mission periodicals produced and notes about access.There are two guides available which cover some of the groups considered. Rosemary Keen's A Survey of the Archives of Selected Missionary Societies (1968) describes the archives of nineteen societies. It is very uneven in coverage and includes a number of inaccuracies. A Guide to Manuscripts and Documents in the British Isles Related to Africa compiled by Noel Matthews and M. Doreen Wainwright was published in 1971 based on a survey done in 1965. It covers eleven of the societies listed here and the extent of coverage is indicated in the individual sections.Early in this century a South African writer attempted to cover all of African missions south of the Sahara. Du Plessis' A History of Christian Missions in South Africa (1911) and his Evangelization of Pagan Africa (1929) are carefully done, detailed accounts from the South African viewpoint. In 1958 Gerdener continued the coverage of South African work with his Recent Developments in the South African Mission Field.