Abstract
The life of Maria Dorothea Ziegenbalg (c. 1693–1722) constitutes an important aspect of Tamil Lutheranism, which has been forgotten on the Tamil side. Available works on her short life among the Tamil in the Danish colony of Tranquebar in South Eastern India from August 1716 to January 1720 highlight her missionary work; this essay, by contrast, provides a fuller picture of her life and work from the perspective of social dislocation and immigration stress. After examining the nature and interpretations of both primary and secondary sources, it explores the role of Maria Dorothea within the changing contexts of her life. Her relationships to her parents and husband remained important. Her travel from Germany to Tranquebar and life in Tranquebar demonstrate a strange mixture of joys and sorrows. Eventually, she succumbed to emotional stress. Yet her sons lived on to help other missionaries who came to serve not only in Tranquebar, but also in Serampore.
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