Abstract
In the 18th century, Halle Pietists were part of a global missionary network that reached into North America and that anticipated later developments in worldwide evangelical missions; Pietists made critical alliances with other Protestants, they were savvy in their use of media, and they worked alongside different empires in their efforts to reach and convert the world. Recent scholarship on religion and humanitarianism in the United States has focused predominantly on the Anglo-American story and the Post-Revolutionary period. This article argues that the Pietists highlight an earlier—and crucial—colonial era of global missionary connections, philanthropy, media, and empire. Attending to their writings and the images they used reveals important and continuing themes in the study of Christian philanthropy in America, including the significance of theological convictions, financial necessities, political allegiances, and racialized imaginings of potential, “uncivilized” converts. This article looks at the image of ascending eagles from the orphan house in Halle, which the Francke Foundations (earlier the Glauchasche Anstalten) used for their seal on books and medicines, and also considers an engraving of Tomochichi, a leader of Yamasee and Lower Creek descent, who appeared in the first report from the Pietist mission in colonial Georgia. The article argues, finally, that images were used to sell a particular vision of missionary work, albeit one that was not always true to experience on the ground and that appealed to colonialist objectives.
Highlights
On March 22, 1751, the Lutheran minister Heinrich Mühlenberg hiked with friends in the mountains near Tulpehocken, Pennsylvania
The article argues, that images were used to sell a particular vision of missionary work, albeit one that was not always true to experience on the ground and that appealed to colonialist objectives
The Halle Pietists accomplished this, in part, through a central, institutional brand that served as a reminder of the theological motivations behind missionary endeavors as they told a story of Christian perseverance, growth, and civilization that invited extensive participation and transcended political boundaries
Summary
On March 22, 1751, the Lutheran minister Heinrich Mühlenberg hiked with friends in the mountains near Tulpehocken, Pennsylvania. The Francke Foundations and their missionary images demonstrate the significance of attending to Protestant benevolence and material culture in the colonial Atlantic world. The Halle Pietists accomplished this, in part, through a central, institutional brand that served as a reminder of the theological motivations behind missionary endeavors as they told a story of Christian perseverance, growth, and civilization that invited extensive participation and transcended political boundaries. Their use of images in mission materials represents an important colonial moment in what would become a lasting story of the role of Christian benevolence and mission in the spread of western empires
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