Observing Adam’s children: Missionary ethnographers and the discovery of a new world of childhood

Abstract

ABSTRACT One of the striking elements in proto-ethnographic literature is the attention given by colonial writers to child-rearing practices around the world. This article revisits the early modern “discovery of childhood” by analyzing case studies in which religious writers documented the experience of growing up in non-European societies. Taking examples from Spanish America and North Africa, I argue that missionaries of various confessions raised awareness about the diversity of childhood experiences and lifestyles, and in so doing, exposed the multiple ways by which children were expected to integrate into their societies as they grew. I further claim that documenting the different ways of nurturing children opened new paths to conceptualize childhood and education, and helped to expose the socially constructed nature of human values and practices.