Southeast Asia. Conflict and Conversion: Catholicism in Southeast Asia, 1500–1700 By Tara Alberts New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. xviii + 242. Figures, Maps, Notes, Bibliography, Index.

Abstract

Conflict and Conversion: Catholicism in Southeast Asia, 1500-1700 By TARA ALBERTS New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. xviii + 242. Figures, Maps, Notes, Bibliography, Index. doi: 10.1017/S0022463414000411 The history of Catholic missions in Southeast Asia, unlike those in Japan, China and India, is not well-known. Focusing on the development of Roman Catholicism between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries in three geographical areas--Malacca, Siam, and Vietnam (Tonkin and Cochinchina)--Alberts traces the story of how the Catholic faith was introduced, took root and developed. This is a study of the success and failure of Western missionary enterprises in Asia, describing the perceptions and presentation of evangelism from both perspectives: those of the various groups of missionaries and of their converts. Mapping collaborations and conflicts among different actors of the period, Alberts analyses the 'nature of conversion and the relationship between religious belief and practices' (p. xvii). In particular, she attempts to answer the puzzle long-posed by historians of Christian missions: Why did Christianity flourish in certain places and not in others? Which methods and strategies ensured success and which failed? The book is comprised of an introduction, nine chapters and a conclusion. The chapters are organised in three sections outlining missionary structures and networks, missionary methods, and the experience of converts. Drawing from annual reports, letters, narratives, and histories written by missionaries and also by others, including diplomats, travellers, and merchants, Alberts skilfully weaves together the complex stories of how Catholicism was propagated and received in different localities, under diverse political, social and cultural situations. Beginning in 1511, Catholicism was introduced to Southeast Asia under the Portuguese patronage system (padroado). After a century of experimenting with padroado, Rome established the Papal Congregation for Evangelisation, the Propaganda Fide (1622), to take charge of missionary activities in foreign lands. This overlay of jurisdiction created tensions between the independent-minded missionaries and their Vicars Apostolic appointed by Rome for the mission territories. Five major groups from various European countries--the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, Jesuits, and Parisian Foreign Missionaries (MEP)--laboured side by side on mission lands, often in nationalistic and ecclesiastical competition. Each of these groups had a distinct missionary method which was sometimes at odds with the others, which often resulted in one group undermining another's mission. The reception of Catholicism depended not only on missionary methods, but on local potential for conversion. The political situation in Portuguese Malacca differed greatly from the the peaceful court of Siam or the two estranged kingdoms of Tonkin and Cochinchina. In the former case, the missionaries had full colonial support, whereas the lands of the Thai and the Vietnamese were neutral to hostile to Western influence. Church authorities agreed that to attract converts, some modification of European ecclesial customs should be made. The point of tension was the question of how much accommodation should be allowed. Missionaries differed on how to present themselves to the natives--as monks, holy men, merchants, scientists, or healers? The introduction of Catholic devotion, catechism, images, and other Catholic materials were the competitive ground for winning converts. …