The Civilizing Mission and the English Middle Class,1792-1850: The 'Heathen' at Home and Overseas

This book concerns the missionary philanthropic movement which burst onto the social scene in early nineteenth century in England, becoming a popular provincial movement which sought no less than national and global reformation. It central concerns are: the significance of the civilizing mission for the English middle class, from the domestic lives of individual families, through local and regional networks, to high political campaigns; the relationships between missionary men and women, and the importance of domestic reform within the movement; and the relationship between missions at home and overseas and their significance for changing understandings of class and cultural difference. Contents......Page 8 List of Figures......Page 11 Acknowledgements......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 15 Introduction: The Missionary Movement, the Local and the Global......Page 16 The middle class and the civilising mission......Page 19 Women and missionary philanthropy......Page 22 Missions, power and colonialism......Page 25 The 'heathen' at home and overseas: issues of race and class......Page 27 The Bible and cultural history......Page 31 The local, the national and the global......Page 35 1 'One Blood': The 'Heathen' at Home and Overseas in Late-Eighteenth and Early-Nineteenth-Century Missions......Page 40 ‘Like Cherokees and Mohawks, but more wicked’: early Methodist missions......Page 42 Old Dissent and 'all the world'......Page 45 The missionary impulse: collaborations and conflicts......Page 49 ‘A sort of Botany Bay experiment’: Hannah More and the missionary solution......Page 52 Philanthropic women and the Corpus Christianum......Page 58 Conclusion......Page 65 2 Charity Begun at Home: Missionary Philanthropy and the New Middle Class in Sheffield......Page 67 Middle-class men and philanthropic networks......Page 69 The monitorial system and global civilisation......Page 79 Women, domestic reform and the visiting system......Page 84 Women and the missionary public......Page 91 Conclusion......Page 96 3 Missionary Domesticity and 'Woman's Sphere': The Reads of Wincobank Hall......Page 98 Making Christian children: the evangelical mother's mission......Page 101 Happy English children and the 'heathen other'......Page 104 Missionary domesticity: Wincobank Hall......Page 114 Missionary domesticity and woman's sphere......Page 118 Missionary mothers and public men......Page 125 Conclusion......Page 127 4 'Bringing about the World's Restoration': Missionary Women and the Creation of a Global Christian Community......Page 130 Missionary women and global Christianity......Page 133 Hannah Kilham's domestic mission......Page 138 Wretched cabins, little palaces: domestic reform in Ireland......Page 142 African huts: Gambia and Sierra Leone, 1823–1832......Page 148 Conclusion......Page 157 5 Trembling Philanthropists? Missionary Philanthropy under Pressure......Page 159 Little black climbing boys: the early evangelical critique of overseas missions......Page 161 A 'repugnant perversion of traditional Christian values': political economy, Christianity and civilisation......Page 169 ‘Pluck out first the beam out of thine own eye’: missionary priorities......Page 171 Medical men, phrenology and the challenge of science......Page 176 Secular knowledge and the Mechanics' Institute......Page 180 The 'wants of mankind at home': 'physical civilisation' and domestic missions......Page 183 Conclusion......Page 190 6 'A Christian and Civilized Land': The English Missionary Public and the South Pacific......Page 193 ‘A moral miracle’: evangelical representations of the South Pacific......Page 195 ‘Nothing behind our own countrymen’: God's family on earth......Page 207 Missionary disappointments and anxieties of conversion......Page 213 ‘The associations awakened by their presence’: England's civilisation......Page 220 Conclusion......Page 224 Conclusions......Page 226 Notes......Page 235 Bibliography......Page 307 A......Page 353 B......Page 354 C......Page 355 E......Page 357 G......Page 358 J......Page 359 M......Page 360 P......Page 363 R......Page 364 S......Page 365 W......Page 367 Z......Page 368 The middle class and the civilising mission -- Women and missionary philanthropy -- Missions, power, and colonialism -- The heathen at home and overseas : issues of race and class -- The Bible and cultural history -- The local, the national, and the global -- One blood : the heathen at home and overseas in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century missions -- Like Cherokees and Mohawks, but more wicked : early Methodist missions -- Old dissent and all the world -- The missionary impulse : collaborations and conflicts -- A sort of botany bay experiment : Hannah More and the missionary solution -- Philanthropic women and the Corpus Christianum -- Charity begun at home : missionary philanthropy and the new middle class, Sheffield 1804-1823 -- Middle-class men and philanthropic networks -- The monitorial system and global civilisation -- Women, domestic reform, and the visiting system -- Women and the missionary public -- Missionary domesticity and woman's sphere : the Reads of Wincobank Hall -- Making Christian children : the Evangelical Mother's Mission -- Happy English children and the heathen other -- Missionary domesticity : Wincobank Hall -- Missionary domesticity and woman's sphere -- Missionary mothers and public men -- Bringing about the world's restoration : missionary women and the creation of a global Christian community, 1816-1832 -- Missionary women and global Christianity -- Hannah Kilham's domestic mission to Ireland and West Africa -- Wretched cabins, little palaces : domestic reform in Ireland in the 1820s -- African huts : Gambia and Sierra Leone, 1923-32 -- Trembling philanthropists missionary philanthropy under pressure in the 1830s and 1840s -- Little Black climbing boys : the early Evangelical critique of overseas missions -- A repugnant perversion of traditional Christian values : political economy, Christianity and civilisation -- Pluck out first the beam out of thine own eye : missionary priorities -- Medical men, phrenology, and the challenge of science -- Secular knowledge and the Mechanics Institute -- The wants of mankind at home : physical civilisation and domestic missions -- A Christian and civilised land : the English missionary and the South Pacific and in the 1820s to 1840s -- A moral miracle : Evangelical representations of the South Pacific -- Nothing behind our own countrymen : God's family on earth -- Missionary disappointments and anxieties of conversion -- The associations awakened by their presence : England's civilisation This volume concerns the missionary philanthropic movement which burst onto the social scene in early nineteenth century in England, becoming a popular provincial movement which sought no less than national and global reformation. Explores the 19th-century home and overseas missionary and philanthropic movements, focusing on the roles of men and women, middle-class formation, and ideas of race and cultural difference