There are many histories of overseas mission and many histories of the last days of Great Britain?s empire in Africa, but there has been no book-length study on the relationship between them ? until n
There are many histories of overseas mission and many histories of the last days of Great Britain?s empire in Africa, but there has been no book-length study on the relationship between them ? until now. In British Missionaries and the End of Empire, historian John Stuart thoroughly and critically examines British Protestant missionary experiences during the tumultuous years between 1939 and 1964 in east, central, and southern Africa.
Focusing on Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, and Kenya (with an eye for South African influence on mission affairs), Stuart portrays the uneven and evolving relationship between Protestant missionaries, the British empire, and African nationalists. He shows how missionaries sometimes supported empire, sometimes drew comfort from it, sometimes criticized it, yet finally learned to live with its formal demise, continuing their work in the newly formed African independent states even after the end of empire.
Journal of Ecclesiastical History
“Well-conceived, lucid and finely written volume. . . . A must-read.”
International Journal of African Historical Studies
“Meticulously researched, compellingly written and an insightful account.”
International Bulletin of Missionary Research
“A carefully researched, broadly focused, and pleasantly written account of missions at the end of colonialism. . . . An important contribution to the field.”
Church Times
“Stuart’s well-researched and well-written book throws much light on the background of the current tensions and suspicions in the Anglican Communion between post-colonial African Churches and the Churches of the former colonial powers.”
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John Stuart is principal lecturer in history at Kingston University, London. Formerly lecturer in British Imperial and Commonwealth History at King's College London, he is also the author of several articles and book chapters on the history of British Protestant missions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
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