The circumstances which led to the establishment of the Society were closely linked with the era of expanding trade in the later seventeenth century and in particular with the history of the American colonies.former USPG archivist
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America in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1635–1928, was curated in association with the Bodleian Library.
This collection contains records compiled by the United Society Partners in Gospel (USPG), a UK-based Anglican missionary organisation that operates globally. From the eighteenth to the early twentieth century, the USPG went by the name of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG).
This collection contains letters and supplementary materials compiled by its North American branch during the period 1635–1928. The papers provide students, researchers, and educators with a unique insight into the evolution of Christianity in the American colonies, the United States, and Canada.
This collection is accompanied by a contextual essay written by Isobel Pridmore, formerly the archivist at the USPG. This institution’s archives are now held at Rhodes House Library in Oxford.
Missionary records from North America, 1635–1928
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Thomas Thompson was notable for being the first missionary to visit Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Coast. This document contains a section of Thompson’s journal, providing a first-hand account of voyages to New Jersey and the Coast of Guiney (Guinea).
The content in this collection presents a unique opportunity to understand how Christianity, specifically Anglicanism, was disseminated throughout North America between 1635 and 1928.
The collection contains journals from two missionaries: Rev. George Keith and Rev. Thomas Thompson. These journals provide first-hand accounts of the duties and objectives of missionaries from the SPG during the eighteenth century.
The sources in this collection provide insights into the activities of rival Christian sects, as their respective missionaries endeavoured to convert existing Christians. For example, Reverend George Keith, a missionary for the SPG in America between 1702 and 1704, focused on converting Quakers to Anglicanism.
The letter books contain correspondence and papers penned by the missionaries appointed by the SPG. The B and C series letter books contain life reports that were written during the American Revolution.
This collection covers the period when John Wesley served as an SPG missionary in America in the 1730s. He later founded his own Protestant tradition called Methodism, which he argued was firmly rooted in the teachings of the Church of England. Following Wesley’s death in 1791, Methodism became a separate denomination.
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