British Online Archives

Indian and Sri Lankan Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1770–1931 was curated in association with the Bodleian Library.

This collection contains records compiled by the United Society Partners in the 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 includes letters, reports, and supplementary material compiled by its Indian and Sri Lankan branches during the period 1770–1931.

The collection contains the correspondence left by Rev. Christian David who became the first Indian ordained into the Anglican priesthood. It also includes annual diocesan reports from across India and Sri Lanka. The standardised structure of these reports enables the progress and reach of each mission to be tracked over time. These papers allow students and researchers to survey the spread of Christianity in South Asia, life under the British Raj, and the causes and impact of the partition of India.

For more than a century an Anglican society had co-operated with Lutherans. The situation in which they had come together had been altered, by wars in Europe, by wars in India, and by the growing power of the East India Company, leading to a more settled government in the country. With peace came order, not only civil but ecclesiastical.

Isobel Pridmore, former archivist at the USPG

Insights

The volumes in this collection cover India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. The documents contain a variety of reports, letters sent by the SPG, and letters received from its missionaries in these countries.

The letters received cover issues such as the dispatch of doctors to colonies, engagement with followers of other religions, and the movements of personnel.

The work of missionaries was closely related to the colonial administration of British colonies. Missionary work in India increased significantly throughout the period of British rule.

The copies of letters sent are handwritten or typed accounts of missionaries that were working in India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. These letters contain material regarding the development of schools and the expansion of education across South Asia. They also contain budget updates and progress requests, particularly in relation to Bishop’s College, Calcutta.