Tanzania and Malawi in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1857-1965
The Universities’ Mission to Central Africa (UMCA) was an Anglican missionary society established in the late 1850s. In 1965, the UMCA merged with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) to form the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG). This collection contains documents relating to the UMCA’s activities in Tanzania and Malawi during the period 1857-1965. The papers provide an insight into the spread of Christianity in Central Africa.
We have more than one hundred & fifty of the people of this & neighbouring lands, living with us, calling me father, & receiving from us every day their food, an arrangement which must continue until next harvest
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The 'Central Africa' magazine included descriptions of events that the missionaries had experienced. The Masasi Disaster is covered from image 7 of the 1883 edition; this was a conflict with the Wagwangwara tribe.
These missionaries adopted a researcher's style of reporting, learning what they could of the natives and sharing what they had learned. These items engaged with both tribes and the local Swahili language.
Among the journals is that of Bishop Steere's between 1863 and 1868. These records name places that he passed through and describes native tribes that he heard of or saw, naming their leaders.
The 'miscellaneous' items include the 'Dini' book of religious teachings which also describes Africans being maltreated by the German rulers of East Africa, and a Decree against slavery by the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1890.
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Material relating to Bishop Weston and the Kikuyu Conference 1913-15
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New Testament and Book of Common Prayer in Swahili, with a Decree Against Slavery
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The Journal of G.W. Mallendar and New Testament in Swahili
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The "Dini" Book and other items
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The Ware Collection and various newspaper cuttings
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Miscellaneous letters and material relating to Reverends Wilson and Woodward
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Letters from Rev. H. Barnes in Nyasaland 1911-1914
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Correspondence of Bishop Trower and other miscellaneous material 1881-1910 part 2