South American Missionaries' Records, 1844-1919 - Key Data

The South American Mission Society (SAMS) was founded as the Patagonian Mission in 1844. The name of the society changed twenty years later after the death of Captain Gardiner. Gardiner believed the society should be expanded from southern South America (Patagonia) to all of South America. The society originally struggled to establish a Protestant Church in South America and Captain Gardiner experienced hostility from both native groups in Chile and the Catholic clergy in Bolivia. They eventually succeeded in establishing a settlement in the Falkland Islands after setting sail from Bristol in 1854.

This collection contains extensive material from the SAMS archive for the period 1844–1919. Included in this collection are minute books, missionary reports, and copies of the society’s magazine, The South American Missionary Magazine, which was launched in 1867. The magazines include articles and photographs on geography, anthropology, natural history, and economic development. This collection also includes the journals of Anglican founder, Captain Allen Gardiner, and two other missionaries, Edward Bernau and Adolfo Henriksen.