Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951

Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886–1951 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). 

The SPG’s mission was established at Cape Coast Castle in 1752 by Rev. Thomas Thompson. Thompson was succeeded by Rev. Philip Quaque, the first African to be ordained a priest of the Church of England. The mid-nineteenth century saw a revival of Anglican missionary activity with the arrival of missionaries sent by the Mission of the West Indian Church to West Africa, an organisation that was based in Barbados.

This collection contains letters, reports, and supplementary material relating to missionaries who worked in Ghana throughout the period 1886–1951. These documents contain a wealth of information, especially with regard to the spread of English education and to the introduction of education for women. The collection provides students and academics with unique insights into the evolution of the SPG and the broader development of Christianity in Ghana.