Our latest “Document of the Week” was chosen by our Senior Curator, Mary Wills. It is an extract from the journal of Edward Bernau, a medical missionary, written in 1899. Bernau travelled to south-central South America between 1898–1903 with the South American Missionary Society. His diary entries feature many accounts of cultural interaction with indigenous peoples, and particularly Native Paraguayans (termed “Indians” by the missionaries).
His journal illustrates the fundamental dynamics and hierarchies at play between missionary societies and the local communities in which they worked. These were often built on dependency, as local people became porters, guides, and interpreters. The inherent inequalities of the relationships are made clear, however, in Bernau’s comment: “We all find it more easy to speak to the Indian, than to understand him”.
While most encounters are recorded as largely amiable, Bernau and his fellow missionaries were met with some distrust by “an old Indian, Antonio”, described as a “rich old man with many sheep in a large garden”. It is revealed that Antonio’s “heart is fast closed against the Gospel” and that upon receiving visits from the missionaries, Antonio “endeavoured to stop Mr Mark from conversing with his people, by intimidating them, having taken down his gun as if he wished or intended to use it against them.”
It is clear that missionaries were not always met with open arms. In this case, they received threats of violence, with Antonio using his gun to discourage them from speaking to local people. It can be inferred that Antonio held some authority within his community, despite Bernau’s belief that “the feelings of the people are for us & not against us as a body.” As such, Antonio’s hostility towards the missionaries represented an act of resistance, in which he acts on behalf of his people to protect the local way of life.
Where to find this document
It is from our collection, South American Missionaries’ Records 1844–1919, which features extensive material from the South American Missionary Society archives for the period up to 1919. The collection is one of several at BOA to offer key resources for the study of missionary activity around the world. If you would like to learn more about opposition to missionaries throughout the British empire, an excellent article, “From the Archive: Resistance to Christian Missionaries”, written by our former Editor, Alice Broome, is available on our website.