Board of Foreign Missions of the Netherlands Reformed Church records, 1963 -- 1971, 1825
Collection context
- Creator:
- Nederlands Zendelinggenootschap
- Abstract:
- The Netherlands Missionary Society (Nederlands Zendeling Genootschap) was established in 1797 by the Netherlands Reformed Church and merged in 1951 with other Dutch missionary societies to form Board of Foreign Missions of the Netherlands Reformed Church (Raad voor de Zending Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk). Records include manuscript describing activities of the Society, indexes, and related correspondence.
- Extent:
- 0.25 linear feet (0.25 linear feet; 1 box)
- Language:
- English , Dutch; Flemish .
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains one 46 page bound manuscript handwritten in English by an unknown author, describing the activities of the Netherlands Missionary Society (Nederlands Zendeling Genootschap) by geographic region and sub-regions (including Indonesian Archipelago: Amboina, Timor, Ceram, Banda, Celebe, Boono, Java; Hindustan: Palliacatta, Sadras, Chinfurab; South Africa; and Suriname) and covering the period of 1823-1825. This series also contains an index and supplementary material of the Old Missionary Archives of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Netherlands Reformed Church (Raad voor de Zending der Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk). The index was compiled in Dutch by Rev. F. Slump in 1963 in an effort to publicize the materials held within the organization's archives. The index alphabetically lists materials found in the records of Dutch missionary corporations from 1797-1927, the papers of Professor Hendrik Kraemer, 1921-1947, and the records of women's missionary work from 1928-1958. The supplemental material is written in Dutch and includes a list of corrections to the original index and indexes to the papers of influential missionaries: Hendrik Kraemer, Dr. Albert C. Kruyt, Rev. J. Kruyt and Rev. I. J. Kijne. Additional material includes correspondence written in English between the Board of the Foreign Missions of the Netherlands Reformed Church and the Missionary Research Library/
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Netherlands Missionary Society (Nederlands Zendeling Genootschap or N. Z. G.) was founded in 1797 as an ecumenical mission board, though its membership largely came from the Dutch Reformed Church. Influenced by the London Missionary Society, the N. Z. G. was largely centralized among the Dutch colonies, particularly in the area of the Indonesian Archipelago. Initial activities saw missionaries working with pre-existing Christian communities, which were eventually organized into the Protestant Church of the Dutch Indies. By 1848, the N. Z. G. began working with Muslim communities in Indonesia. Faced with a growing resentment of colonialism, Dutch missionaries in the early twentieth century began to place new value on the cultures of local populations. In contrast with Dutch missionaries of the nineteenth century, who encouraged converts to emulate Western customs and practices, missionaries such as Albert C. Kruyt worked to preserve indigenous cultures for study, eliminating only the practices that were considered pagan and encouraging worship in the vernacular language. Between 1847 and 1859, several other Dutch missionary societies were formed, and beginning at the start of the twentieth century, these societies worked closely together. In 1951, the Dutch missionary societies, which included the N.Z.G., the Dutch Mission Union (Nederlandsche Zendingsvereeniging), and the Utrecht Mission Union (Utrechtsche Zendingsvereeniging), merged to form the Board of Foreign Missions of the Netherlands Reformed Church (Raad voor de Zending Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk). The Board of Foreign Missions dissolved in 1999.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection is open for research.
The following boxes are located offsite: Box 1. Please note that requests for use of boxes held in offsite storage must be made three business days in advance.
- Terms of access:
-
Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.
- Preferred citation:
-
Item description, MRL 12: Board of Foreign Missions of the Netherlands Reformed Church records, 1825; 1963-1971, series #, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
- Location of this collection:
- Before you visit:
- Researchers must book an appointment at least 5 business days in advance to view special collections material in the reading room. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to one item per hour of appointment time.
- Contact:
- burke@library.columbia.edu