Board of Foreign Missions of the Netherlands Reformed Church records, 1825, 1963 -- 1971

Summary Information

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.

At a Glance

Bib ID:
6882571 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Nederlands Zendelinggenootschap
Repository:
Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
Physical Description:
0.25 linear feet (0.25 linear feet; 1 box)
Language(s):
English , Dutch; Flemish .
Access:

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.

Description

Scope and Contents

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/

  • Board of Foreign Missions of the Netherlands Reformed Church records, 1825, 1963 -- 1971

    This series 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/

Burke Library record group:

Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL12, Ecumenical/World Mission

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in one chronological series.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access

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.

Conditions Governing Use

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.

Related Materials

WAB: Hendrik Kraemer papers, 1954, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Records of the Nederlandsch Zendeling Genootschap, 1805-1920. HR1345. Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Processing Information

Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Due to an advanced state of deterioration, the Netherlands Missionary Society manuscript was placed in a custom-made acid-free folder. This item was originally an independent collection entitled MRL 12: Netherlands Missionary Society Papers, 1825. The original finding aid was created in September 2008 by Arunabh Ghosh. In July 2013, the material was brought together into a single collection with an updated finding aid, created by Virginia Pastor in 2013 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2022.

Revision Description

2022-01-28 PDF converted to EAD and description updated by Leah Edelman.

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.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Name
Kijne, I. S CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kraemer, H (Hendrik), 1888-1965 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Kruyt, Alb. C (Albertus Christiaan), 1869-1949 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Nederlands Zendelinggenootschap -- : Archives CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Nederlandse Zendingsraad CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Missions, Dutch -- Societies, etc CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Women missionaries CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID