The attitude of Joseph Josenhans, inspector (director) of the Basel Mission in the mid-19th century, was clear: \"Slave owners can neither become nor remain members of the Christian community.\" And: \"Every slave owner who reports for baptism must release his slaves before he is baptized.\"<\/p>\n
But among the missionaries who worked for the Basel Mission on the Gold Coast (today's Ghana) in the 19th century, the directives from Basel on the subject of slavery were controversial. \"Gradually and not immediately\" the abolition of slavery should happen, the missionaries on the ground demanded. Slavery on the Gold Coast, they argued, could not be compared to the transatlantic slave trade. However, Josenhans prevailed by virtue of his office, and his principles were recorded in 1861 in a \"Supplement to the Congregational Order Concerning Slavery\" for the Basel Mission on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
In an exciting presentation, Andrea Rhyn, historian and archivist at Mission 21, traced the debates on the \"slavery question\" within the Basel mission. She showed how the relationship of serfdom within the Christian communities was replaced by wage labor contracts with freedmen.<\/p>\n
Slavery \"wanted by God<\/strong><\/p>\n Historian Dr. Jan H\u00fcsgen devoted his talk to the role of the Moravian Church in the Caribbean. Slavery and mission were closely linked when the Moravian Church, today a supporting organization of Mission 21, began its missionary work there at the beginning of the 18th century. The lecture approached the living conditions of enslaved people in the mission of the Br\u00fcdergemeine and traced the complex development of the relationship between slavery and mission until the middle of the 19th century.<\/p>\n In comparison with the Basel mission, a different view had prevailed at the leadership level in the Herrnhuter Br\u00fcdergemeine, H\u00fcsgen reported. Namely, that a hierarchy of masters and slaves was wanted by God and therefore to be accepted by the mission societies.<\/p>\n Transparent and scientific reprocessing<\/strong><\/p>\n The topic met with lively interest. More than 120 participants followed the presentations and the discussion and asked numerous questions. It became clear that there was not one form of slavery (the transcontinental slave trade), but many forms and gradations of slavery.<\/p>\n For Mission 21, as well as for the Moravian Church, the transparent and scientific reappraisal of mission history is an important concern. We support the critical examination of our history and the history of the Basel Mission as well as the supporting associations.<\/p>\n This debate and the historical research are intended to make a constructive contribution to important current socio-political debates, such as on racism and discrimination.<\/p>\n The dispute continues<\/strong><\/p>\n There is already a great deal of research on the topic, and the presentations in the webinar made historical sources accessible in an impressive way. Nevertheless, moderator Claudia Buess held at the end of the event: \"We are in the middle of a complex discussion. The path we have embarked on is not over yet.\"<\/p>\n The topic has gained increased public attention, not least in the wake of the \"Black Lives Matter\" movement. And so Mission 21 is already planning another event: A webinar entitled \"Mission and Colonialism\" will take place on May 27 at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n Text: Miriam Glass, Mission 21<\/em><\/p>\n \u25ba Information and registration for the webinar \"Mission and Colonialism\" on 27.5.2021<\/a><\/p>\n \u25ba View recording of the event (from 30.04.2021)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n