Journal of Undergraduate Research
Keywords
Christianity, civilization, German missionaries, Tonga
College
Humanities
Department
German and Russian
Abstract
In Tonga, a group of islands deep in the South Pacific Ocean, religion is an important element of life for all of the islanders. In addition to protestant missionaries from England who helped Tonga establish their constitution, Tongan culture was also deeply influenced by Catholicism. Due to the large population of German businessmen living in Tonga and the close proximity of Tonga to the German colony in Western Samoa, it was supposed that German missionaries must have also traveled to the Tongan islands and contributed to the establishment of some of the schools and other relics of religious influence there. My 2009 ORCA mentored research project was to discover, via an examination of missionary records I hoped to find, to what extent German missionaries during Germany’s colonial period, perceived themselves as emissaries of civilization in Tonga, bringing commerce and Christianity to the islands.
Recommended Citation
Cook, Kasia and Brewer, Dr. Cindy
(2013)
"Christianity, Civilization, and Commerce: A look at the roles of German Missionaries in 19th and 20th century Tonga,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013:
Iss.
1, Article 853.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/853