Protestant missionary children's lives, c.1870-1950: Empire, religion and emotion

by Hugh Morrison

Overview

Protestant missionary children were uniquely ‘empire citizens’ through their experiences of living in empire and in religiously formed contexts. This book examines their lives through the related lenses of parental, institutional and child narratives. To do so it draws on histories of childhood and of emotions, using a range of sources including oral history. It argues that missionary children were doubly shaped by parents’ concerns and institutional policy responses. At the same time children saw their own lives as both ‘ordinary’ and ‘complicated’. Literary representations boosted adult narratives. Empire provided a complex space in which these children navigated their way between the expectations of two, if not three, different cultures. The focus is on a range of settings and on the early twentieth century. Therefore, the book offers a complex and comparative picture of missionary children’s lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526194848
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
Publication date:	01/20/2026
Series:	Studies in Imperialism , #201
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Hugh Morrison is Associate Professor of Education at The University of Otago/Otakou Whakaihu Waka, New Zealand

Table of Contents

Introduction: Children, missions, empire and emotions
1 Public representations: missionary children inhabiting literary spaces
2 Parental narratives
3 Institutional narratives
4 Children’s and young people’s narratives: life as ordinary
5 Children’s and young people’s narratives: life as complicated
6 Private navigations: missionary children inhabiting imperial and colonial spaces
Conclusion

Index

Editorial Reviews

‘This is an impressive history of a group until now overlooked in studies of imperialism. In addition to institutional and other adult perspectives, extensive interviews give voice to the children themselves. Drawing upon the history of emotion and memory to enrich his analysis, Morrison sensitively captures the complex significance of missionary children’s lives.’
—Katie Pickles, The University of Canterbury/ Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha

From the Publisher