Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/666

 648 FOREIGN MISSIONS starting at Aintab, a city of about 35,000 inhab- itants, in northern Syria. The native converts themselves have asked for it, and have contrib- uted liberally toward founding it. The native Turkish schools have felt the impulse of im- provement, and are far better than they were before mission schools were established among them. Training schools or theological semina- ries are also in operation at four of the princi- pal cities of the interior (Marsivan, Kharput, Marash, and Mardin), to educate native minis- ters. A similar work has been done mainly by American missionaries in Syria, the Bible having been translated into pure Arabic, and 60 Protestant schools established with 3,000 scholars, besides a college proper, a medical college, and a theological seminary. In self- defence the Greeks, Roman Catholics, and Ar- menians of the land have started as many more schools, to keep their children from Protestant influences. There are about 20 missionaries in Syria, 500 church members, and printing presses issuing 11,000,000 pages of religious books yearly. In 1830 the Amer- ican board and American Episcopalians en- tered Greece, and American Baptists followed in 1836. The Episcopalians have done little besides maintaining a school at Athens. Dr. King of the American board contended ear- nestly for liberty to preach the gospel and make converts. Although as strongly op- posed by the leading powers in church and state, he finally succeeded; religious liberty has been secured, a few churches have been formed, and some native Greeks are preach- ing the Protestant faith. In Africa, with its 200,000,000 people, we find 10 missionaries of the United Presbyterian church of Ameri- ca, male and female, laboring in Egypt, chiefly among the 150,000 Copts, an ancient Christian sect, who have been sunk for ages in a dark- ness and superstition equal almost to any heathenism. Their most prosperous station is at Sioot. They have 9 stations in all, 508 church members, 14 schools, 600 scholars, and 22 theological students. Miss Whately, an English lady, has also a large school in Cairo, and the Kaisers werth deaconesses are laboring in Alexandria. English missionaries labored in Abyssinia from 1829 to 1838, but were then expelled by the king at the instance of the Jesuits. Another mission was started in 1854, but was soon crushed out by similar influ- ences. The "Pilgrim Society of St. Krisha- na " now has one missionary at Adowa, capi- tal of Tigre, and another at Ankobar, in the kingdom of Shoa ; and eight African youths, educated at St. Krishana, have returned un- der the guidance of a missionary of the Lon- don Jewish society to labor among the Jews. Swedish missionaries are laboring at Massowah and Ailat, on the borders, where they have met with some success in their schools. A beginning has been made by English missiona- ries at Zanzibar, east Africa, in two small stations, but as yet with insignificant results. The west coast presents a different aspect Between Sierra Leone and the Gaboon, a dis- tance of nearly 2,000 miles, 12 or more Prot- estant societies have missions, with about 20,- 000 children in Christian schools and as many members gathered into Christian churches. The slave trade has disappeared from this re- gion, where it formerly had 20,000 victims a year. Mohammedanism is said to be making some advances in the interior of Africa, while Protestant Christianity is disputing its sway upon the coast. About 20 societies are oper- ating in southern Africa, among the Bushmen, the Hottentots, the Bechuanas, the Zooloo Caf- fres, and other tribes. Large colonies of Eu- ropean settlers have occupied portions of the country, so that the whole territory, for 1,000 miles north of the Cape of Good Hope, is pos- sessed by these colonists, or dotted aver with mission stations among the native tribes. Here also, as in west Africa, the people were without written languages, or schools, or books of any sort. The languages have been reduced to writing, books prepared, schools established, and churches organized, whose members are now reckoned at 30,000, some with native pastors over them. About 100,000 people in southern Africa are thus recovered from hea- thenism, and have settled down to habits of civilized life. The Lovedale educational insti- tution of the Free church of Scotland, with a school of 150 boys and 30 girls, is doing much to prepare suitable teachers for the people. In Madagascar, inhabited by about 5,000,000 people, missionary operations were commenced in 1818, by the London missionary society, but soon suspended by the death of three out of the four who composed the first missionary party. Other missionaries landed in 1820, and met with great success in their labors for sev- eral years. The king favored their operations ; the language was reduced to writing ; the Scrip- tures and other books were translated into the native tongue ; schools were established and many converts were made. But after the death of the king, in 1828, the queen, who succeeded him on the throne, began to mani- fest hostility to the new religion, soon became a fierce and relentless persecutor, drove the missionaries from the island, and slaughtered thousands of her best subjects, as many as 2,000 sometimes being killed in a single year. Yet secretly the truth was spreading all the time, and when at length the queen died (July 16, 1861) and her own son came to the throne, he at once proclaimed entire freedom in reli- gious matters, and the missionaries were in- vited to return and resume their labors. Not long after, however, the king proved treacher- ous and was put to death by his own nobles, and his widow was crowned queen under a written constitution, guaranteeing the fullest religious liberty. Although she was herself an idolater to the last, she was true to her coronation oath. She died April 1, 1868, and her sister, who succeeded to the throne, has