The religious self-alteration of Shem Irofa'alu during the anti-colonial Maasina Rule in Solomon Islands (1944–1953)

This essay explores the post-World War Two anti-colonial Maasina Rule in north Malaita, Solomon Islands, to show how a church leader Shem Irofa'alu decided to establish a religious movement independent of the state and the traditional evangelical church. Irofa'alu's movement indexes an important moment of culture change towards increasing enthusiasm for the often-overlooked Christianity-based forms of sovereignty in the region. It highlights that Maasina Rule was not only a powerful rupture in social processes, but also sharpened the growing division between state and church. Irofa'alu's role in Maasina Rule shows that his influence peaked between 1948 and 1950 and then went into rapid decline. This change in fortune coincided with a critical turning point in the colonial government's attempts to end the movement through appeasement. No longer the head of the evangelical church in Malu'u sub-district and frustrated about the mother church's governance, Irofa'alu retreated to his home area and set about establishing a new church, Boboa (‘Foundation’), his first attempt at organizing a self-governing assembly before introducing Jehovah's Witnesses in north Malaita. In later years, Irofa'alu became a prophet-exemplar for new generations of religious leaders trying to establish Malaitan sovereignties based on their own power to move the truth of prophecies away from foreign state and church organizations.     

Exploration of Basel Mission Company shipwreck remains at St George's Reef off Goa, West Coast of India: impact of the Basel Mission Co. on society and culture

A systematic exploration of shipwrecks has been carried out in Goa waters since 1997. Exploration off St George's Reef has brought to light the remains of a shipwreck at a depth of 15 m, containing various types of terracotta artefacts intended for house construction. Basel Mission Tile Works 1865' is impressed on bricks, roof and floor tiles. Study shows that the company was active in manufacturing terracotta and exported it to Africa, Australia, Borneo, Sumatra, and other countries. It has been renamed 'Comtrust', and is still producing terracotta using the same techniques. The impact of the Basel Mission Co. on society and culture is discussed. A study of finds of wrecks in the Mangalore and Calicut areas was undertaken.     

Einige Überlegungen Zu Dem Brief Der Kaiserinwitwe Helena/Xiaozheng Der SÜdlichen Ming an Papst Innozenz X. Aus Dem Jahre 1650

Abstract

After the downfall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644, parts of the Imperial family fled to the south establishing short-lived imperial regimes competing for power. The Jesuit missionaries Xavier Koffler and Micha? Boym joined the court of the Emperor Yongli of the Southern Ming where in the year 1647, eventually, members of the Imperial family converted to Christianity. One of them was the Dowager-Empress Xiaozheng who adopted the Name Helena after christening. In 1650 she wrote a letter to Pope Innocent X. asking for spiritual support and help in the dynasty's struggle for survival. This letter, for the first time translated into German, and the circumstances leading to its composition will be the focal points of this article.     

朝鲜赴清朝使团的文化交流活动

本认为在中朝宗藩关系中化思想交流活动是最重要的内容之一,而这种化交流活动是朝鲜使团的重要任务,并进而对朝鲜使团的交流活动进行了阐述。     

The importance of difference in the making of transnationality: biographies and networks of the Benedictine mission in Tanganyika (1922–65)

The Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien were the first Roman Catholic mission house in imperial Germany. During the heyday of European imperialisms, colonialisms and Christian missions the monastic community began its engagement in ‘German East Africa’. To enable and promote its proselytization efforts in the imperial colony until the end of the Great War, the Missionary Benedictines had to respond to shifting political conditions and to rearrange their networks as and when required. This orientation became even more pronounced during the renewal of the Benedictine Mission in the British mandated territory of Tanganyika up until the Second Vatican Council and the political independence of Tanzania. From 1922 to 1965 at least 379 members of the Congregation lived and worked in Tanganyika. Their biographies were closely linked to the complex transboundary system of their religious community. This article will portray them as a highly institutionalized group of transnational actors. It argues that to maintain its activities and organizational structures, the leaders of the Benedictine Mission established a dynamic multi-level network connecting a variety of scales, spaces and actors. To ensure its continued existence under constantly changing conditions they constituted a hierarchic system of difference and diversity.     

The politics of the Balfour Declaration: Nationalism,imperialism and the limits of Zionist-British cooperation

This article proposes a new perspective on the much debated question of why the British government published the Balfour Declaration? It argues that the Declaration was published as part of the struggle that took place in the course of the First World War between two rival factions in the British government on the question of the future of the Ottoman Empire: the “radical” faction that strove to partition the Ottoman Empire as a means to extend the British imperial hold on the Middle East, and the “reformist” faction that opposed this. By promising to turn Palestine into “a national home for the Jewish people” the Declaration advanced the radical agenda of dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and expansion of British imperialism in the Middle East.     

清季俄罗斯文馆延聘俄人教习研究

在俄罗斯文馆存在的一个半世纪里,先后有多名俄人担任教习之职。康熙年间,文馆教习由俄国商队成员、降人及后裔充任,教习队伍不稳定,语言水平也不高。从雍正初期起,文馆开始延聘俄国东正教驻北京传教士团成员担任教习,其中罗索欣、弗拉德金和列昂季耶夫与满人富勒赫合作编写出中国第一本俄语教科书。自道光年间起,有4位传教士团领班被俄罗斯文馆聘为教习,但由于鸦片战争爆发后中俄关系的实质已经由以往的平等交往转向了俄国伙同西方列强对中国进行瓜分,他们并未发挥出"协同教授"的作用,更多时候是将在文馆兼职作为为俄国政府探听清廷内情的机会或手段。     

中华内地会与徽州的渊源——基于教会刊物China’s Millions的解读

中华内地会是最早在徽州传教的基督教差会之一,但关于徽州内地会传教士的中文记载并不多。文章通过对比内地会刊物《亿万华民》(China’s Millions)和地方史料,勘正地方史料中有关内地会在徽州传播活动的记载,介绍传教士唐进贤及其在徽州的传教经历,力图展现内地会传教士对徽州的积极作用。传教士的社会工作,不仅引进了西方先进的科学技术文化,还有利于徽州文化的对外传播,客观上促进了近代徽州的发展。     

Reverend James Macdonald Auld and the disintegration of traditional leadership in Xhosaland

This article examines the missionary assault on traditionalism and traditional leadership. It also analyses the origins of Columba Mission. The article sets out to unearth the role of missionaries in the colonial assault on traditionalism, using James Macdonald Auld (2 April 1848–5 December 1932) as a case study. It describes the operation of the Columba Mission from its small beginnings in Kentani (Centane today) in 1878 until the annexation of Gcalekaland by the Cape Colony in 1885. The Cape forces reopened Gatyana (Willowvale) to the colonial authorities following the acceptance of an amnesty. Many of the amaGcaleka remained in Xhorha (Elliotdale), including King Sarhili himself. King Sarhili’s vicissitudes at the hands of the colonial government are used as a scaffolding to see Columba in historical perspective. This article puts the spotlight on King Sarhili and James Macdonald Auld, the Presbyterian missionary at Columba, as a vehicle to explore the reorganisation of Centane. The article also broadens its base of sources by drawing on oral history with intent to add materially to our knowledge about the missions at that often opaque moment in Eastern Cape history. In attempting to examine the relations between the traditional leaders, the colonial governing authorities and the missionaries, this article shows the colonial conflict as an ongoing encounter between the missionaries and the heirs of Phalo, i.e. the amaGcaleka and the amaNgqika