Created in Their Image: Evangelical Protestantism in Antigua and Barbados, 1834-1914

E very denomination entered the Caribbean with a mission. While the general motivation was to convert the population to Christianity, the accompanying practices were undoubtedly intended to civilise and westernise. The Moravians and Methodists were the first two evangelical Protestant missions that brought the gospel to the enslaved Africans in the Caribbean.When emancipation was granted to the enslaved Africans by the British government in 1834, the newly freed Africans had their own ideas as to how they would live, work, and worship. They were in a struggle for freedom, self-affirmation, self-expression, and personal development. But the Moravians and Methodists had independently framed their thoughts on what the formerly enslaved Africans needed to survive and succeed. What the evangelical Protestants created for themselves was an image of the formerly enslaved African. They had drawn a mental picture of a European Christian of African descent who was residing in the Caribbean and practicing the Christianity of the West. The Caribbean evangelical black was a reflection of the Europeans but never managed to fit into the submissive Christian image. This book traces the eighty years during which formerly enslaved Africans adapted to their state of freedom in Antigua and Barbados and how the Moravians and Methodists sought to shape their way of life. The book examines the theological dispositions on slavery, gender, education, religion, sexuality, and race.