Women Were Made For Such Things: Women Missionaries in British Columbia 1850s-1940s

Authors

  • Margaret Whitehead University of Victoria

Abstract

As Canadian Church historians have traditionally portrayed men as the movers and shakers of Canadian Church historical development, most published scholarship on the history of Canada's missionaries deal almost exclusively with men. Yet, preliminary research on British Columbia's missionary frontier suggests that women made a vital contribution to the Churches' proselytization work among the province's "heathens." This paper argues that female missionaries, acting in the dual roles of church functionaries and society's cultural emissaries, played a crucial role in the development not only of frontier educational, medical, and social services but also of white/native relationships. These women found in their missionary roles both continuing limitations and new opportunities for independence.

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Published

1988-10-01

Issue

Section

Original Research