Embracing Protestantism: Black Identites in the Atlantic World

321 Pages·2016·9.326 MB·English

by  John W. Catron

Embracing Protestantism
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

Embracing Protestantism
Black Identities in the Atlantic World
John W. Catron 
University Press of Florida
Gainesville / Tallahassee / Tampa / Boca Raton
Pensacola / Orlando / Miami / Jacksonville / Ft. Myers / Sarasota
Copyright 2016 by John W. Catron
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
Chapter 3 originally appeared as “Early Black-Atlantic Christianity in the Middle Colonies:
Social Mobility and Race in Moravian Bethlehem” in Pennsylvania History 76, no. 3 (2009):
301–345, copyright © 2009 by The Pennsylvania State University Press. This article is used by
permission of The Pennsylvania State University Press.
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
21 20 19 18 17 16 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Catron, John W., author.
Title: Embracing Protestantism : black identities in the Atlantic world / John W. Catron.
Description: Gainesville : University Press of Florida, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015036777 | ISBN 9780813061634
Subjects: LCSH: Blacks—Atlantic Ocean Region—Religion. | Christians, Black—Atlantic Ocean
Region—History. | Protestantism—History. | African diaspora—History.
Classification: LCC BR563.N4 C385 2016 | DDC 270.7089/96—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015036777
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University System
of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast
University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida,
University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University
of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
To the two people who inspired me and kept the faith:
my mother, Patricia,
and my wife, Tracey


Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. Christianity in Atlantic Africa before 1800 15
2. The Favorite of Heaven: Antigua and the Growth of Black
Atlantic Christianity 50
3. Early Black Atlantic Christianity in the Middle Colonies 101
4. Black Evangelical Diaspora in the Greater Caribbean 150
5. Afro-Christian Diaspora in the Age of Revolution 195
Conclusion 224
Notes 231
Bibliography 269
Index 299

Acknowledgments
No one writes a work of history by himself, and I am no exception. Without
the help and encouragement of academic advisers, the staffs of historical ar-
chives, family members, fellow graduate students, and friends, this project
would never have been started, much less completed. I am grateful to the
staff of the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for providing
me access to its extensive holdings of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-cen-
tury Afro-Moravian culture, to which important parts of this work can be
attributed. The chief archivist in Bethlehem, Paul Peucker, was particularly
helpful, as was his knowledgeable assistant Lanie Graf. Former Moravian
archivist Vernon Nelson also provided valuable insights into early Mora-
vian history and suggested further venues for research that were particu-
larly fruitful. The staff of the archives and of Moravian College made it pos-
sible for me to spend several weeks in Bethlehem; this gave me a chance, in
my off hours, to explore the region where many of the historical characters
in this study lived and worked, adding immeasurably to my understanding
of the subject.
I am indebted as well to the staffs of the Georgia Historical Society, the
South Carolina Historical Association, the Library of Caroliniana, Mora-
vian House–London, the School of Oriental and African Studies at the
University of London, Lambeth Palace, Regents Park College–Oxford
University, the Latin American Collection at the University of Florida, and
Interlibrary Loan, all of them for allowing me access to their extensive col-
lections and services.