Describes the exceptional wealth of missionary archives and the major contributions they can make not only to the study of the processes of Christian evangelism and Western imperialism but also their value in documenting and analysing the nature of Western encounters with indigenous societies.

Baptists are a major group of Christians with a worldwide presence. Originating in the English Puritan-Separatist tradition of the 17th century, Baptists proliferated in North America, and through missionary work from England, Europe, and North America, they have established churches, associations, unions, missions, and alliances in virtually every country. They are among the most highly motivated evangelists of the Christian gospel, employing at present in excess of 7,000 domestic and overseas missionaries. Important characteristics of the Baptists across their history are: the authority of the Scriptures, individual accountability before God, the priority of religious experience, religious liberty, separation of church and state, congregational independence, and a concern for the social implications of the gospel. Baptists recognize a twofold ministry (deacons and pastors) or a threefold order (deacons, elders, pastors). Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Third Edition expands upon the second edition with an updated chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important events, doctrines, and the church founders, leaders, and other prominent figures who have made notable contributions.

First Published in 2002. This compelling book brings to light a disillusioned experiment of biracial missionary labours that were expected to carry the beliefs and cultural values of nineteenth century white Americans to the black continent of Africa.

In the wake of the navigators who finally opened up the Pacific came missionaries, traders and finally administrators. In the early decades of the 19th century Polynesia was a rich field for the curious and the calculating, for writers and adventurers. The pioneer European settlers in Eastern Polynesia were ministers and mechanics sent out on the crest of an Evangelical wave the merged with the currents and eddies of trade and whaling to break down the isolation of the islands and their inhabitants. Among the pioneers was Welshman John Davies (1772-1855) who spent just over 50 years of his life on Tahiti and neighbouring islands. He witnessed the rise of the Pomare dynasty, conversion to Christianity, reaction to attempts at theocratic government, and the gradual encroachment of alien commerce and European rule. His colleagues have made their contribution to the history and anthropology of Polynesia. Davies himself, teacher, linguist and careful observer, wrote his own story of the Mission, its personalities and their contact with the Polynesians, from the early phase of disillusionment through three decades of political and economic change, destruction and reconstruction. From this contact there emerged the uneasy compromise of missionary and indigenous beliefs and institutions that characterized Tahiti and its neighbours before and after the advent of French administration. Davies's manuscript History is here edited and annotated, supplemented by the writings of other missionaries and presented as a contribution to the literature of the Pacific. This is a new print-on-demand hardback edition of the volume first published in 1961.

With 110 million members worldwide, Baptists are surpassed only by Roman Catholic and Orthodox groups as the largest segment of Christians. The term 'Baptist' has its origins with the Anabaptists, the denomination historically linked to the English Separatist movement of the 16th century. Although Baptist churches are located throughout the world, the largest group of Baptists lives in the Southern United States, and the Baptist faith has historically exerted a powerful influence in that region of the country. The A to Z of the Baptists relates the history of the Baptist Church through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important events, doctrines, and the church founders, leaders, and other prominent figures who have made notable contributions. This volume commemorates the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement in 1609.

Mini-set H: History of Education re-issues 24 volumes which span a century of publishing:1900 - 1995. The volumes cover Education in Ancient Rome, Irish education in the 19th century, schools in Victorian Britain, changing patterns in higher education, secondary education in post-war Britain, education and the British colonial experience and the history of educational theory and reform.