The Moravians in Labrador, 1771–1805

In July 1971, the Moravian mission will have been working in northern Labrador for two hundred years. Theirs was the first mission to North American Eskimos and, as such, it has considerable historical interest. However it is not the purpose of this paper either to give a summary of the whole period...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Author: Hiller, J. K.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1971
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400062069
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400062069
Description
Summary:In July 1971, the Moravian mission will have been working in northern Labrador for two hundred years. Theirs was the first mission to North American Eskimos and, as such, it has considerable historical interest. However it is not the purpose of this paper either to give a summary of the whole period—this can be found elsewhere (Anon, 1871; Davey, 1905; Kleivan, 1966)—or to attempt a general assessment of the mission's work. For good or ill, the mission has made its contribution, and the historian leaves consideration of its legacy to the social scientist (Kleivan, 1966; Ben-Dor, 1966). I shall concentrate here upon the foundation and early years of the mission, and try to explain how it gained its foothold.