Disaster in the Jungle. Labadist Colonial Enterprise in Surinam, 1683–1719

Abstract

A logical corollary of the Labadists’ theological emphasis on sanctification and separation was that they had little concept of mission. They were less concerned to bring the gospel to the heathen than to gather together Christians seeking to be separate from the world. There were, however, a few isolated attempts to stir such missionary zeal. At Rotterdam in 1668 Pierre Dulignon had made known his desire to bring the good news to ‘the blind barbarians of America’, but nothing came of it.¹) In 1680 Luise Huygens, on her deathbed, declared that her prayers were for ‘the poor indians’, who were unconverted and in such need.²) Still nothing was done, but as accommodation at Wieuwerd grew ever more cramped with a steady flow of probationers, the matter was taken more seriously. Morever, the community saw that Holland was not heeding its message and as such presented no good climate for the living out of God’s life, so a fresh, new land, with tranquility, solitude and space, seemed the more inviting. A new oeuvre de Dieu, in the New World.