Abstract
In 1863 Andrew Murray jun. (1828–1917), the influential Moderator of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), published Wat zal doch dit kindeken wezen?, the first in a series of guides to Christian child-rearing. Although intended initially for a readership in the Cape Colony, it travelled along the networks which linked Protestant evangelicals around the world, and was read with interest abroad. In 1882 the book was translated into English and, as Raising Your Children for Christ, reached an even wider audience. Although Raising Your Children for Christ describes the purpose and content of the book — over 52 chapters it explains to parents how to bring up Christian children — the original Dutch title evokes the discussions which informed its writing. Directly translated, Wat zal doch dit kindeken wezen? means ‘What will this child become?’
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Notes
There is one article which deals explicitly with nineteenth-century childhoods: E. Bradlow, ‘Children and Childhood at the Cape in the 19th Century’, Kleio, 20 (1988), pp. 8–27.
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Duff, S.E. (2015). Introduction. In: Changing Childhoods in the Cape Colony. Palgrave Studies in the History of Childhood. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137380944_1
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