An educational history of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Newfoundland, 1703-1850

Healey, James B. (1994) An educational history of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Newfoundland, 1703-1850. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This thesis is entitled An Educational History of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Newfoundland. 1703 - 1850. Its purpose is to provide - as far as possible - a detailed history of the educational work of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (S.P.G.) while it was active in Newfoundland throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. -- The S.P.G. was founded in London, England, in 1701 and served as the educational arm of the Church of England for many years, directing most of its efforts to missionary and pedagogical concerns throughout the British Empire. Its association with Newfoundland began in 1703 and continued well into the next century when, for all intents and purposes, it? educational endeavours ended around 1850 with a brief foray into Labrador. Since records indicate that the Society greatly reduced its operations after 1833 and eventually withdrew from the Newfoundland educational scene by the eighteen fifties, it seems appropriate to end this account of the Society's activities at the mid-nineteenth century. -- Largely through the use of primary sources, this thesis elaborates on the following topics: -- (i) the establishment and early history of the Society; -- (ii) the stated goals and objectives of the Society; -- (iii) social, economic and educational conditions in Newfoundland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as political events and their effects on the Society's operations; -- (iv) involvement of the Society in Newfoundland, including the assistance to and establishment of schools in several communities; -- (v) the work of specific missionaries and teachers as indicated in the primary sources; -- (vi) the gradual decline of the Society's operations in Newfoundland in the nineteenth century and factors pertaining to the decline; and -- (vii) an evaluation of the Society's work and effectiveness. -- This paper focuses on the pedagogical, as opposed to the spiritual, work of the S.P.G., although no description would be complete without some mention of the religious side of this organization, an aspect that, for the most part, is dealt with in the introductory chapters. -- The author hopes that, in the final analysis, this thesis will provide a concise, convenient record of a heretofore little-known era in Newfoundland's educational and cultural history.

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