h. Xorthern Africa, with the exception of Egypt, seems abandoned to ^Moslem predominance. Owing to its vast deserts of sand, it is in fact but thinly inhabited — indeed only traversed occasionally by trilies of wan- dering and savage Araijs. The I'rench occuiiation of portions of Algeria, ii;cluding the locality of the church- es of Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine, has done little towards restoring tlie Clirislianity taught by those. fa- thers, and for the present the pros[)ect of a re-evangel- ization of Northern Africa is in no sense hopeful. See Davies, Voice from North Africa ; Carthage and her Re- mains.
6. Western Africa. — This title includes Scnegambia, the British colony of Sierra Leone, the American siettle- ment of Liberia, and the country of (iuinea. In the latter are included the kingdoms of Ashantee and Da- homey. A large proportion of the peojile are pagans; among the remainder a very corrupt form of Moham- medanism exists. The earliest efforts made by the Protestant Church to Christianize them were made by tlie Moravian Brethren in 173(5. The missi<mary socie- ties now ill the field are the Church. Wesleyan, Baptist. North German, Society of Bremen, ICvangelical ^lission at Basle, Free United Met hodist.s, United Presbyterian Church, American Southern Baptist, American ICjiisco- pal Board, American ^Methodist Episco])al, and American Presbvteriau. Some of the Bible versions in use arc
the Berber, Jlandingo, Grebo, Yarriba, Haussa, Ibo, and Dualla. In all, twenty-five dialects have been mastered. There are now many thousands of hopeful converts to Christianity; also above 20(J schools, with more than 20,000 scholars under instruction. A very imjwrtant
I result has been achieved in the success of native agency.
j See Wilson, KVA/er«,-iy/2V(/; Esi^t.Wtstem .Africa ; Mrs.
j Scott, Day-dawn in .Ifrica ; Schiin and Crowther, Expe-
j dition vp the Niger; Beecham, .Ashantee and the Gold Coast; liandolph. The People of .Africa ; Tucker, .4 ieo- kuta; A\'alker, Sierra Leone; Bowcn, Central .Africa; Cruikshank, Eighteen Years on the Gold Coast ; Fox, Westei-n Coast of Africa ; Liberia and its Resources; Life of Daniel West; iMemoirs of M. B. Cox; Waddell, Twenty-nine Years in the West Indies and Central .Africa; Freeman, Ashantee.
7. Southe?-n .Africa. — The section of Africa now un- der consideration comprises the six provinces of Cape Colony, British Kaffraria, Kaffraria Proper, the sover- eignty beyond the Orange Kivcr, Natal, and Amazula. The ideas of the people about (iod were very confused and indefinite, and there appeared to be no ))articular form of worship among them. The first mission to the tribes of Southern Africa was established by the Mora- vian Church in 1737. The missionary societies now in
I the field are the American Board of Commissioners, Propagation, London, Wesleyan, Free Church of Scot- land, United Presbyterian, and Evangelical jMoravian Brotherhood, with six Continental societies. The Bible versions in use are the Benga, Namacqua, Bechuana, Sesuto, Zulu, and Kaffir. There are nearly a (piarter of a million of communicants. Numerous schools ha%-e been opened, with a large average attendance of schol- ars. As a Hottentot has expressed it, the missionaries have given them a religion where formerly they had none; taught them morality, whereas before they had no idea of^ morality; they were given up to profligacy and drunkenness, now industry and sobriety prevail among them. See Moffat, .Vissionai-^y Labors in South Africa; lAxmg&tonc, Missionary Travels; Philips, 7?e- searches; Campbell, Travels in South .Africa; 11 olden, Kaffir Races ; Shaw, Memorials of South .Africa ; Broad- bent, Martyrs of Namaqualand ; Taylor, Adventures in South .Africa.
8. Abyssinia was formerly divided into three inde- pendent states; now, however, there is but one. The Christianity of the Abyssinians is so impure as to be little better than heathenism. Thus far it has proved a discouraging field for missionary effort. The Bible versions in use are the Amharic and Ethiopic. See Salt, IIist07-y of .Abyssinia ; llotten, Abyssinia and its People (Lond. 18G8); Gobat, Three Years' Residince in .Abyssitiia; V\ai\, .Abyssitiia ; Isenberg and Stern, Mis- sionary Journals ; Stem, The Captive Missioiuny ;
I Krapf, Eighteen Years in Eastern .Africa. See Anvs-
XIAN CiiLUcn.
0. .Vadagascar is one of the largest islands in the world, with a population of live millions. The native religion is idolatrous, but no jndilic worship is offered to the idols. The London ^lissionary Society imroduced the Gospel into JIadagascar in the year 1>^18. The work of that society has been very succcsslul. having largely secured the Christianization of the island. The other missionary societies are the Church and Propaga- tion. The Bible version iii use is the Malagasy. The native Church passed through a terrible ixrsecution in 1849. Two thousand persons suffered death rather than renounce Christ. So plentiful has been the ingathering since that Madagascar is now in an important sense counted a Christ ian countrj*. Sec EUis, I/islory of Mad- agascar ; id., .Martyr Church of Madagascar ; Freeman, J^crsecntions in Madagascar; Reports of the London Missionary Societj*.
10. .l/auritius. — This island has a population of 300,000, three (juarters of wliom rei)rcsent the races of India. The missionary societits in this lield are the Loudon, Propagation, and Church. An extensive and
MISSIONS
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MISSIONS
promising work is carried on among the Tamils and Bengali-Hindustani-speaking coolies, and also by the London Society among the refugees and other emi- grants from Madagascar. See Bond, Brief Mevwrials of the Rev. J. Sarjant; Backhouse, >m« to Mauritius; Le Brun, Letters,