The Moravian mission in Georgia has been described as “a failed prelude to building bigger
and better things to come.” The Moravians arrived in
Savannah on April 6, 1735
How did Moravians
end up in Georgia? Zinzendorf originally brokered land in Georgia
for the Schwenkfelder (not Moravian)
refugees living on his land near Berthelsdorf.
When the Schwenkfelders were banished
from Saxony in 1733, they asked Zinzendorf
to help them relocate. They had heard of
Governor James Oglethorpe’s plans to admit
those fleeing religious persecution to
the new colony of Georgia in America. Protestants
were desired to form a buffer between
the English colonies and Spanish Catholics
from Florida and French-Catholics
from Louisiana. With Zinzendorf’s help the
Schwenkfelders travelled as far as Holland,
but then accepted an offer
for passage to Pennsylvania
instead after hearing rumours
of poor land and
being turned into slaves by
the English in Georgia. The
Trustees of Georgia then
allowed Moravians to take
the land themselves, granting
them 500 acres on the
Ogeechee River, plus two
50-acre tracts in Savannah.
Zinzendorf capitalised on
this change of events: “I
therefore look into every
opportunity which presents
itself [to make Jesus known
among the “heathen”].
The first group of ten men left London on
February 3, 1735, and after nine weeks at
sea arrived in the Savannah harbor on April
6. The company, led by Spangenberg, included
masons, carpenters, weavers, a gardener
and a game-keeper - all pious workmen
skilled to establish an independent
mission community in Georgia.
Zinzendorf instructed them: “You must live alone, establishing your own little corner, where your customs will irritate no one...Your one aim will be to establish a little place near the heathen where you may gather together the dispersed in Israel, patiently win back the wayward, and instruct the heathen tribes.”
Upon arriving in Savannah, the group was immediately visited by friendly Native Americans and introduced to the Yamacraw chief, Tomochichi, who would prove to be a peaceful ally. The Moravians quickly went to work, finishing their cabin in six days and laying out ten acres of garden on plots outside of town in less than two weeks. Some of their neighbours remarked “that the Moravians had done more in a week than their people in two years.”
The first year found the group preoccupied with survival rather than any true mission work. They spent much of their time surveying and cultivating their land and building shelter for themselves and the next expected company. Adjusting to the new climate and a poor diet was hard on the group and most fell ill, although only one, Friedrich Riedel, a mason, died that first year.
Although a second group of 25 men and women arrived on February 23, 1736, “internal disputes” and political pressure to bear arms doomed the work to failure before much could be accomplished. Peter Böhler later said, “the good children lost sight of their Plan.” Through death and abandonment the group dwindled to six by 1740, and impending war with the Spanish finally drove them to Pennsylvania, where mission work resumed - this time with much more success.
Zinzendorf instructed them: “You must live alone, establishing your own little corner, where your customs will irritate no one...Your one aim will be to establish a little place near the heathen where you may gather together the dispersed in Israel, patiently win back the wayward, and instruct the heathen tribes.”
Upon arriving in Savannah, the group was immediately visited by friendly Native Americans and introduced to the Yamacraw chief, Tomochichi, who would prove to be a peaceful ally. The Moravians quickly went to work, finishing their cabin in six days and laying out ten acres of garden on plots outside of town in less than two weeks. Some of their neighbours remarked “that the Moravians had done more in a week than their people in two years.”
The first year found the group preoccupied with survival rather than any true mission work. They spent much of their time surveying and cultivating their land and building shelter for themselves and the next expected company. Adjusting to the new climate and a poor diet was hard on the group and most fell ill, although only one, Friedrich Riedel, a mason, died that first year.
Although a second group of 25 men and women arrived on February 23, 1736, “internal disputes” and political pressure to bear arms doomed the work to failure before much could be accomplished. Peter Böhler later said, “the good children lost sight of their Plan.” Through death and abandonment the group dwindled to six by 1740, and impending war with the Spanish finally drove them to Pennsylvania, where mission work resumed - this time with much more success.
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