'Molukken [...]', in: 'Atlas van de terreinen der Protestantsche zending', 1937

This simple map shows the Moluccas in the Dutch East Indies, where a relatively large number of Christians lived. In the sixteenth century many Moluccans converted to Catholicism after the arrival of the Portuguese. When the Dutch East India Company captured the Moluccas in 1605, many of them turned to Protestantism. They were part of the colonial church, or the Indian church, but were allowed to found their own church in 1935, the Gereja Protestan Maluku, under the auspices of the Dutch colonial church.

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© Zendingsbureau der samenwerkende Zendingscorporaties

On this map, the areas of the Moluccan Church are indicated in pink, and in green the areas where the Utrecht Missionary Society (UZV) was active on Boeroe, a relatively isolated island at the time, with many Muslims and followers of traditional religions.

This atlas was published in 1937 by the Mission Bureau in Oegstgeest, which was established in 1908 to take care of the administration for various missionary organizations. The bureau also produced a number of publications, such as this atlas, which was first published in 1937 and reprinted in 1939 and 1942. The emphasis in this atlas is on the Dutch colonies, where most of the Dutch missionaries served.