'Zendingkaart der Evangelische Broedergemeente', ca. 1868
This world map in two hemispheres shows the missionary activities of the Moravian Church or Hernhutters. The map was ‘published for the benefit of mission,’ and highlights all of the Moravian missionary activities since 1732. The map is quite simple. The continents are encircled in yellow. The blue markings indicate ‘the size of the Moravian church in Christian countries’, the red ‘the settlement among the heathen’. Thus, as is typical with the missionary maps, the contrast between Christian and pagan areas is strongly emphasized.
Twelve stations are marked: Greenland, Labrador, Delaware, Cherokee region, Danish and English West Indies, Moscow Coast, Demerara, Suriname, South Africa, Himalayas and Australia. The number of missionaries and missions per location is also mentioned, ranging from three missionaries amongst the Cherokee people in Oklahoma spread over the same number of missions, and more than 66 missionaries in Suriname spread over 16 missions. A total of 310 missionaries are serving in 106 missions. The map has not been filled up, only the names of the continents are indicated.
The Moravians were one of the first organized Protestant mission movements in the world. The first mission was founded in 1732 on the Caribbean island of St Thomas, and in 1733 the Hernhutters settled on Greenland. The map shows the worldwide distribution of their activities around the year of publication, 1868. Because the Moravian Brethren were not affiliated with the colonial state, this map also clearly shows that there is no strict correlation here between Dutch imperialism and the mission of the Moravians. It is true that they were active in Dutch colonies, such as Suriname and the Dutch East Indies, but also in British colonies (India and Australia).
The map is pasted on cardboard and can be folded open and closed. The map was issued by the Moravian Brethren, who had settled in Zeist since 1745.