Swedish Protestant Missionaries and Social Reordering in King Leopold's Congo

This book offers a historical anthropological study of Swedish Protestant missionaries in the Congo Free State during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.It examines how a Swedish mission society, operating under King Leopold II’s brutal colonial regime, attempted to reshape Congolese society by transplanting Western Christian ideals into the local Kikongo-speaking context.The author analyses the complex interplay between missionaries, the violent colonial state, and the indigenous Bakongo people, revealing how missions became a crucible for cultural exchange, conflict, and transformation.The chapters document the missionaries’ activities and experiences using rich archival sources, drawing on Swedish-language mission archives and personal writings such as letters, diaries and reports.They tell a story of well-intended efforts by missionaries to improve the life of the Congolese convert, as well as failures, misunderstandings, and abuse of power.The author combines detail