Play, missionaries and the cross-cultural encounter in global perspective, 1800-1870

This essay explores the place of play within the context of missionary childhoods, in global perspective, between 1800 and 1870, a period when the heterosexual missionary family was perceived as a significant component of the missionary project. A key argument is that play comprised an area of shared experience between missionaries and indigenous children. The chapter is divided into three parts: play as a social activity, play with objects, and recreation (which included missionary journeys, and festivals). The first section explores themes such as play with parents, and play as cross-cultural interaction, showing that play was frequently an approved activity which was regarded as a significant contribution to evangelization. The second section examines the kinds of objects used for play, from natural objects found in local environments, to manufactured and commercially produced objects, many with religious underpinning, which were circulated as part of a global economy. The final section briefly analyses the types of recreation available to missionaries, and all-age mission communities, and the place of children