Protestant Missionary Writes of Hawaiian "Ignorance and Superstition" 1837

A letter from a female Protestant missionary with details of her experiences in Hawaii. 4pp of a bifolium, measuring 7.75" x 9.75", aboard the "Mary Frazier" on the Pacific Ocean, dated April 7, 1837 and April 21. From missionary Charlotte A. Knapp to her cousin, Elizabeth Knapp, in Connecticut. Charlotte writes about her missionary work and first days on the island, with reference to fears of difficulty ingratiating herself with the native population. With flattened mail folds and creasing. A few small tears and paper loss where the seal was broken. Uneven toning throughout. Very good overall.

The first section dated April 7, 1837 In part:
"...I have often thought of you since I bid you the last adieu...You are ready to ask perhaps, 'Do you not regret having left your dear friends and country?' No, I answer no... I rejoice that God over put it into my heart to leave them to engage in the blessed work of converting the world. I feel it a privilege unworthy as I am that I am permitted to labor in the cause of my Saviour... I expect before another day shall roll its round to see one of those islands where ignorance and superstition have so long reigned, where I expect to live and where I expect to die…"

The second section dated April 21, written in Honolulu, in part:
"We anchored here April 9th 116 days out. We will be very pleasantly and cordially received by the missionaries and the king and chiefs...We were invited to an interview with the king in a day or two after we arrived on account of his leaving the island to bury his sister on one of the other islands. He pledged us his protection...The people throng in hundreds to the houses of the missionaries to converse on the subject of religion...hundreds of them assembled on the dock when we landed and followed us to the house of the chief as we stopped there on our way to Mr. Bingham ... Last Sabbath I attended the native meeting where forty thousand attended. Most of them were dressed...many of the common people wore nothing but a piece of kapy and wore still less than that... The town of Honolulu contains about 8,000 inhabitants, 2 or 3 hundred foreigners...What is worth living for but to advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ...You live in a great land and are therefore great in sinners, as one of the natives told our ship crew the other day, the heathen will rise up in judgment if you refuse to accept the terms of creation…"

Hiram Bingham (1789-1869) was the leader of the first group of American Protestant missionaries to introduce Christianity to the Hawaiian islands.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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