Colonial Convergences (American Presbyterian Missionaries and Belgian Rule in Congo)

The American Presbyterian Congo Mission (APCM) is known for its work exposing the atrocities perpetrated by Belgian imperialists in central Africa, which led to it being unsuccessfully sued for libel by a concession company allied to the colonists in 1909. But while the libel trial marked a pivotal moment of conflict, it has obscured a much longer history of collaboration between American missionaries and Belgian administrators.

Tracing the APCM’s work in medicine, education, and gender relations, Reuben Loffman argues that the relationship between the mission and the Belgian colonial administration became close enough for missionaries and state officials to develop converging beliefs, interests, and practices. Although Congolese Christians and mission adherents recognized and criticized these convergences, they also strategically engaged with the mission’s institutions and resources, simultaneously collaborating with and challenging its authority. Looking beyond the colonial period into decolonization, Loffman examines how the APCM struggled to adapt to what one member called the “new” Congo. While the mission long professed its commitment to fostering an autonomous Congolese church, meaningful ecclesiastical independence emerged only under sustained political and congregant pressure.

This compelling new account of Protestant missions in the colonial Congo makes the case for a more nuanced understanding of missionary-colonial relations as they were shaped by contingent alliances, shared interests, and ongoing negotiation.