In 1836, the newly created Society of Mary receives from the Holy See the responsibility of evangelizing Oceania. Jean-Claude Colin, freshly elected Superior General, will eventually send 117 missionaries there. These men record what they observe, they keep their logbooks, they say how they are received, they state the difficulties they meet, they record the works they undertake... in short, they write.

A collection of thirteen essays by leading scholars in the field, In God's Empire examines the complex ways in which the spread of Christianity by French men and women shaped local communities, French national prowess, and global politics in the two centuries following the French Revolution. More than a story of religious proselytism, missionary activity was an essential feature of French contact and interaction with local populations. In many parts of the world, missionaries were the first French men and women to work and live among indigenous societies. For all the celebration of France's secular "civilizing mission," it was more often than not religious workers who actually fulfilled the daily tasks of running schools, hospitals, and orphanages. While their work was often tied to small villages, missionaries' interactions had geopolitical implications. Focusing on many regions--from the Ottoman Empire and the United States to Indochina and the Pacific Ocean--this book explores how France used missionaries' long connections with local communities as a means of political influence and justification for colonial expansion. In God's Empire offers readers both an overview of the major historical dimensions of the French evangelical enterprise, as well as an introduction to the theoretical and methodological challenges of placing French missionary work within the context of European, colonial, and religious history.

Ph. D. in anthropology (Université Libre de Bruxelles and Universitéd’Aix-Marseille 3), Astrid de Hontheim has been teaching anthropology of Oceania, anthropology of media, religious anthropology, anthropology of birth and anthropological field work in several Universities in Belgium and in Canada.This book studies the socio-cultural changes that occurred among the Asmat people (West Papua) during the postcolonial era, after the arrival ofthe first missionary in 1953...

This volume of studies on the Pacific, most of which relate to the French presence and influence in the region, has been planned as a tribute to the invaluable role John Dunmore has had in advancing historical knowledge of the Pacific and encouraging scholarly interest in this field.

Volume II of The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean focuses on the latest era of Pacific history, examining the period from 1800 to the present day. This volume discusses advances and emerging trends in the historiography of the colonial era, before outlining the main themes of the twentieth century when the idea of a Pacific-centred century emerged. It concludes by exploring how history and the past inform preparations for the emerging challenges of the future. These essays emphasise the importance of understanding how the postcolonial period shaped the modern Pacific and its historians.

Les grands voyages de découverte du Pacifique au XVIIIè siècle ouvrirent la voie aux missionnaires catholiques et protestants. Ainsi avec une surprenante rapidité une poignée d'hommes transformèrent radicalement la physionomie de Tahiti, Hawaï, des Iles Cook, de l'archipel des Tonga, de Wallis et de Futuna. Ces paradis insulaires furent métamorphosés en quelques années en véritables monastères ou en bastions du puritanisme le plus étroit.

In The French in the Pacific World Annick Foucrier has brought together an important set of studies on the French presence in the Pacific up to the start of the 20th century. The volume opens with a section on the context of the French expansion, including its rivalries with other European powers. Following studies treat patterns of trade and exchange, and settlement and migration, then look at the French image of and reaction to the worlds round the Pacific and the people of the islands, covering the period from the voyages of exploration to the era of colonization.