Samuel Marsden, Work and the Limits of Evangelical Humanitarianism

Scholars have emphasised the contribution of evangelical humanitarianism to the debate over British settler colonialism, especially around the time of the Select Committee on Aborigines in British Settlements (1835–7). This article draws attention to another strand of evangelical ethics, concerning idleness and industry. It examines the Protestant work values that colonial chaplain Samuel Marsden applied to indigenous people in New South Wales and New Zealand, and evaluates their role in his conspicuous refusal to support new missionary ventures among Aboriginal people. It suggests that evangelical work values, when disappointed, could undermine humanitarian impulses with significant implications for the issues of land rights and race.This article was supported by a 2010 CAL/AHA bursary and has been peer-reviewed.