author

Benjamin La Trobe

1725–1786

A Moravian minister and travel writer, he left a vivid firsthand account of a visit to the mission stations of Labrador. His writing brings together religious life, sea travel, and close observation of Inuit communities in the late eighteenth century.

1 Audiobook

With the Harmony to Labrador

With the Harmony to Labrador

by Benjamin La Trobe

About the author

Born in 1725, Benjamin La Trobe was a minister in the Moravian Church. He is remembered today chiefly for With the Harmony to Labrador, a narrative based on his visit to the Moravian mission stations on the north-east coast of Labrador.

That book follows a voyage on the ship Harmony and describes places including Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Okak, Ramah, and Hebron. Written in a plain, observant style, it records daily routines, worship, travel, and meetings with Inuit residents, giving modern readers a small but valuable window into Moravian mission life.

La Trobe died in 1786. Although little biographical detail was easy to confirm from the sources reviewed here, his surviving travel narrative has kept his name alive as both a religious writer and a witness to an important chapter of Labrador history.