Thoughts on the Religious Instruction of the Negroes of this Country

A mid‑nineteenth‑century essay offers a sweeping look at how Christian missionaries first reached enslaved peoples across the Caribbean, South America and Africa. Framed by biblical prophecy, the author argues that the dispersion of Black populations was a divine prelude to their spiritual uplift, and he traces the early work of United Brethren and Methodist societies from the 1730s onward.

The text details the spread of missions to islands such as St. Thomas, Jamaica, Barbados and Surinam, emphasizing how plantation owners came to see the moral and practical benefits of religious instruction. It presents a case that well‑taught Christians among the enslaved rarely joined uprisings, citing incidents in Virginia and Charleston as contrasts to uneducated groups. A striking episode describes colonial officials arming newly instructed laborers to defend against a possible French invasion, illustrating the perceived link between faith and loyalty.

Through a mixture of scriptural citation and contemporary reports, the work paints a portrait of early evangelical outreach, its motivations, and its hoped‑for effects on both soul and society.