William Carey (missionary)

William Carey ( born August 17, 1761 Paulersbury ( Northamptonshire / UK ), † June 9, 1834 in Serampore today Serampore near Calcutta (India) ) was an English botanist and missionary and founder of the Baptist Missionary Society. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Carey ".

William Carey was born into a family of weavers from Northampton and first learned the trade of a shoemaker. After a deliberate turning toward the Christian faith he joined in 1783 a Baptist church at. These appointed him in 1785 to her pastor.

Founder of the Baptist Missionary Society

Self-taught, Carey first learned the so-called classical languages ​​(Hebrew, Greek and Latin). His particular interest also was the expeditions of the 18th century. Above all, it was the South Seas Travel James Cook, the desire aroused in him "to bring distant nations the gospel " the. He wore his ideas before on a church conference, but met with rejection.

1786, he wrote his famous signature on Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of Heathens. It was the initial spark for the establishment of the Baptist Missionary Society ( BMS), the first non- missionary society of modern times, was the first managing director Andrew Fuller. A sermon Carey on May 30, In 1792 Isaiah ( 54.2 f) eventually led to the formal establishment of the Missionary Society, which was completed on October 2, 1792 in Northampton. In the sermon mentioned the sentence, which was the motto of the BMS was: "Expect great things from God and take great things for God! "

Missionary in the East Indies

1793 William Carey and his family embarked on a one tall ships to receive the service as the first missionaries of the BMS. Carey's goal was the British colony of British India, more precisely today's Bengal. However, since according to the statutes of the British East India Company to " British " soil could not be a missionary, Carey took a job as a manager of an indigo plantation in Mudnabati. He hired himself first as a farm laborer and lived with his family initially under difficult conditions. His child died. Then his wife became ill from a severe psychosis, which they never recovered.

Professor, linguist, translator of the Bible

In 1800, Carey settled in Serampore, known as Danish colony Frederiksnagore, down. Two other missionaries, William Ward and Joshua Marshman, had been sent from the BMS to support him and had already settled there the same year.

Carey received a non-academic professor of Bengali at Fort William College in Calcutta where he taught mainly young English officer candidates in the national language.

Special merits Carey had also earned as a linguist. He published several ancient Indian scriptures and wrote grammars, textbooks and dictionaries for Bengali. Overall, Carey learned as an autodidact about 40 languages ​​into which he then translated especially the Bible and Bible portions. The complete Bible he translated alone in six Indian languages.

School's founder

Between 1818 and 1821 Carey built up with its employees, the Serampore Theological Seminary, were formed at the missionary staff then local. He also founded an elementary school that became a model for education in India. The establishment of the first newspaper in the East Indian language goes back to him.

As a botanist Carey also made ​​a name for himself. He put on the study of Indian flora and fauna of a large botanical test site.

Human rights

Carey sat like Ram Mohan Roy for the abolition of outdated traditions and it was only possible due now strong influence on colonial policy that in 1829 the traditional Indian family female infanticide was prohibited by law. Even against the so-called widow burning, he engaged passionately; 1832 also it was prohibited by law.

1827 Carey parted from the Baptist Missionary Society, however, decreed shortly before his death that his entire work should fall to her as inheritance.

Ehrentaxon

He was the genus Careya Roxb honor. the plant family of Lecythidaceae ( Lecythidaceae ) named.

Works (selection)

  • An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, 1792. ( Facsimile edition, London 1961)

Literature (selection )

  • John Clark Marshman: The Life and Times of Carey, London 1859
  • James Culross: William Carey, London 1881
  • G. Schott: William Carey, the father of the present missionary movement, 1915
  • Benjamin Schmidt: William Carey, pioneer missionary in India, 1922
  • Stephan v. Bohr: From shoemaker to the missionary and linguist. A mission history, 1928
  • Günter Wieske: William Carey. A free Kirchler calls the Christians for World Mission, in: Ecumenical profiles. Bridge builders of the one Church, ed. v. Günter Gloede, I, 1961, 138 ff
  • John Browne Myers: William Carey, the shoemaker, the "father and founder of the recent mission to the Gentiles ." Translated from English by Isabella Mundhenk. J. G. Oncken, Hamburg 1893.
  • William Carey - Film India, radio play book with CD, Hännsler, 2013, ISBN 3775154914
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