Record

LevelSub-sub-sub-fonds
Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure)CMS/B/OMS/I
TitleIndia General
Extent2 files
Date1811-1815
DescriptionRecords compiled by the committees of the CMS Overseas (Foreign) Division in London.

A small compilation of papers under the Committee of Correspondence comprising the earliest series of mission correspondence between CMS Secretaries in London and India, and between CMS in London and present-day Sri Lanka (at the time 'Ceylon').
NotesWhen the catalogue was created names of mission stations were standardised but there was no attempt to give present-day place names where these differ from place names in the records. The bulk of names in the sub-number references are the spellings used in the documents.

Work is underway to address outdated, discriminatory, and offensive language in finding aids used by the Cadbury Research Library, and to improve accessibility of the online catalogue in line with current standards including adding present-day place names standardised according to 'The Times Atlas of the World', comprehensive edition, 2023. Copies of the original catalogues have been retained as a record.
ArrangementThe papers are arranged as a single series:

E: Early correspondence 1811-1815 (incoming and outgoing)
Access ConditionsFor conservation reasons, microfilm or digital copies are made available in place of the original documents.
Finding AidsClick on the Finding Number to display the full online catalogue of the Overseas Division mission series up to 1934, including the lower level entries for the India General series. Alternatively, the original paper catalogues can be consulted in the Cadbury Research Library and CMS (Oxford). The ‘India General' papers 1811-1815 are listed at the beginning of the ‘West Asia (Group 2) Missions’ catalogues for North India and South India, and the accompanying calendar volume.

Guides to the Adam Matthew microfilm and digitally published copies of the India General papers are available online and in CMS (Oxford), Cadbury Research Library, and other subscribing institutions.
Access StatusOpen, but subject to some access restrictions
Administrative HistoryThe Society's first missions in India centred on Kolkata (at that time 'Calcutta'), Chennai (at that time 'Madras') and Mumbai (at that time 'Bombay').

A Corresponding Committee was set up in Kolkata in 1807. With the renewal of the East India Company's Charter in 1813 when missionaries were allowed into the country the Corresponding Committee took on the role of a CMS Auxiliary. The first CMS missionaries to North India did not reach Kolkata until 1816. In Chennai, a Corresponding Committee was formed in November 1814 and the missionaries arrived the following year. A Corresponding Committee for CMS work in Mumbai was formed in June 1818, thought the first missionary did not arrive until 1820.

Work in North India was controlled by the 'Calcutta Corresponding Committee' until 1878. In 1878 the Punjab stations were joined to the work in Sindh (at the time known as 'Sind') which until then had been run from Mumbai. This established the CMS Punjab and Sind mission. Over time, the work of the Punjab and Sind mission was split: first in 1893 the North-West Provinces mission broke away from the Punjab and Sind mission. In turn, the North-West Provinces mission was also split: a new United Provinces mission was established in 1903 and the Central Provinces mission in 1904.

Work in South India was run by the 'Madras Corresponding Committee' until 1881. In 1881 'Travancore and Cochin' was set up as an autonomous mission. In 1924 work in the 'Telegu' area and at Tirunelveli (at the time 'Tinnevelly') was separated from 'Madras' and two new independent missions were established: the 'Telegu mission' and the 'Tinnevelly mission'.
Archival NotePapers catalogued by Rosemary A. Keen, CMS 1960s. Catalogues for 'India General’ mission series, ‘Ceylon' [Sri Lanka] and 'North India’ mission series, revised and expanded by Rosemary Keen, 1984-1985. Copied to the University of Birmingham online archive catalogue by L. Needham, University of Birmingham 2000. Revisions underway by I. Frlan, Cadbury Research Library 2024.
CopiesAvailable on microfilm and online.

Microfilm:
'Church Missionary Society Archive': Section VI: Missions to India, parts 1 and 3.
Publisher: Marlborough: Adam Matthew Publications, 2003-2004.
Location in the Cadbury Research Library: microfilm drawer B3.

Digital publication:
'AM Scholar - Church Missionary Society Archive': Missions to India: India General, 1811-1815.
Publisher: Adam Matthew Digital.
Access by institutional subscription: access is free to members of the University of Birmingham and visitors to the Cadbury Research Library and other subscribing institutions.
Related MaterialRecords of the CMS Overseas Division: Ceylon mission series (CMS/B/OMS/C CE); North India mission series (CMS/B/OMS/I1); Himalaya mission series (CMS/B/OMS/I1A); South India mission series (CMS/B/OMS/I2); Western India mission series (CMS/B/OMS/I3).

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