| Level | Sub-sub-sub-fonds |
| Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure) | CMS/B/OMS/W |
| Title | West Indies mission [Caribbean, including present-day Guyana] |
| Extent | 11 volumes, 2104 items |
| Date | 1818-1863 |
| Description | Records compiled by the committees of the CMS Overseas (Foreign) Division, London.
Comprising papers under the Committee of Correspondence. Including incoming correspondence from the mission to CMS in London 1818-1863, outgoing correspondence from the CMS in London to the mission 1820-1861, and office copies of the incoming correspondence 1820-1861. |
| Notes | When 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Work is underway to address outdated, discriminatory, and offensive language in finding aids used by the Cadbury Research Library, and to improve accessibility of the online catalogue in line with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. |
| Arrangement | The papers are arranged as:
L: Letter-books 1820-1861 (outgoing)
M: Mission books 1820-1861 (incoming: copies)
O: Original papers 1818-1863 (incoming) |
| Access Conditions | For conservation reasons digital or microfilm copies are made available in place of the originals. |
| Finding Aids | Click 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 ‘West Indies Mission' 1818-1863.
Alternatively, the original paper catalogues for the mission series can be seen in the Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections and CMS (Oxford). The 'West Indies Mission' papers are listed in the 'Africa (Group 3) Missions' catalogue, volume eight: 'West Indies'. |
| Access Status | Open, but subject to some access restrictions |
| Physical Description | The archive reference numbers have been marked in pencil on the back of each individual item of incoming correspondence, for example, C W O 42/7. When the records were transferred to the University of Birmingham and the online copy of the catalogue was created the archive finding numbers for the records of the Overseas Division were extended: the letters CMS/B/OMS were added at the beginning of the filing numbers (denoting records of the Church Mission Society Archive: Overseas Division: Overseas Mission Series). For example, CMS/B/OMS/C W/O 42/7. |
| Administrative History | CMS mission work in the Caribbean was begun in 1813 when William Dawes in Antigua [present-day Antigua and Barbuda] offered to act as a CMS agent. A mission was established in Barbados in 1820, Jamaica in 1826, Guyana (at the time 'British Guiana') South America in 1827, and Trinidad [present-day Trinidad and Tobago] in 1836.
A severe financial crisis in 1839 forced CMS to decide to withdraw gradually from the work and CMS handed over to the established Anglican church. Support for Antigua, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad ended officially at the end of 1849. Work in Guyana continued until 1858. |
| Custodial History | Catalogued by Rosemary A. Keen, CMS 1960-1961. Revised and expanded by Rosemary Keen, 1981. Copied to the online catalogue, 2001. Updates underway, 2024. |
| Copies | Available on microfilm and online.
Microfilm:
'Church Missionary Society Archive': Section V: Missions to the Americas, part 1.
Publisher: Marlborough: Adam Matthew Publications, 1999.
Location in the Cadbury Research Library: microfilm drawer B7.
Digital publication:
'AM Scholar-Church Missionary Society Archive': Missions to the Americas: West Indies Mission
Publisher: Adam Matthew Digital.
Access: by institutional subscription: free access to members of the University of Birmingham and visitors to the Cadbury Research Library and other subscribing institutions. |