Archives for Liberation: Williams College and Hawai‘i

In the summer of 1806, five Williams students took shelter beside a haystack during a storm. At the haystack, these students discussed their common interest in converting people around the world to Christianity. By 1810, they had gone on to form the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) – a missionary organization that operated in the American West, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. By the mid-century, dozens of Williams alumni had become missionaries through the ABCFM.

Participants in this workshop will examine materials from the College Archives that document the long and varied histories of Williams alumni and missionary projects. In particular, we will focus on the complex interconnections between Williams College and Hawai‘i. For generations, Williams alumni and their descendants made their way to and from Hawai‘i, forging inextricable links between two distant places. Several Williams affiliates and alumni played significant roles in the colonization of Hawai‘i and the overthrow of Queen Lili‘uokalani in 1893. The objects that we encounter together in this workshop will serve as the basis for a conversation about Hawaiian sovereignty, Christian imperialism, and the inextricably linked histories of Williams College and Hawai‘i.

 

9:15 – 10:45 AM in Special Collections (Sawyer Library). This event is co-sponsored by Special Collections (Libraries).