Imprints on Native Lands: The Miskito-Moravian Settlement Landscape in Honduras

6. Missionaries for Christ, or Early Prophets of Sustainability? Moravian Influence on Miskito Agriculture

moravian missionaries significantly influenced Miskito food production by introducing or otherwise promoting agricultural techniques and varieties of crops that they believed suitable for the Mosquito Coast environment. They also persuaded the Miskito to produce more food by encouraging them to increase the size of their dooryard gardens and fields, and by instructing them to plant more fruit trees. Many of the ideas employed by the Moravians to increase Miskito food production were similar to those found in modern-day sustainable agriculture. The missionaries promoted sustainable development in that they attempted to increase the Miskito’s standard of living without destroying the natural environment. As one Moravian writer explained, “The mission . . . seeks . . . a higher economic life, through the peaceful development of the rich resources of the land” (Mueller 1932:61). Writing in 1944, a missionary located in the Nicaraguan portion of the Mosquito Coast expressed his belief that “we must protect and improve natural resources, improve organized efforts, foster increased fruit production by having proper nurseries, reach out for untouched resources, develop new resources, [and] preserve existing resources” (General Mission Conference 1944:22). Because missionary influence on Miskito agriculture began over one hundred years before the advent of the current sustainable development and sustainable agriculture movements, missionaries merit the label of “early prophets of sustainability.” Moravians and Development The Moravians’ three-pronged approach (preaching, education, and medical work) to convert Mosquito Coast populations has been successful . Although not as organized as the above-described trajectories, the chapter 6 Missionaries for Christ, or Early Prophets of Sustainability? Moravian Influence on Miskito Agriculture teaching of agriculture and trades was also part of their missionary effort on the Mosquito Coast and in other locations. A Moravian leader explained : “From an early day it has been the effort of Moravian missionaries in all parts of the world to instruct their converts how to utilize and develop the natural resources of their land, and to introduce to them trades and occupations as well as to provide a market for their products, if this is not otherwise at hand” (Hamilton 1912:160). This emphasis was not uniform and was therefore more prominent in some missions than in others (Danker 1971). The Moravian mission in Nyasaland of German East Africa (Malawi) is an example of a mission where agriculture was very prominent. Missionaries introduced potatoes, wheat, rice, coffee, tea, cotton, and a variety of fruit trees. A Moravian historian described the effort: All manner of fruits foreign to Central Africa have been planted, and in some cases with most welcome results, the native population having also learned their value, and gladly accepting presents of young fruit-trees to plant them near their own homes--plums, peaches, apricots, oranges, lemons, grapes, mangoes, guavas, figs, pomegranates, sapodillas, dates, and even apples and walnuts. . . . (In addition, many varieties of useful timber have been set out, including the eucalyptus.) Experiments are also being made with quinces and chestnuts. Of small fruits the European strawberry, and the African blackberry and gooseberry flourish. (Hamilton 1912:162) In addition, the Nyasaland missionaries established a large rubber plantation and imported donkeys (a breed resistant to the tsetse fly), sheep, and cattle. They also taught trades, including brickmaking, carpentry, tailoring, and shoemaking (Hamilton 1912). Although the Nicaraguan mission did not focus on economic development as much as the Nyasaland mission (most likely because of a lack of funds and missionaries), it was still a significant part of the Moravian work among the Miskito, and individual missionaries were known for their emphasis on teaching agriculture and trades. One missionary who lived on the Mosquito Coast reflected: “Ever since their coming our brethren have labored to improve the conditions of life which they encountered here. Fruit trees and medicinal plants were imported from the West Indies. Farming was encouraged by word and example” (Hamilton 1939:41). MORAVIAN INFLUENCE ON MISKITO AGRICULTURE 105 But if the Moravians’ primary objective was to “win souls for the Lamb,” why would they teach agriculture and trades? The first and most obvious answer to this question is that the Moravians sought to improve the general standard of living among the various peoples whom they were trying to convert and instill in them the “Protestant work ethic.” A second and perhaps less obvious reason was that the missionaries were replicating an economy based on agriculture and trades that existed in Herrnhut and other early Moravian communities in Europe and North...