Global Moravian Natural History. Lutherans in northern Europe started a permanent mission in Lapland in 1632 and would later assist in incorporating Lapland and its Sàmi people into the Swedish country. A hundred years later, Linnaeus integrated the missions into his uniquely Lutheran-inspired “cameralist” worldview, where botany was used to manage the natural resources of the monarchy. He romanticized the Sàmi people as living in a rural environment, consuming traditional cuisine, and hence experiencing good health and moral excellence.

In order to fulfill his “cameralist” objectives, he suggested that Uppsala theology students should also participate in his natural history courses and proposed that the Lapland Ecclesiastical Bureau mandate their aspiring clerics to acquire skills in agricultural enhancement. Well-trained Sàmi individuals were capable of conducting thermometric studies while hunting snow grouse in the highlands, whilst the missionaries were able to make observations on behalf of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

The Moravian mission movement originated in Denmark as a contrast to state Lutheranism, rather than in Sweden. Frederick IV supported pietism by recruiting missionaries from Halle, a pietism stronghold in Saxony, and founding the initial Danish Lutheran missions in Tranquebar, India, and Greenland. Christian VI’s son, Christian VI, fully embraced pietism and granted the Moravians permission to conduct overseas evangelization missions.

Global Moravian Natural History. Lutherans in northern Europe started a permanent mission in Lapland in 1632 and would later assist in incorporating Lapland and its Sàmi people into the Swedish country
The Moravians were a displaced group residing in small settlements throughout Protestant Europe after escaping persecution in Moravia and Bohhemia during the Counter-Reformation. Many Moravian missionary volunteers were of German origin, influenced by August Hermann Francke, a theology and oriental languages professor, who had an impact on Nikolaus Ludwig, count von Zinzendorf. Zinzendorf provided shelter for Moravian refugees and set up a new headquarters for them in Herrnhut.

Christian VI initially authorized the Moravians to build missions in the Danish West Indies (Saint Thomas, Saint Croix, Saint John [1732–34]) and in Greenland. These two settlements expanded into a worldwide missionary network throughout the British and Danish Empires, establishing stations in various geographic and economic regions such as Surinam, the Cape of Good Hope, and the British West Indies including Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados, Saint Kitts, and Labrador. The Moravians acquired territory from colonial nations to secure lasting access and independence for their missions. In the 1730s, a prevalent and enduring belief developed in Europe that the Moravians were establishing themselves as a distinct religious group.

These accusations of zeal and heresy led to the Moravians relying heavily on the patronage of favorable governments for their legitimacy and survival. Therefore, their ownership of land was directly connected to their reliability, particularly in areas of political significance. The interaction between the state and plantation owners in the West Indies was crucial in influencing Moravian acquisition of slaves and plantation lands. In Labrador, the geopolitical competition between the British and the French also significantly impacted the situation.

The Moravian strategy prioritized faith over other factors when recruiting missionaries. Missionaries were voluntary workers who had to sustain themselves mostly through their own combined efforts without payment. This task required significant physical, mental, and spiritual strength. The moral and economic aspects of the missions were closely connected. The Moravians applied universal principles to adapt to local situations in order to economically sustain themselves among unpredictable political, cultural, and physical conditions. The Brethren exported a paradigm of small-scale, agrarian production focused on community self-sufficiency in economic terms.

A colony’s ability to flourish hinged on a dependable supply of food and medicine, which necessitated a well-maintained, productive garden. Successful missions necessitated gardeners with expertise in transplanting food crops and the ability to gain practical knowledge of the indigenous plant life, including identifying and cultivating edible plants, determining optimal planting and harvesting times, working with various types of wood, and processing plants into food, textiles, fuel, and construction materials.

Mastering the utilization of native plants and animals required the expertise of several professionals such as carpenters, tailors, cobblers, blacksmiths, cooks, and gardeners, together with local growers and harvesters.