Rare report by the American Mission Seminary, active in Jaffna, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), containing considerable information on the mission's activities, expenditure, curriculum, and an extensive list of names in both Tamil and English of all the instructors and students who have attended this Presbyterian Seminary, along with the years in which they entered and left the Seminary and their current place of residence in Ceylon. The only institutional copy we can trace is held in the William Smith Morton Library at the Union Presbyterian Seminary (Richmond, VA).
The American Missionary Seminary most likely refers to Batticotta Seminary at Vaddukodai in the Jaffna Peninsula (north Sri Lanka), which was founded in 1823 by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM)'s American Ceylon Mission. The American Ceylon Mission to Jaffna started in 1813. The mission was restricted to working in Jaffna by the British colonial office (British Ceylon, from ca. 1796/1802 to 1948) due to Britain's war with France.
This rare volume offers a compelling glimpse into the start of the transformative period of American missionary activity in northern Sri Lanka between the 1820s and early 20th century. The book captures a pivotal era when missionaries translated English texts into Tamil, established the regions first printing presses, and laid the foundations for formal education and healthcare systems on the Jaffna Peninsula. Their efforts not only introduced sweeping social reforms among Sri Lankan Tamils - the effects of which resonate to this day - but also helped shape a uniquely high literacy rate in the area, a factor later linked by scholars to the roots of the Sri Lankan civil conflict. The text also reflects the tensions sparked by the missionaries critical engagement with local religious customs and their work converting people. This can also be read in the personal reports by students of the Batticotta Seminary (pp. 29-36).
With an inscription in ink: "Purchased by Rev. Ira Pierce", and with an old collection and deaccession stamp of the Andover Theological Library, and "Jaffna" in blue pencil, all on the front wrapper. With another Andover Theological Library deaccession stamp on the verso of the title-page. The wrappers are somewhat darkened and lightly foxed, the spine is slightly damaged, the top corners of the first few leaves are somewhat frayed, very slightly browned throughout. Overall in very good condition. WorldCat 884815728 (1 copy).