John Philip (missionary)
Encyclopedia
Dr John Philip was a missionary
in South Africa
. Philip was born at Kirkcaldy
, Fife
, Scotland
to a local schoolmaster. After starting as an apprentice to a linen draper
in Leven
, and working as a clerk in Dundee
, he entered the Wesleyan theological college at Hoxton
, and in 1804 was appointed minister of the first Scottish Congregational chapel in Aberdeen
. On 24 September 1809 he married Jane Ross, the daughter of a prosperous Aberdeen engineer; they had seven children. His daughter, Elizabeth (Eliza), married John Fairbairn
, the renowned educator, politician and financier, on 24 May 1831.
to investigate the threatened closure of London Missionary Society
's stations in South Africa
and reported that the conduct of the Cape Colonists
towards the indigenous people was deserving of strong reprobation. In 1822
Philip was appointed superintendent of the London Missionary Society's stations in South African. It was the period of the agitation for the abolition of slavery
in England
, where Philip's charges against the colonists and the colonial government found powerful support. In 1823 he went back to England to lobby for the indigenous and coloured people's civil rights. His recommendations were adopted by the House of Commons, but his unpopularity in South Africa grew. The British government, however, forced the Cape government to conform to the views of Philip and the ordinance of 1828 was passed granting all free coloured persons at the Cape every right to which any other British subjects were entitled.
In 1834
, Sir Benjamin d'Urban
became governor and was anxious to promote the interests of the indigenous people. After the annexing of land north of the Great Kei River
, Philip returned to England, in 1836, in the company of two converted Christians, Andries Stoffels, a Coloured South African, and Jan or Dyani Tzatoe (Tshatshu) a [Xhosa, and James Read Sr and James Read Jr, both missionaries, who gave evidence before a parliamentary committee and aroused public opinion against the Cape government. D'Urban was dismissed by Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg
, the colonial secretary on the 1 May 1937. Philip returned to the Cape as unofficial adviser to the government on all matters affecting the indigenous people of Southern Africa. His wife, Jane, died in 1847
.
In 1849
Philip severed his connection with politics after the annexation of the Griqua lands and retired to the mission station at Hankey
, Cape Colony
, where he died in 1851
. His grave is situated behind the old "Philip Manse" in Hankey beside the railway line and is maintained by the Congregational Church. Philip's son, William, and nephew John Philip Fairbairn, born 1834, drowned in the Gamtoos River on 1 July 1845 when their small boat overturned.
The town of Philippolis
in the Free State
province is named after John Philip. The Transgariep Museum, in the town, has a section devoted to John Philip.
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Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Philip was born at Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to a local schoolmaster. After starting as an apprentice to a linen draper
Drapery
Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles . It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothing, formerly conducted by drapers.In art history, drapery refers to any cloth or...
in Leven
Leven, Fife
Leven is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the coast of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Leven, north-east of Kirkcaldy and east of Glenrothes....
, and working as a clerk in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, he entered the Wesleyan theological college at Hoxton
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
, and in 1804 was appointed minister of the first Scottish Congregational chapel in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
. On 24 September 1809 he married Jane Ross, the daughter of a prosperous Aberdeen engineer; they had seven children. His daughter, Elizabeth (Eliza), married John Fairbairn
John Fairbairn (educator)
John Fairbairn was a newspaper proprietor, educator, financier and politician. According to the Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, “The embryo of the State education system we know today, trial by jury, the principle of the mutual life assurance company – all these were fruits of his...
, the renowned educator, politician and financier, on 24 May 1831.
South Africa
In 1818 Philip joined the delegation headed by Rev. John CampbellJohn Campbell (London clergyman)
Rev. Dr. John Campbell was a Congregationalist divine, and minister at Whitefield's Tabernacle in London. He was only the second successor of its founder, the Methodist, George Whitefield...
to investigate the threatened closure of London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
's stations in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and reported that the conduct of the Cape Colonists
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
towards the indigenous people was deserving of strong reprobation. In 1822
1822 in South Africa
-Events:* The British proclaim St. Lucia a township* The Dutch language is abolished in the Cape Colony and English becomes the only official language...
Philip was appointed superintendent of the London Missionary Society's stations in South African. It was the period of the agitation for the abolition of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where Philip's charges against the colonists and the colonial government found powerful support. In 1823 he went back to England to lobby for the indigenous and coloured people's civil rights. His recommendations were adopted by the House of Commons, but his unpopularity in South Africa grew. The British government, however, forced the Cape government to conform to the views of Philip and the ordinance of 1828 was passed granting all free coloured persons at the Cape every right to which any other British subjects were entitled.
In 1834
1834 in South Africa
-Events:* 15 January - John Herschel, an English mathematician and astronomer, arrives in Cape Town with his twenty-foot-long telescope* 21 December Xhosa armies attack the eastern regions of the Cape Colony starting the 6th Cape Frontier War that only ends in 1836...
, Sir Benjamin d'Urban
Benjamin d'Urban
Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin d'Urban, GCB, KCH, KCTS was a British general and colonial administrator, who is best known for his frontier policy when he was the Governor in the Cape Colony .-Early career:...
became governor and was anxious to promote the interests of the indigenous people. After the annexing of land north of the Great Kei River
Great Kei River
The Great Kei River is a river in South Africa in the Eastern Cape province. Before it becomes the Great Kei, the Swart-Kei River and the Wit-Kei River join forces, northeast of Cathcart. It flows for 520 km and ends at the Indian Ocean with the small town Kei Mouth on the west bank...
, Philip returned to England, in 1836, in the company of two converted Christians, Andries Stoffels, a Coloured South African, and Jan or Dyani Tzatoe (Tshatshu) a [Xhosa, and James Read Sr and James Read Jr, both missionaries, who gave evidence before a parliamentary committee and aroused public opinion against the Cape government. D'Urban was dismissed by Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg
Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg
Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg PC FRS was a Scottish politician and colonial administrator.-Background and education:...
, the colonial secretary on the 1 May 1937. Philip returned to the Cape as unofficial adviser to the government on all matters affecting the indigenous people of Southern Africa. His wife, Jane, died in 1847
1847 in South Africa
-Events:* The Cape Colony's boundary is extended to Orange River and the districts of Victoria East and British Kaffraria are annexed* The Montagu Pass is opened* Sugar cane plantations are started in Natal* The settlement of East London is established...
.
In 1849
1849 in South Africa
-Events:* Diocesan College founded in Rondebosch, Cape Town by Robert Gray .* The British propose to ship convicts to the Cape Colony, but the Cape population strongly object and it is squashed with the help of British MP Charles Bowyer Adderley* The street Heerengracht in Cape Town is changed to...
Philip severed his connection with politics after the annexation of the Griqua lands and retired to the mission station at Hankey
Hankey
Hankey is a small town on the confluence of the Klein and Gamtoos rivers in South Africa. It is part of the Kouga Local Municipality of the Cacadu District in the Eastern Cape.- History :...
, Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, where he died in 1851
1851 in South Africa
-Events:* Xhosas clash with the white settlers on the Cape Colonys eastern boundary starting the 8th Cape Frontier War and ends in 1853 in South Africa* Sugar is first produced from cane in Natal-Deaths:...
. His grave is situated behind the old "Philip Manse" in Hankey beside the railway line and is maintained by the Congregational Church. Philip's son, William, and nephew John Philip Fairbairn, born 1834, drowned in the Gamtoos River on 1 July 1845 when their small boat overturned.
The town of Philippolis
Philippolis
Philippolis is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. It was founded as a missionary outpost for the Bushman in 1823, making it the oldest settlement in the Free State. It was named after John Philip of the London Missionary Society. Adam Kok II, a Griqua leader, settled here with...
in the Free State
Free State
The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
province is named after John Philip. The Transgariep Museum, in the town, has a section devoted to John Philip.
External links
- United Congregational Church of Southern Africa
- Portraits of John Philip at National Portrait Gallery
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