- Prof. P. MARIA LAZAR

The Moravian Church is one of the Oldest but still one of the smallest of the Protestant denominations. It was a pioneer of modern Protestant Missionary work. It traces its, origin to Bohemia and Moravia, regions, in Central Europe in the fifteenth century.

After the martyrdom of John Hus at Constance in 1415 his ardent followers founded the "Unity of Brethren" in 1457 in Bohemia. The members of the Brethren Church increased day by day in the provinces of Bohemia, Moravia and Poland. But they were almost wiped out during the thirty years war between Catholics and Protestants (1618 - 1648) and the members had to go underground. In 1722 a group of underground members led by one Christian David emigrated from Moravia to Saxony, new in East Germany and founded the new town of Herrnhut (The Lord's Watch) on the estate of Count Nikolaus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf and renewed the ancient "Unity of Brethren" under the leadership of count Zinzendorf¹. Since Brethren emigrated from Moravia to Saxony they were popularly called "Moravians". In 1732 the Moravians sent their first missionaries to preach to the Black Slaves in the West Indies. To day the Moravians do missionary work in many parts of the world.

Count Zinzendorf had great influence in the Danish royal court and with the officials of the Danish East India Company at Copenhagen, the Capital City of Denmark. It should be noted with interest that the coming of the Moravians to Tranquebar was quite accidental. In 1758 Count Zinzendorf happened to read an article in an Erlangen Newspaper about the sad and pitiable plight of the peer and the downtrodden in Iceland. He wrote to Fredrick V, the King of Denmark seeking permission to establish a Moravian Colony in Iceland². But the King thought otherwise. His Highness expressed his desire through Count von Moltke, president of the Danish East India Company for a Moravian settlement at Tranquebar as a base to preach the Gospel in the Nicobar Islands, a newly acquired Danish colony, popularly known in Europe as "Fredrick Islands". Royal patronage and Insurance, protection by the East India company, religious liberty and other attendant privileges were promised. Count Zinzendorf agreed to the proposal. Fourteen unmarried men were selected with George F. Stahlmann as their leader. Two students of theology Adam Voelker and Christian Butler were to do specific missionary work. while the others who were artisans representing different trades were charged with the maintenance of the enterprise. They were commissioned on 28 September 1759 in Zeist in Holland. They departed on November 7, 1759 from Copenhagen along with the new Governor Herrman Jacob Forch in the ship "Grev Moltke" and arrived at Tranquebar on July 2 1760³.
In Tranquebar neither the company officials nor the Danish Halle missionaries were informed about the coming of the Moravians. Therefore when the Moravians landed at Tranquebar they were looked with shock and surprise. Therefore from Day number one the Danish - Halle Missionaries looked at the Moravians with suspicion and ill-will which led to a number of unpleasant developments in the later years.

The Moravians had brought with them ample funds. "Schwartz mentions Rs. 50,000. About a mile from the city they bought a garden with a farm house hear Porayar for Rs. 3,300. This was the so called "Brother Garden"⁴. Immediately they started building a House and workshops. They dug wells, deepened the three ponds and planted Hundreds of coconut, palm, areca nut and other fruit bearing Trees. They began to cultivate the lands.

Meanwhile the second batch consisting of five unmarried men and four couples under the leadership of Nikolaus Andreas Jaesshke arrived at Tranquebar on 27 August 1761. Dr. A. Betschler is a notable personality in the second batch. In the subsequent years more brothers and sisters Game to Tranquebar. Between 1760 and 1792 a total number of 73 brothers and sisters were sent to Tranquebar. Among them there were 4 merchants, 5 students of theology, 2 lay preachers, 6 surgeons, 3 medical doctors, 10 carpenters, 3 Tanners, 1 Boat builder, 5 shoe makers, 3 Tailors, 3 Watchmakers, 3 specialists in agriculture, 2 Blacksmiths, 2 Farriers, 1 organist, 1 maker of socks, 1 Lock smith and 1 miller and a few far on hands.

Things did not work out as expected for the Moravians. Even before the arrival of the Moravians at Tranquebar, the East India Danish Company had withdrawn from Nicobar Islands and had suspended traffic to Nicobars since most of the people sent to the Nicobars had died away. The Brethren had to wait until the Danish East India Company opened up traffic to Nicobars⁵. Thus the Brethren had to wait for 8 long years at Tranquebar without any ship to Nicobars. But their mission at the Nicobar Islands was always at the uppermost of their minds. In Tranquebar in the middle of the pond on the western side the Brethren made a small island and named it "Nicobar Islands". They made a small wooden beat and it had been floating in the pond always reminding the Brethren their mission at the Nicobar Islands.
The Brethren concentrated on Intensive agricultural operations and Handicrafts and other Trades. They purchased the adjacent paddy fields and on the eastern side their paddy fields extended up to the shores of the Indian Ocean. Their cattle population consisted of more than 100 small! and big animals of various kinds.

Apart from cultivating the Asiatic agricultural products they cultivated grapes and potatoes, In July 1761 the first grape stems were planted in the Brother garden, The Brethren sold fresh grapes as well as raisins on a large scale to the public in and around Tranquebar. They named the Uppanar canal that still runs on the Western side of their erstwhile settlement as St. Peter's Brook. The made a small mount near their residence and named it Mount Olives. They used to pray on the top of the Mount Olives.
Since only one paddy harvest was possible in a year, the Brethren adopted modern methods of agriculture and on an average they were harvesting 140 Khots a year (1 Khot approximately 30 Bushels).

The handicraft skills of the Brethren had spread far along the Coromandal Coast. People from Karaikal, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore and the Europeans from the Dutch and English colonies and the refugees from the French Territories Game in large numbers to watch the Brethren doing handicraft works in the workshops and to purchase handicraft goods. The shoes made in the Brother garden were in great demand. The Governor of Tranquebar, the Governors of the nearby colonies and the Europeans and the Military Officers placed heavy orders that same times the Brethren could not take up orders for want of workforce. The cute jewel Boxes made out of sandal wood with silken layers inside were very much in demand among the Europeans and the rich beyond the boundaries of Tamil Nadu. The artistic, and sophisticated wood works of the Moravians with delicate carvings and designs had wide acclaim and appreciation from all quarters. It is believed that the four ornamental chairs with high back still kept in the New Jerusalem Church, Tranquebar had been made by the Moravian Carpenter Jonas Nystedt.⁶
The Moravian Brethren were not only skilled artisans but same of them had solid medical training with the help of which they could build a positive image on the Southern Coromandal coast. It is to be noted that Dr. Andreas Betschler was very efficient and popular. He was frequently sought after by the sick Europeans, and others. The Danish Governor used to take treatment from him. Over the years the Brother garden had become a medical centre for the public.


On hearing about the handicraft skills and the medical Expertise of the Brethren many royal
courts in India extended their invitation to the Brethren to establish their settlements in their respective territories. For instance captain Berg in Tanjore with due permission from the King of Tanjore invited 12 of the Moravians at Tranquebar to settle in any part of the dominions of the King of Tanjore⁷. But the Brethren declined the offer. Likewise the English Governor in Bengal extended his invitation to the Brethren to establish a settlement in Bengal.⁸
The Brethren at Tranquebar enjoyed good relation with the Danish Governor, the company officials, the Europeans, the French refugees, the natives and the Hindus. The local people were very much impressed by the conduct of the Brethren and the natives called them saints or "Nyanigol" (Wisemen). The Danish Governor used to visit the Brother Garden very often.

In August 1765 from Tranquebar Brothers Jacques Gay and Michael Mueller went to Colombo in Ceylon for missionary work. Michael Mueller died on the way and Buttler was sent in his place. But unfortunately neither the local govt. nor the local church wanted their service. Hence they left Ceylon in 1769.
Finally in the year 1768 the Danish East India Company decided to open up traffic to the Nicobar Islands and establish a military and trading post on the Island of Nancauwery. In the first batch six brethren under the leadership of Michael Kund were sent. Two died soon after their arrival. Between 1768 and 1787 altogether 23 Brethren were sent to the island Nancauwery. In 1773 the Danes left the Island and the Brethren had the additional responsibility of protecting the Danish properties from other powers. The Brethren had a very very difficult time at Nancauwery. They had to dear the forests to build their settlement. Most of the time they were cut off from Tranquebar due to jack of frequency of ships. As a result very often they had to live without any news, medicines, shoes, even oil and soap. The Brothers had to sell coconuts and ARECANUTS to make both ends meet. "They were often on the verge of starvation .................. They suffered from the diseases of the liver ................. They died in large numbers ................ from fever ............. they never succeeded in learning the native language.⁹

With the success of Schwartz in the English colony an invitation came to the Brethren from the Danish company to initiate missionary work at Serampore in Bengal. John Grassman and others were sent there in 1777, seven years later James Latrobe was sent to Patna. This mission also ended in complete failure. The reasons being (1) The Missionaries had to earn their own living and had little time for preaching. (2) The other Christians either belonged to the Greek church or the church of Rome and they opposed the Brethren vehemently (3) an account of the caste system they had little chance of coming into close touch with the natives.
Tranquebar too proved a place most costly in precious lives. More than 30 Brethren succumbed to tropical diseases. There was dearth of manpower.

The various discouraging features of the mission new forced the unity's Elders' conference to undertake a thorough investigation of its conditions and prospects Bishop John Fredrick Reichel was charged with this important duty.¹⁰ The Bishop came to Tranquebar with same Brethren who were to remain in the event of the continuance of the undertaking. For five months June to October 1786 Reichel thoroughly looked into the state of affairs and had frequent conferences with the missionaries. It was decided to abandon all the outposts. This took effect for Patna at once, and the Nicobar Islands and Serampore later 1788 and 1791 respectively. At Tranquebar changes were effected in the hope of a more successful prosecution of the work. The situation did not change for a better. Finally in 1795 after Ion g hesitation the unity's Elders' conference determined upon complete withdrawal from the East Indies. The Brethren at Tranquebar started leaving for Europe at the Earliest. Two Brethren JOH. RUDLF WEBER and JOH. GOTTLIEB RAMSCH remained in the Brother Garden till 1803 to sell the Garden at an acceptable price. After selling the Garden for a handsome price they too left Tranquebar bringing the curtains down on an unsuccessful undertaking.

This vain, wasteful and senseless missionary enterprise has swallowed large sums of money and many valuable, talented lives. More than 40 precious lives were last and approximately 100,000 Danish Thalers spent. Out of 73 Brothers and sisters sent 33 died at Tranquebar, 13 died at the Nicobar Islands, 6 left the brotherhood and look up gainful employment in India (They too died in India), I brother had to be expelled for having become an incorrigible alcoholic, the remaining 20 left for Europe.

If one makes a cost benefit analysis the return from this enterprise in terms of conversion is very very meager and negligible. During the four decades of missionary work in the East Indies they could make only 6 conversions, one in the Nicobars, one in Bengal and the remaining four in the main land of the East Indies. Same say that the converted four were European slaves.

The Moravian Enterprise may appear wasteful and fruitless. But the burning missionary zeal, the unflagging courage, the unconditional readiness for sacrifice, the rock like faith of the innocent Moravian Brothers and sisters should win the respect and sympathy of all Christians.

" ......................When I beheld our Burial - Ground where eleven of my brethren had their resting place, as seed sown in a barren land, I burst into tears and exclaimed : Surely all this can not have been done in vain; Often did I visit this place and sat down and wept at their graves ............"  (Letters on the Nicobar Islands)

- JOHN GOTTFRIED HAENSEL

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