The work and ideas of John west, 1778-1845

Abstract

John West, torn in 1778, came under the influence of the Evangelical movement when a student at Oxford. After ordination he worked for more than fifteen years in England, during which time he was associated with several Evangelical societies. Then, in 1820, he was appointed "by the Hudson's Bay Company as the first chaplain to the Red River Settlement, British North America. He pioneered educational work at the colony, the school for Indians and half-breeds being adopted by the Church Missionary Society. Boys trained at the school later took an active part in the Christian mission. After returning to England in 1823, West paid two further visits to North America. His survey of the work of the new England Company undertaken in I825-6 resulted in a reorganization of the Company's establishments. His visit to Bible Society Auxiliaries in 1828 had as its object the revitalising of local societies and the correcting of misapprehensions arising from the Apocrypha controversy. On his return, West settled in his Dorset parish of Chettle, and took charge also of neighbouring Farnham. Here he engaged in a number of projects, including a village school, and the building of a residential school for gipsy children which was the outcome of his co-operation with the Southampton Committee for the Reformation of the Gypsies. This school had some features in common with the one at Red River. West worked with a strong view of the close relation between the Christian gospel and the spread of civilisation, and saw himself as the agent of both. His schools were the spearhead of the movement. In them the children were taught the Christian faith, introduced to agriculture, and encouraged to maintain their native skills. West's distinctive view of 'subordination' as a social cement enabled him to work fruitfully with members of all classes.