Manchester University Press Prayer, Providence and Empire: Special Worship in the British World, 1783-1919: 173 (Studies in Imperialism)

European settlers in Canada, Australia and South Africa said they were building ‘better Britains’ overseas. But their new societies were frequently threatened by devastating wars, rebellions, epidemics and natural disasters. It is striking that settlers turned to old traditions of collective prayer and worship to make sense of these calamities. At times of trauma, colonial governments set aside whole days for prayer so that entire populations could join together to implore God’s intervention, assistance or guidance. And at moments of celebration, such as the coming of peace, everyone in the empire might participate in synchronized acts of thanksgiving. Prayer, providence and empire asks why occasions with origins in the sixteenth century became numerous in the democratic, pluralistic and secularised conditions of the ‘British world’. -- . From the Inside Flap European settlers in Canada, Australia and South Africa said they were building better Britains overseas. But their new societies were frequently threatened by devastating wars, rebellions, epidemics and natural disasters. It is striking that settlers in new world environments turned to old traditions of collective prayer and worship to make sense of these calamities. At times of acute stress, colonial governments set aside whole days of fasting, humiliation and intercession so that entire populations could join together to implore Gods intervention, assistance or guidance. And at moments of relief and celebration, such as the coming of peace, or the birth of a royal, the inhabitants of the whole empire might participate in synchronized acts of thanksgiving and praise to God. This book asks why occasions with origins in early modernity became numerous in the democratic, pluralistic and oftentimes secularised conditions found in the settler societies of the British world. Such acts of special worship were intense and highly visible events that had the potential to reach all members of a colonial society: community-wide occasions of prayer were hard to ignore, they required considerable organization and they stimulated debate and reflection on a range of political, social and religious issues. This book explores the meaning and significance of a form of colonial worship that has received only fitful coverage in existing imperial history, and will be required reading for all those who engage with questions of religious authority, community sentiment and collective action in colonial contexts. From the Back Cover European settlers in Canada, Australia and South Africa said they were building 'better Britains' overseas. But their new societies were frequently threatened by devastating wars, rebellions, epidemics and natural disasters. It is striking that settlers in 'new world' environments turned to old traditions of collective prayer and worship to make sense of these calamities. At times of acute stress, colonial governments set aside whole days of fasting, humiliation and intercession so that entire populations could join together to implore God's intervention, assistance or guidance. And at moments of relief and celebration, such as the coming of peace, or the birth of a royal, the inhabitants of the whole empire might participate in synchronised acts of thanksgiving and praise to God. This book asks why occasions with origins in early modernity became numerous in the democratic, pluralistic and oftentimes secularised conditions found in the settler societies of the 'British world'. Such acts of 'special worship' were intense and highly visible events that had the potential to reach all members of a colonial society: community-wide occasions of prayer were hard to ignore, they required considerable organisation and they stimulated debate and reflection on a range of political, social and religious issues. This book explores the meaning and significance of a form of colonial worship that has received only fitful coverage in existing i