South American Missionary Society

Founded in 1844 as the Patagonian Missionary Society (PMS) by Allen Gardiner , a former officer in the British Navy, to proselytize the Indian tribes of Patagonia . The society was renamed the South American Missionary Society (SAMS) in 1864 and is still active in Latin America to this day.

The idea of ​​founding this company goes back to the exploratory trips by Fitz Roy in 1830 and 1833, during which four Indians from Tierra del Fuego were deported to England (see also Jemmy Button ). Her stay in England had aroused great public interest.

Gardiner himself made several unsuccessful attempts at missionary work along the Strait of Magellan (1842, 1844/45 and 1848) and died in his last attempt to settle in Tierra del Fuego in 1851, like his six companions, of malnutrition and scurvy . The news of the death of the men, however, stimulated the willingness of the English society to donate, so that the PMS under Reverend George Packenham Despard was able to equip a ship named Allen Gardiner , which was under the command of William Parker Snow, a little later . The Falkland Islands should be used as a base for the missionary attempts. The first mission station was founded on Keppel Island (sp .: Isla Vigía), where in 1855 Indians from Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia were brought for proselytizing purposes. For these missionary attempts, the PMS uses the group around Jemmy Button, who have meanwhile returned to Tierra del Fuego. Nevertheless, this mission was also accompanied by a serious setback. After a new mission station was founded on Wulaia (sp .: Isla Navarino), 9 crew members and missionaries of the Allen Gardiner were killed in 1859 after a confrontation with local groups .

It was not until 1864 that the society, now renamed the South American Missionary Society , made renewed attempts at proselytizing .