07.01.2019

Article by Sabine Hübner about Halle und Tranquebar published in »Ortstermine«

Sabine Hübners article about the Indian coastal town Tranquebar and the German city Halle deals with protestant missionary work in the 18th century and their influence on negotiating differences in Europe. The town of Tharangambadi in southern India and the city of Halle-on-Saale in Germany are several thousand kilometres apart. However, they are connected by a shared past. In the 18th century, the Indian coastal town was known as Tranquebar and it was a centre of Protestant missionary activity. This activity involved the Danes who had established a colony there, but missionaries from Halle also played a particularly prominent role.
In Glaucha – then a satellite town of Halle – a whole town was founded in the spirit of pietism. Missionaries were chosen here and they received support from Glaucha once they arrived in India. These missionaries then sent reports back to Glaucha, in which they described the extremely varied ways of life of the people living in Tranquebar.


Sabine Hübner was a member of academic staff at the IEG from 2010-2014 and worked as a doctoral researcher on the project "Transfer and Transformation of Missionaries' Images of Europe". Her research focuses on the modern history of Christianism and the dynamics of intercultural encounters.

About "On side, in time"
Historically, how were difference and inequality negotiated in Europe? What were the parts played by religion, society and politics? "On site, in time" takes a look at events that took place in European locations and that exemplify Europe¹s historical development since 1500.

Sabine Hübner, Halle und Tranquebar, in: Ortstermine. Umgang mit Differenz in Europa, hg. für das Leibniz-Institut für Europäische Geschichte (IEG) v. Joachim Berger, Irene Dingel und Johannes Paulmann, Mainz 2016.

Image Credits: urn:nbn:de:gbv:ha33-1-35320