
The Society of the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG)
The SPG owned plantations in the Caribbean and used enslaved Africans to work on them.

What: A missionary organization of the Church of England that aimed to spread Christianity in the colonies.
When: Established in 1701. Details: The SPG owned plantations in the Caribbean and used enslaved Africans to work on them. The organization justified the use of slave labor by claiming it provided an opportunity to convert enslaved people to Christianity, thus promoting a "civilizing" mission. The SPG's involvement in slavery was justified by the belief in the racial and religious superiority of Europeans.
Why and How It Was Racist: The SPG's activities reinforced the idea that enslaved Africans were inferior and needed to be "civilized" through Christianity. The exploitation of enslaved labor for the benefit of the church and the propagation of such ideologies perpetuated racial hierarchies.
Sources:
Websites:
Research guides: Foreign copying program: United Kingdom of Great Britain: Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts - Foreign Copying Program: United Kingdom of Great Britain - Research Guides at Library of Congress. (n.d.). https://guides.loc.gov/british-manuscripts/society-for-the-propagation-of-the-gospel#:~:text=The%20Society%20for%20the%20Propagation,convert%20nonbelievers%20in%20the%20colonies.