page_title: Rebecca Protten
hierarchical_section_title: Rebecca Protten
caption_attribution_description: English: An old nineteenth century photo of Rebecca Freundlich, wife of Jacob Protten, Ga-Danish linguist.
context_page_description: Rebecca Freundlich Protten, also Shelly was a Caribbean Moravian evangelist and pioneer missionary who propagated the Gospel to slaves on the island of Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands. A "mulatress" and a former slave in Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda, she pioneered Christian missions in the Atlantic World in the 1700s. Scholars have described her as the "Mother of Modern Missions" as her life's work bridged Christianity in the West Indies, in Europe and in West Africa, all geographic regions she lived in.
context_section_description: Rebecca Freundlich Protten, also Shelly (1718–1780) was a Caribbean Moravian evangelist and pioneer missionary who propagated the Gospel to slaves on the island of Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands. A "mulatress" and a former slave in Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda, she pioneered Christian missions in the Atlantic World in the 1700s. Scholars have described her as the "Mother of Modern Missions" as her life's work bridged Christianity in the West Indies, in Europe and in West Africa, all geographic regions she lived in.
caption: Portrait of Rebecca Protten