Abstract
German Moravian missionaries came to Nicaragua's east coast in 1849. They built churches, schools, and hospitals for the native Miskitu, Sumu, and Rama Indians. Their teachings stressed a Christian communal life, frugality, and the importance of work. In 1917 the headquarters of the mission moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Today most Miskitu Indians are Moravian.
Some scholars have blamed the present conflict between Nicaragua's Sandinista government and the east coast Indians on traditional Moravian pro-American political bias. Yet documents in the Moravian Church Archives clearly show that during the period when Sandino was active fighting the U.S. presence in Nicaragua (1926–1933) the American missionaries in Nicaragua were hardly sympathetic with U.S. political goals which often conflicted with the mission's evangelical work.
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