This book by Jan Schalkwijk is the first study that elaborates on a group within the Hindustani community that has barely been addressed in historiography: the Christians, with a specific focus on followers of the Moravian Church.
Schalkwijk draws from sources of Moravian Church archive. He describes the daily life of the missionaries and the contact with the Hindustani people. The reports of those interactions provide insights on ​​how leading Hindustani people viewed the missionary work.
His book is filled with detailed descriptions that evoke a vivid picture of the life of Hindustani people at different stages of history. It is a history of Hindustani people viewed from the perspective of the mission, but nevertheless relevant. The facts mentioned on this life are often not found in other archives.
Schalkwijk is not a scientist looking from outside to the Moravian Church mission. He was part of it. He describes all aspects of the mission: the philosophy, financing, organization, the relationships, the response of the environment, the policies of religious institutions and all from a historical perspective.
Schalkwijk has made a thorough comparison between Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad and in particular how the Christian mission had proceeded in different countries. This shows on the one hand how strong the Christian churches in the colonies were operated by organizations outside the colonies and also how great the differences were between the English and Dutch colonies. This book is only available in Dutch.