Global Family History: The Kaundinyas between the Protestant Mission and the European Colonialism, 1850-1945.

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Sandra Maß
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 457784238

The project's follow-up application will research the global history of the Kaundinya family between 1850 and 1945, which has only been known in fragments to date. The aim is to complete a book manuscript based on the approximately 3,000 letters from family members from three generations transcribed in the first phase of the project and a collection of around 100 photographs of the family. The Kaundinya family is closely linked to the global history of the Basel Mission and British and German imperialism. The marriage between the first converted Indian missionary of the Basel Mission, Herman Anandrao Kaundinya from Mangalore, and the Pietist Swabian, Marie Reinhardt from Waldenbuch, marked the beginning of an extraordinary history of entanglement between India and Germany. Their eight children, who were born in British India, came to Europe after an initial childhood phase to receive their schooling in Basel. The physical distance to the biological parents, which the mother rarely bridged by travelling, led to intensive communication in absentia through letters. This practice also partly affected communication between the second and third generation of the family, as the Kaundinya couple's adult children took advantage of the opportunities offered by British and German imperialism for professional and family development. Spatially, the study therefore covers Germany, Switzerland, British India, Great Britain, German East Africa and the Gold Coast. Methodologically, the project draws on approaches from global family historiography, New Imperial History and More-Than-Human History. It contributes to research into transnational and trans-imperial family history and offers new perspectives on missionary history in the context of the Anthropocene. At the same time, the study is a contribution to the history of German-Indian entanglement in the 19th and 20th centuries, which has so far only been partially explored.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants