ABSTRACT
Edmund Gibson (1669-1748) was a significant figure in the English church from the overthrow of James II in 1688 to his death in 1748. The Bishop of London, in the absence of an American episcopacy, had oversight of all ecclesiastical affairs in the colonies including the appointment of ministers and missionaries. Gibson’s Two Letters were popular enough to merit being reprinted twice in the eighteenth century, in 1729 and 1760, but have languished in relative obscurity ever since. The religious beliefs of slaves had been a concern to the Anglican hierarchy in England for some time prior to the appearance of Gibson’s Two Letters in 1727. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel had been founded in 1701 initially to bring Christianity to the large parts of America that lacked resident clergy, but quickly their efforts were expanded to include missionary work amongst the enslaved population.
