Nineteenth Century Religious Turmoil: Expatriates from Britain in Madeira
Robert Reid Kalley (1809-1888) was an evangelical Scottish Presbyterian minister, who became a doctor on the island of Madeira. He preached in the open air and tried to win the souls of his patients for Christ, thus attracting interest from the Roman Catholic authorities who suspected him of Protestant Proselytism. Eventually in August 1846 a mob attacked his house and burned many of his possessions, but Kalley had fled the night before. Some of his supporters, known as “Calvinistas” were attacked too, causing a problem for the British Consul, George Stoddart. Problems for the Consul were also generated by the island’s Anglican Chaplain, Richard Thomas Lowe (1802-1874). He was a Tractarian and his services were not to the taste of the Anglican congregation. A meeting of church subscribers voted to stop funding his salary, whilst temporary visitors wanted the restoration of the money. Finally in 1847 the British Government terminated Lowe’s contract, but he would not leave ...