THE ROBERT COLLEGE.
This college has no direct connection with the American Board, nor with the mission as such; yet our history would be incomplete without some account of it.
The college may be said to have grown out of the efforts of Dr. Hamlin to furnish employment to Protestant Armenians, whose evangelical principles had thrown them out of business. For this end a flour mill and bakery were established with unlooked for success; and when the Crimean war broke out, very large quantities of bread were furnished by this Protestant bakery to the English troops and hospitals at Constantinople.
Christopher R. Robert, Esq., of New York, was then travelling in the East, and his attention was attracted to a large boat load of excellent bread en route from the bakery to the English camp. This led to further inquiries, and to an acquaintance and permanent friendship between himself and Dr. Hamlin.
The project of a college was first suggested by the sons of Dr. Dwight, one of the most honored founders of the Armenian mission; and a meeting for consultation, called by them, was held at the house of Mr. Robert in New York, in October, 1857. Several such meetings were held, but no agreement was reached as to the principles which should govern the College.
Mr. Robert, finding that nothing was to be done, then proposed to Dr. Hamlin to take up the work in coöperation with himself; which, after consulting his brethren and the officers of the American Board, he decided to do. I now quote from a statement kindly furnished me by Dr. Hamlin.
"While all agreed in the necessity of a higher education, there were various views in regard to the proposed College. Some regarded these three obstacles as insuperable. (1) The variety of races,—Turkish, Armenian, Greek, and Slavic,—which have no common sympathies, and would not unite in one institution. (2) Variety of religious faith,—Islamism, Romanism, the Oriental Orthodox, and Armenian Churches,—which could never agree in one institution. (3) Variety of language,—Greek, Armenian, Turkish, and Slavonic,—each of which would seek preëminence.
"It was decided, however, to make the experiment. The College was to be a Christian institution. The Bible was to be read, and prayer offered, morning and evening, at which all should be present. There would be Christian worship and Bible teaching on the Sabbath, but freedom of conscience would be sacredly regarded.
"The American civil war, breaking out in 1861 prevented any attempt to obtain an endowment in the United States, and Mr. Robert, who had already advanced $10,000 for the purchase of a site, then deposited $30,000 in the hands of trustees, in order to commence the work.
"The Turkish Government, at the instigation of Jesuit and French diplomacy, prevented the College from using the beautiful site it had purchased, although official leave to build there had been obtained from the department of Public Instruction. After much delay, expense, and fruitless effort, the College was opened in the building belonging to the American Board, and formerly known as the Bebek Seminary. It was called 'Robert College;' though without Mr. Robert's knowledge, because the name, having no special significance to the people there, would excite no local prejudice.
"The College, thus founded in 1863, slowly but steadily gained the confidence of the communities around it. During the fourth year of its existence, the building was filled with students, and was considerably enlarged. On the fourth of July, 1869, the corner-stone of a new and large building was laid on the purchased site, leave having been obtained after seven years' effort. The new building, capable of receiving two hundred and fifty students, was entered, and the college opened publicly, September 15th, 1871. It has so rapidly filled with students, that the Trustees have resolved to raise an endowment, and erect another still larger building, confident that it also will soon be filled.
ROBERT COLLEGE. [image]
"All the supposed obstacles have disappeared. There are seventeen nationalities and six religions represented in the College, and there are no peculiar difficulties of government. Two forces contribute mainly to unify the whole. (1) All are subject to the daily influence of Christian instruction. (2) All study the English language in the preparatory department, and the College course is wholly in that language.
"Another feature of the college should be noticed. It is self-supporting. It was designed to offer a sound Christian education to those who would pay for it. Two hundred dollars in gold are paid by every student for board and tuition forty weeks in the year. This is more for Turkey, than twice that sum would be in the United States.
"Mr. Robert has given nearly $175,000 for this institution, or more than fivefold what he originally contemplated.
"Nothing but the very highest education that can be attained, will now satisfy the Turkish community. Jesuit colleges have fallen into disrepute. They cannot meet this demand fairly, and satisfy it. New ideas of religious freedom pervade these communities; the old bonds are broken, and the college that gives the best culture, moral and mental, will be the most patronized by all. Missionary Societies cannot properly prosecute the work in this highest department of education. And yet foreign missions would be a failure if their work should stop in those classes where it usually begins. It must pervade and control the intelligence and enterprise of the land, and it cannot culminate in this result without the Christian College, and ultimately the Christian University."