This is not a work on sati per se. It does not address, in any depth, issues of the possible origins of the rite; its voluntary or mandatory nature; the role, if any, of priests or family members; or any other aspects associated with the actual practice of widow immolation. Its primary focus is the colonial debate on sati, particularly the role of Evangelicals and Baptist missionaries. It argues that sati was an exceptional act, performed by a miniscule number of Hindu widows over the centuries. It occurrence was, however, exaggerated in the nineteenth century by Evangelicals and Baptist missionaries eager to Anglicize and Christianize India.