He describes a “plural society” existing nearly a century before John Furnivall, a British colonial administrator, came up with the term.

Specifically, they reflect the legacy of those colonial territories which one British academic and colonial administrator, John Furnivall, first characterised as “plural societies”.

The office is still held in modern convents, and Dr Furnivall printed an interesting letter from a Benedictine nun, describing the duties attached to it.