Becoming German

L. Otterness Philip

Description

Becoming German tells the intriguing story of the largest and earliest mass movement of German-speaking immigrants to America. The so-called Palatine migration of 1709 began in the western part of the Holy Roman Empire, where perhaps as many as thirty thousand people left their homes, lured by rumors that Britain's Queen Anne would give them free passage overseas and land in America. They journeyed down the Rhine and eventually made their way to London, where they settled in refugee camps. The rumors of free passage and land proved false, but, in an attempt to clear the camps, the British government finally agreed to send about three thousand of the immigrants to New York in exchange for several years of labor. After their arrival, the Palatines refused to work as indentured servants and eventually settled in autonomous German communities near the Iroquois of central New York.Becoming German tracks the Palatines' travels from Germany to London to New York City and into the frontier areas of New York. Philip Otterness demonstrates that the Palatines cannot be viewed as a cohesive "German" group until after their arrival in America; indeed, they came from dozens of distinct principalities in the Holy Roman Empire. It was only in refusing to assimilate to British colonial culture-instead maintaining separate German-speaking communities and mixing on friendly terms with Native American neighbors-that the Palatines became German in America.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Nueva York
• USA
• United States of America
• Local history
• History of the Americas
• History of Europe
• États-Unis
• Germany
• Migration
• New York

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 12 novembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801471179
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Becoming German

Becoming German The 1709 Palatine Migration to New York

m

Philip Otterness

Cornell University Press Ithaca and London

Copyright © 2004 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For informa- tion, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2004 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Otterness, Philip. Becoming German : the 1709 Palatine migration to New York / Philip Otterness. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8014-4246-X (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Palatine Americans—New York (State)—History—18th century. 2. German Americans—New York (State)— History—18th century. 3. Immigrants—New York (State)— History—18th century. 4. New York (State)—Emigration and immigration—History—18th century. 5. Palatinate (Germany)—Emigration and immigration—History—18th century. 6. Palatine Americans—New York (State)—Ethnic identity. 7. German Americans—New York (State)—Ethnic identity. 8. New York (State)—Ethnic relations. I. Title. F130.P3O88 2004 974.7'0043102—dc22 2004001488

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally respon- sible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable- based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, to- tally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress. cornell.edu.

Cloth printing

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

for Naomi

Contents

List of Maps and Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Quotations and Dates

Introduction Chapter 1. “A Particularly Deceptive Spirit” The German Southwest, 1709 Chapter 2. “The Poor Palatine Refugees” London, Spring–Summer 1709 Chapter 3. “A Parcel of Vagabonds” London, Summer–Winter 1709 Chapter 4. “A Deplorable Sickly Condition” New York City, 1710 Chapter 5. “They Will Not Listen to Tar Making” The Hudson Valley, 1710–1712 Chapter 6. “The Promis’d Land” The Schoharie Valley, 1712–1722 Chapter 7. “A Nation Which Is Neither French, Nor English, Nor Indian” The Mohawk Valley, 1723–1757 Conclusion

ix xi xv 1 7

37

57

78

89

113

137

161

viii

Appendix. Database of the 1709 Emigrants Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

Contents

167 171 173 213 227

Maps Map 1.

Map 2. Map 3.

Map 4.

Map 5. Map 6.

Map 7.

Maps and Illustrations

The German southwest in the early eighteenth century

German origins of the 1709 emigration

German origins of immigrants arriving in London in May, June, and July 1709

Early eighteenth-century London and the sites of the German refugee camps

The German settlements on the Hudson River

Settlements of the 1710 German immigrants in New York

Settlements of the 1710 German immigrants in the middle colonies

Illustrations Figure 1. A mid-seventeenth-century view of Oppenheim, on the Rhine River

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

A mid-seventeenth-century view of Mosbach, on the Neckar River

Title page of Joshua Kocherthal’sAusführlich und Umständlicher Bericht

10 11

44

48 90

124

140

13

20

28