The Foreign Protestants were a group of

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Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

and

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Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

immigrants to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. They largely settled in Halifax at Gottingen Street (named after the German town of

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) and Dutch Village Road as well as Lunenburg.

History

In 1749, the

British colony The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

of Nova Scotia was almost completely populated by native

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the no ...

and 10,000 French-speaking and

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Acadians The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

. The British, specifically the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

, wanted to settle Protestants in the region. Attracting British immigrants was difficult since most preferred to go to the warmer southern colonies. Thus, a plan was developed to aggressively recruit foreign

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, who came mostly from German duchies and principalities on the

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. The

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was the major source, which included the French region of Montbéliard, and there were also "Foreign Protestants" from what is now the tripoint of

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and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The recruiting drive was led by John Dick, a recruiting agent for settlers in the New World. The British government agreed to provide free passage to the colony, free land, and one year of rations upon arrival. Over 2,000 of the "Foreign Protestants" arrived between 1750 and 1752, in 12 ships: *''Alderney'' (1750) *''Nancy'' (1750) *''Ann'' (1750) *''Gale'' (1751) *''Speedwell'' (1751) *''Pearl'' (1751) *''Murdoch'' (1751) *''Speedwell'' (1752) *''Betty'' (1752) *''Sally'' (1752) *''Pearl'' (1752) *''Gale'' (1752) The immigrants disembarked at Halifax, where they were put in temporary quarters. The Foreign Protestants stayed at Halifax to assist the British in building the new outpost. They built their own chapel in Halifax,

Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church The Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church is the second-oldest building in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, after St. Paul's Church. It was built for the Foreign Protestants, and is the oldest site in Canada associated with Lutheranism. It is a National His ...

. Issues arose as a number struggled with high rents in the "shanty town" they had to live in, as well as trouble accessing building materials and having to pay exorbitant prices, while they awaited their promised lands. Governor Hopson and his council had a large number of the Protestants removed and resettled in the Summer of 1753 to Merliguish/Merligash, renamed to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Conditions in Lunenburg were initially quite poor and rumours that the people were not receiving all of the support authorized by the British Parliament resulted in the

Lunenburg Rebellion The Lunenburg Rebellion (also known as "The Hoffman Insurrection") was an insurrection in December 1753 by the new settlers at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, over poor living conditions as well as weariness of the Foreign Protestant settlers from repeate ...

in December 1753. The Foreign Protestants also faced numerous Mi'kmaw attacks, such as the

Raid on Lunenburg (1756) The Raid on Lunenburg occurred during the French and Indian War when Mi'kmaw and Maliseet fighters attacked a British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on May 8, 1756. The native militia raided two islands on the northern outskirts of the fo ...

Legacy

Most of the foreign Protestants settled along the South Shore between

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and Halifax. The area is still inhabited by their descendants, and last names like, Berghaus (anglicized to Barkhouse), Corkum, Creaser, Crouse, Ernst, Himmelman, Hebb, Hirtle, Lohnes, Joudrey, Kaiser, Knickle, Mariette (anglicized to Marriott), Mettetel (anglicized to Matatall), Morash, Naas, Petterquin (anglicized to Patriquin), Rehfus (anglicized to Rafuse), Reichert (anglicized to Richards), Schmidt (anglicized to Smith), Seeberger (anglicized to Seaboyer), Teubert (anglicized to Tibert), Vogler, Wenzel (anglicized to Wentzell), Whynacht (anglicized to Whynot), Weil (anglicized to Wile), Zinck, Zwicker, or the various ways to spell Rhodeniser are common.Passenger Lists
/ref> Many towns such as Lunenburg, bear distinctly

names. While places adapted to the cultural and business requirements including Bridgewater and Riverport. Many of the names of islands, beaches, and points like Kingsburg are also German. In the mid-18th century, the Foreign Protestants were the

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and us ...

ic basis behind the name "

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

", as well as support behind naming "

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

" for a representative of the Braunschweiger dynasty.

Gallery

File:Ritceymonumentriverportnovascotia.jpg, Johann Phillip Henericie's Monument, 1st European to settle Riverport, Nova Scotia File:Otto William Schwartz, Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia.jpg,

Otto William Schwartz Otto William Schwartz (May 12, 1715 – October 5, 1785) was a Russian-born fur trader and political figure of German descent in Nova Scotia. He arrived with Governor Edward Cornwallis and represented Lunenburg County (i.e., the Foreign Pro ...

File:John Payzant (1744-1834), Nova Scotia.jpg, John Payzant (1749–1834) – taken captive for four years (age 6-10) File:JohannGottlobSchmeisser.png,

Johann Gottlob Schmeisser Johann Gottlob Schmeisser (22 March 1751 – 21 December 1806) was an Evangelical Lutheran minister who was the second minister of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and served for 24 years. He arrived during the American Revolution, and, after being in the ...

– earliest known image of Foreign Protestant in Nova Scotia (c.1790) File:The Jessen Bell, St. John's Anglican Church, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.jpg, The Jessen Bell File:Rev Bruin Romcas Comisco, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.png, Rev Bruin Romkes Comingo, 1st Presbyterian minister ordained in Canada, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Lunenburg)

Notable Foreign Protestants

Dettlieb Christopher Jessen Dettlieb Christopher Jessen (February 25, 1730 – August 12, 1814) was one of the founding fathers of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and helped the village through Father Le Loutre's War, the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. He ...

Joseph Pernette Joseph Pernette (1728–1807) was a German-born merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1761 to 1770. He was born in Strasbourg, served in the Breton Volunteers an ...

* John Payzant

References

Other sources

* Bell, Winthrop Pickard. The "Foreign Protestants" and the Settlement of Nova Scotia:The History of a piece of arrested British Colonial Policy in the Eighteenth Century.

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