Palatines (german: Pfälzer), also known as the Palatine Dutch,
are the people and
princes of
Palatinates (
Holy Roman
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unti ...
principalities
) of the
Holy Roman Empire.
The Palatine diaspora includes the
Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
and
New York Dutch.
In 1709,
England found itself hosting thousands of Palatines and other
Germans who were fleeing famine, war and religious persecution in their native lands. Many of the first arrivals came from the
Rhenish
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
and
Bavarian Palatinates, and the refugees became collectively known as the "Poor Palatines". They had been displaced by
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
invasions and famine during the
Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
and the
War of the Spanish Succession. After arriving in
London, many were resettled in
Ireland and
British America
British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...
.
Towards the end of the 17th century and into the 18th, the wealthy region was repeatedly invaded by French troops during two wars. At that time the region had not yet fully recovered from the
Thirty Years' War. They imposed a
scorched-earth policy and continuous military requisitions, which caused widespread devastation and famine. The winter of 1708 was notably cold, resulting in further hardships. The term "Poor Palatines" referred to some 13,000 Palatines and other Germans who emigrated to England between May and November 1709, seeking refuge. Their arrival in England and the inability of the British government to integrate them led to a highly politicised debate over the merits of immigration.
The English tried to settle them in England, Ireland and British America to strengthen their position abroad. The Palatine settlements did not prove to be viable in the long term except for those settled in Counties
Limerick and
Wexford in Ireland and in the colony of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in America. In Ireland, fewer than 200 families remained after the original settlement in 1709, but they maintained their distinctive culture until well into the nineteenth century, and Palatine surnames are now diffused across the country. The largest concentration of descendants of Palatine immigrants lives around
Rathkeale.
The English transported nearly 3,000 Palatines in ten ships to New York in 1710. Many of them were first assigned to work camps along the
Hudson River to work off the cost of their passage. Close to 850 families settled in the
Hudson River Valley, primarily in what are now
Germantown and
Saugerties, New York. They produced stores for the Navy in work camps on each side of the Hudson. In 1723, 100 heads of families from the work camps were the first Europeans to acquire land west of
Little Falls, in present-day
Herkimer County on both the north and south sides along the Mohawk River. This settlement was halfway through the valley, on the frontier far beyond Schenectady and Albany. Later additional Palatines settled along the
Mohawk River for several miles, founding towns such as
Palatine and
Palatine Bridge
Palatine Bridge is a Village (New York), village in Montgomery County, New York, Montgomery County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 737 at the 2010 census. The basis of the name is the community's location in a region ...
, and in the
Schoharie Valley
The Schoharie Valley is a corridor that runs through Schoharie County from Schoharie, New York to Gilboa, New York.
Geography
The Schoharie Valley is made up of plains surrounding the Schoharie Creek. Within the Schoharie Valley are the towns of ...
.
Holy Roman Nationality
Palatines, Paladins, and the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806)

The term palatine or palatinus was first used in the
Roman Empire for
chamberlains
Chamberlain may refer to:
Profession
*Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure
People
*Chamberlain (surname)
**Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
of the Emperor (e.g.
Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church
The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As regul ...
) due to their association with the
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...
, the home where Roman emperors lived since
Augustus Caesar
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
(hence "
palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
").
After the
fall of Ancient Rome
The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...
, a new feudal type of title known simply as "''palatinus''", came into use. The ''comes palatinus'' (
Count palatine), assisted the Holy Roman Emperor in his judicial duties and at a later date administered many of these himself. Other counts palatine were employed on military and administrative work.
Over time ''paladin'' came to refer to other high-level officials in the imperial, majestic and royal courts.
["Palatine"](_blank)
From the '' Oxford English Dictionary''. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
The word
palatine, used in various European countries in the medieval and modern eras became ''
paladin''.
''Paladin'' was an official rank and considered an honorary title for a man in the service of his emperor. It was a
knight with additional honors, they were entitled to exercise powers normally reserved to the crown.
["palatine, adj.1 and n.1". OED Online. June 2019. Oxford University Press. https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/136245?redirectedFrom=count+palatine& (accessed July 31, 2019).] (See the twelve legendary
Paladins.)
The
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
sent the Counts palatine to various parts of his empire to act as judges and governors; the states they ruled were called Holy Roman Palatinates.
Being in a special sense the representatives of the Holy Roman Emperor, they were entrusted with more extended power than ordinary counts. In this way came about the later and more general use of the word "palatine", its application as an adjective to persons entrusted with royal Holy Roman powers and privileges—and also to the states and people they ruled over.
[
]
List of the Holy Roman Palatinates
Counts Palatine were the permanent representatives of the Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
, in a palatial domain (Palatinate) of the crown. There were dozens of these royal Palatinates (''Pfalzen'') throughout the early Empire, and the emperor would travel between them, as there was no imperial capital.
In the empire, the word count palatine was also used to designate the officials who assisted the emperor in exercising the rights which were reserved for his personal consideration,[ like granting ]arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
. They were called Imperial counts palatine (in Latin ''comites palatini caesarii'', or ''comites sacri palatii''; in German, ''Hofpfalzgrafen''). Both the Latin form ''(Comes) palatinus'' and the French ''(comte) palatin'' have been used as part of the full title of the Dukes of Burgundy (a branch of the French royal dynasty) to render their rare German title Freigraf, which was the style of a (later lost) bordering principality, the allodial County of Burgundy (''Freigrafschaft Burgund'' in German), which came to be known as Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...
.
During the 11th century, some imperial palatine counts became a valuable political counterweight against the mighty duchies. Surviving old palatine counties were turned into new institutional pillars through which the imperial authority could be exercised. By the reigns of Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...
and especially of Otto the Great
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henr ...
, ''comites palatini'' were sent into all parts of the country to support the royal authority by checking the independent tendencies of the great tribal dukes. Apparent thereafter was the existence of a count palatine in Saxony, and of others in Lorraine, in Bavaria and in Swabia, their duties being to administer the royal estates in these duchies.[
Next to the Dukes of Lotharingia, Bavaria, ]Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
and Saxony, who had become dangerously powerful feudal princes, loyal supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor were installed as counts palatine.
The Lotharingian palatines out of the Ezzonian dynasty were important commanders of the imperial army and were often employed during internal and external conflicts (e.g. to suppress rebelling counts or dukes, to settle frontier disputes with the Hungarian and the French kingdom and to lead imperial campaigns).
Although a palatinate could be rooted for decades into one dynasty, the office of the palatine counts became hereditary only during the 12th century. During the 11th century the palatinates were still regarded as ''beneficia'', non-hereditary fiefs. The count palatine in Bavaria, an office held by the family of Wittelsbach, became duke of this land, the lower comital title being then merged into the higher ducal one.[ The Count Palatine of Lotharingia changed his name to Count Palatine of the Rhine in 1085, alone remaining independent until 1777. The office having become hereditary, Pfalzgrafen were in existence until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.][ The palatinate of Saxony merged with the Electoral Duchy of Saxony. The Palatinate of the Rhine became an electorate, and both were ]Imperial Vicar
An imperial vicar (german: Reichsvikar) was a prince charged with administering all or part of the Holy Roman Empire on behalf of the emperor. Later, an imperial vicar was invariably one of two princes charged by the Golden Bull with administering ...
s.
= Palatinate of Champagne
=
King Lothar of France
Lothair (french: Lothaire; la, Lothārius; 941 – 2 March 986), sometimes called Lothair II,After the emperor Lothair I. IIICounting Lothair II of Lotharingia, who ruled over modern Lorraine and Belgium. or IV,Counting Lothair II of Italy. ...
(954–986) gave Odo I, Count of Blois
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
, one of his most loyal supporters in the struggle against the Robertians and the Counts of Vermandois, in 976 the title of Count palatine. The title was later inherited by his heirs, and when they died out, by the Counts of Champagne.
= Palatinate of Bavaria
=
Originally, the Counts Palatine held the County Palatine (around Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
), and were subordinate to the Dukes of Bavaria, rather than to the king. The position gave its holder a leading position in the legal system of the Duchy.
* Meginhard I, Count Palatine of Bavaria in 883
* Arnulf II (d. 954), son of Duke Arnulf I of Bavaria, constructed Scheyern Castle
Scheyern is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen in Bavaria in Germany. The Scheyern Abbey is located in Scheyern.
The title the counts of Scheyern originated here (see House of Wittelsbach).
The village of Fernhag Fernhag is a vill ...
around 940
* Berthold (d. 999), son of Arnulf II, Count Palatine of Bavaria between 954 and 976 with interruptions, ancestor of the Counts of Andechs
* Hartwig I Hartwig (1118-October 1168), Count of Stade and Archbishop of Bremen, son of Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Richardis, daughter of Hermann von Sponheim, Burgrave of Magdeburg.
Hartwig became the last Count of Stade belonging to the House ...
(d. 985), Count Palatine of Bavaria from 977 until his death
* Aribo I (d. , son-in-law of Hartwig I, Count Palatine of Bavaria from 985 until his death
* Hartwig II (d. 1027), son of Aribo I, Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1020 to 1026
* Aribo II (d. 1102), son of Hartwig II, Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1026 to 1055
* Kuno I (d. ), Count Palatine of Bavaria
* Rapoto I (d. 1099), Count Palatine of Bavaria from to 1093
* Engelbert I (d. 1122), nephew of both of Aribo II's wives, Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1099 to 1120
* Otto IV ( – 1156), probably a descendant of Arnulf II, Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1120 until his death. He moved his residence from Scheyern Castle
Scheyern is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen in Bavaria in Germany. The Scheyern Abbey is located in Scheyern.
The title the counts of Scheyern originated here (see House of Wittelsbach).
The village of Fernhag Fernhag is a vill ...
to Wittelsbach Castle and founded the House of Wittelsbach
The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
.
* Otto V
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fr ...
( – 1183), Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1156 to 1180. He became Duke of Bavaria in 1180 as Otto I; his descendants ruled the Duchy until 1918.
* Otto VII (d. 1189), younger son of Otto IV, Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1180 until his death
* Otto VIII (d. 1209), son of Otto VII, Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1189 to 1208, infamous for murdering King Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
of Germany in 1208
* Rapoto II (d. 1231), brother-in-law of Otto VIII, Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1208 until his death
* Rapoto III (d. 1248), son of Rapoto II, Count Palatine of Bavaria from 1231 until his death. He was the last Count Palatine; after his death the Duke of Bavaria assumed the rights and possessions of the Counts Palatine.
= Palatinate of Lorraine
=
* Wigeric Wigeric or Wideric (german: Wigerich; french: Wigéric or ; died before 923) was a Frankish nobleman and the count of the Bidgau (''pagus Bedensis'') and held the rights of a count within the city of Trier. He received also the advocacy of the Abbe ...
(915 – before 922), Count Palatine of Lotharingia and Count in the Bidgau
* Gottfried
Gottfried is a masculine German given name.
It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century.
The name is composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for 'God' and 'good', and possibly further conflated with ) a ...
( – after 949), Count Palatine of Lotharingia and Count in the Jülichgau
From 985, the Ezzonids held the title:
* Herman I (d. before 996), Count Palatine of Lotharingia and Count in the Bonngau, the Eiffelgau, the Zülpichgau and the Auelgau
* Ezzo (d. 1034), son of Herman I, Count in the Auelgau and the Bonngau, Count Palatine of Lotharingia from 1020, married Mathilda of Saxony, the daughter of Emperor Otto II
* Otto (d. 1047), son of Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia from 1035 to 1045, then Duke of Swabia as Otto II from 1045 until his death
* Henry I (d. 1061), son of Ezzo's brother Hezzelin I, Count Palatine of Lotharingia from 1045 to 1060
* Herman II (1049–1085), son of Henry I, Count Palatine of Lotharingia from 1061 to 1085 (until 1064 under the guardianship of Anno II, Archbishop of Cologne), also Count in the Ruhrgau and the Zülpichgau and Count of Brabant
The County Palatine of Lotharingia was suspended by the Emperor. Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde, Herman II's widow, remarried to Henry of Laach. Abt. 1087 he was assigned in the newly created office of Count Palatine of the Rhine.
= Palatinate of the Rhine
=
In 1085, after the death of Herman II, the County Palatine of Lotharingia lost its military importance in Lorraine. The territorial authority of the Count Palatine was reduced to his territories along the Rhine. Consequently, he is called the Count Palatine of the Rhine after 1085.
The Golden Bull of 1356 made the Count Palatine of the Rhine an Elector
Elector may refer to:
* Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors
* Elector, a member of an electoral college
** Confederate elector, a member of ...
. He was therefore known as the Elector Palatinate.
= Palatinate of Saxony
=
In the 10th century the Emperor Otto I created the County Palatine of Saxony in the Saale-Unstrut area of southern Saxony. The honour was initially held by a Count of Hessengau, then from the early 11th century by the Counts of Goseck, later by the Counts of Sommerschenburg, and still later by the Landgraves of Thuringia:
* Adalbero (d. 982) was a Count in the Hessengau and in the Liesgau, Count Palatine of Saxony from 972,
* Dietrich
Dietrich () is an ancient German name meaning "Ruler of the People.” Also "keeper of the keys" or a "lockpick" either the tool or the profession.
Given name
* Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg (c. 1398 – 1440)
* Thierry of Alsace (german: Dietr ...
(d. 995), probably a son of Adalbero, was Count Palatine of Saxony from 992
* Frederick (d. July 1002 or 15 March 1003), Count in the Harzgau and in the Nordthüringgau, was Count Palatine of Saxony from 995 to 996
* Burchard I (d. after 3 November 1017), the first count of Goseck to hold the title, was a count in the Hassegau from 991, Count Palatine of Saxony from 1003, Count of Merseburg from 1004, and imperial governor from 1012
* Siegfried (d. 25 April 1038), was Count Palatine of Saxony in 1028
* Frederick I (d. 1042), a younger son of Burchard I, was Count of Goseck and in the Hassegau and was Count Palatine of Saxony in 1040
* William (d. 1062), Count of Weimar, probably Count Palatine of Saxony in 1042
* Dedo (fell in battle in Pöhlde on 5 May 1056), son of Frederick I, Count Palatine of Saxony from 1042 to 1044
* Frederick II (d. 27 May 1088), younger brother of Dedo, Count Palatine of Saxony in 1056
* Frederick III (murdered near Zscheiplitz on 5 February 1087), son of Frederick II
* Frederick IV (d. 1125 in Dingelstedt am Huy), son of Frederick III, Count Palatine in 1114
* Frederick V (d. 18 October 1120 or 1121), grandson of Frederick I, Count of Sommerschenburg, Count Palatine of Saxony in 1111
* Frederick VI (d. 19 May 1162), son of Frederick V, Count of Sommerschenburg, Count Palatine of Saxony from 1123 to 1124
* Herman II (murdered on 30 January 1152), Count of Formbach, Margrave of Meissen from 1124 to 1130 (deposed), Count Palatine of Saxony from 1129 to 1130, married in 1148 to Liutgard of Stade, who had divorced Frederick VI in 1144
* Adalbert (d. 1179), son of Frederick VI, Count Palatine of Sommerschenburg from 1162 until his death
* Louis III (d. 1190), Landgrave of Thuringia from 1172 until his death, appointed Count Palatine of Saxony on the Diet of Gelnhausen on 13 April 1180, abdicated in favour of Herman I in 1181
* Herman III ( – 25 April 1215 in Gotha), younger brother of Louis III, Count Palatine of Saxony from 1181 until his death, Landgrave of Thuringia from 1190 until his death
* Louis IV (28 October 1200 – 11 September 1227), son of Herman I, Count Palatine of Saxony and Landgrave of Thuringia from 1217 until his death
* Henry Raspe (1204 – 16 February 1247), son of Herman I, Landgrave of Thuringia from 1227 until his death, Count Palatine of Saxony from 1231 until his death, anti-king of Germany opposing Frederick II and his son Conrad IV from 1246
After Henry Raspe's death, the County Palatine of Saxony and the Landgraviate of Thuringia were given to the House of Wettin, based on a promise made by Emperor Frederick II:
* Henry III ( – 15 February 1288), Margrave of Meissen from 1227 until his death, Count Palatine of Saxony and Landgrave of Thuringia from 1247 1265
* Albert II ''the Degenerate'' (1240 – 20 November 1314), son of Henry III, Count Palatine of Saxony and Landgrave of Thuringia from 1265 until his death, Margrave of Meissen from 1288 to 1292
* Frederick VII ''the Bitten'' (1257 – 16 November 1323), son of Albert II, Count Palatine of Saxony from 1280 to before 1291, Margrave of Meissen before 1291 until his death, Landgrave of Thuringia from 1298 until his death
King Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death.
Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...
gave the County Palatine of Saxony to the House of Welf
The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconia, Franconian family from ...
:
* Henry I (August 1267 – 7 September 1322), Count Palatine of Saxony from before 1291 until his death, Prince of Brunswick-Grubenhagen from 1291 until his death
* ...
= Palatinate of Alamannia / Swabia
=
Holy Roman scribes often used the term ''Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
'' interchangeably with ''Alamannia
Alamannia, or Alemannia, was the kingdom established and inhabited by the Alemanni, a Germanic peoples, Germanic tribal confederation that had broken through the Roman ''Upper Germanic Limes, limes'' in 213.
The Alemanni expanded from the Main ...
'' in the 10th to the 12th centuries.
* Erchanger I, also known as Berchtold I, Count Palatine of Swabia in 880/892
* Erchanger II (d. 21 January 917), probably a son of Erchanger I, was Count Palatine of Swabia and Missus dominicus
A ''missus dominicus'' (plural ''missi dominici''), Latin for "envoy of the lord uler or ''palace inspector'', also known in Dutch as Zendgraaf (German: ''Sendgraf''), meaning "sent Graf", was an official commissioned by the Frankish king or Hol ...
and from 915 until his death Duke of Swabia
The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable family ...
* ..* Frederick I, ( – shortly after 1053), Count Palatine of Swabia from 1027 to 1053
* Frederick II ( – ), father of Frederick I and ancestor of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, Count Palatine of Swabia from 1053 to 1069
* Manegold the Elder ( – shortly before summer 1094), son-in-law of Frederick II, Count Palatine of Swabia from 1070 to 1094
* Louis of Staufen, son of Frederick I, Count Palatine of Swabia from 1094 to 1103, founder of St. Faith's Church, Sélestat
The Church of Saint Faith of Sélestat (french: Église Sainte-Foy de Sélestat, german: Sankt-Fides-Kirche) is a major Romanesque architecture landmark in Sélestat along the Route Romane d'Alsace in the East of France. The church having been bu ...
* Louis of Westheim, probably a son of his predecessor, Count Palatine of Swabia from 1103 to 1112
* Manegold the Younger, son of Manegold the Elder, Count Palatine of Swabia from 1112 to 1125
* Adalbert of Lauterburg, son of Manegold the Elder, Count Palatine of Swabia from 1125 to 1146
After 1146, the title went to the Counts Palatine of Tübingen
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
.
= Palatinate of Tübingen
=
*Hugo I (1146–1152)
*Frederick (d. 1162) co-ruler with Hugo II
*Hugo II (1152–1182)
*Rudolf I (1182–1219)
*Hugo III (1185– ) co-ruler with Rudolf I and Rudolf II, went on to found the Montfort-Bregenz lineage
*Rudolf II (d. 1247)
*Hugo IV (d. 1267)
*Eberhard (d. 1304)
*Gottfried I (d. 1316)
*Gottfried II (d. 1369) sold the County Palatine of Tübingen to the Württemberg dynasty, went on to found the Tübingen-Lichteneck lineage
= Palatinate of Burgundy
=
In 1169, Emperor Frederick I created the Free County of Burgundy (not to be confused with its western neighbour, the Duchy of Burgundy). The Counts of Burgundy had the title of Free Count (german: links=no, Freigraf), but are sometimes called Counts Palatine.
= Papal Palatinates
=
A papal count palatine (''Comes palatinus lateranus'', properly ''Comes sacri Lateranensis palatii'' "Count of the Sacred Palace of Lateran"[Rock, P.M.J. (1908]
Pontifical Decorations
In '' The Catholic Encyclopedia''.) began to be conferred by the pope in the 16th century. This title was merely honorary and by the 18th century had come to be conferred so widely as to be nearly without consequence.
The Order of the Golden Spur began to be associated with the inheritable patent of nobility in the form of count palatinate during the Renaissance; Emperor Frederick III named Baldo Bartolini
Baldo may refer to:
* Baldo (name), a list of people with the given name or surname
* ''Baldo'' (Hector Cantú comic strip), an American comic strip
* ''Baldo'' (Italian comics), an Italian comic strip
* ''Baldo'' (video game), an action-adventu ...
, professor of civil law at the University of Perugia, a count palatinate in 1469, entitled in turn to confer university degrees.
Pope Leo X designated all of the secretaries of the papal curia ''Comites aulae Lateranensis'' ("Counts of the Lateran court") in 1514 and bestowed upon them the rights similar to an imperial count palatine. In some cases the title was conferred by specially empowered papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
s. If an imperial count palatine possessed both an imperial and the papal appointment, he bore the title of "Comes palatine imperiali Papali et auctoritate" (Count palatine by Imperial and Papal authority).
The Order of the Golden Spur, linked with the title of count palatine, was widely conferred after the Sack of Rome, 1527, by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...
; the text of surviving diplomas conferred hereditary nobility to the recipients.
Among the recipients was Titian (1533), who had painted an equestrian portrait of Charles.
Close on the heels of the Emperor's death in 1558, its refounding in Papal hands is attributed to Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...
in 1559.
Benedict XIV (''In Supremo Militantis Ecclesiæ'', 1746) granted to the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...
the right to use the title of Count of the Sacred Palace of Lateran.
By the mid-18th century the Order of the Golden Spur was being so indiscriminately bestowed that Casanova remarked "The Order they call the Golden Spur was so disparaged that people irritated me greatly when they asked me the details of my cross;"
The Order was granted to "those in the pontifical government, artists, and others, whom the pope should think deserving of reward. It is likewise given to strangers, no other condition being required, but that of professing the catholic religion."
Imperial circles
As part of the Imperial Reform, six Imperial Circles were established in 1500; four more were established in 1512. These were regional groupings of most (though not all) of the various states of the Empire for the purposes of defense, imperial taxation, supervision of coining, peace-keeping functions, and public security. Each circle had its own parliament, known as a ''Kreistag'' ("Circle Diet"), and one or more directors, who coordinated the affairs of the circle. Not all imperial territories were included within the imperial circles, even after 1512; the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were excluded, as were 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 imperial fiefs in northern Italy, the lands of the Imperial Knights
The Free Imperial knights (german: link=no, Reichsritter la, Eques imperii) were free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor. They were the remnants of the medieval free nobility (''edelfrei'') and the minister ...
, and certain other small territories like the Lordship of Jever.
Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, 1806
The Palatine territories on the left bank of the Rhine were annexed by Revolutionary France in 1795, mainly becoming part of the Mont-Tonnerre
Mont-Tonnerre was a department of the First French Republic and later the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the highest point in the Palatinate, the ''Donnersberg'' ("Thunder Mountain", possibly referring to Donar, ...
department. The Palatine Elector Maximilian Joseph accepted the loss of these territories after the Treaty of Paris. Those on the right were taken by the Palatine Elector of Baden, after Napoleonic France dissolved the Holy Roman Empire on 26 December 1805 with the Peace of Pressburg as a consequence of the French victory at the Battle of the Three Emperors (2 December); the remaining Wittelsbach territories were united by Maximilian Joseph under the Kingdom of Bavaria.
After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Palatine nationality came to refer more specifically to the people of the Rhenish Palatinate (german: Rhoipfalz) throughout the 19th century. The Rhenish Palatinate's union with Bavaria was finally dissolved following the reorganisation of German states during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II. Today the Palatinate occupies roughly the southernmost quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate (''Rheinland-Pfalz'').
Palatine Migration in the 18th Century
The Great Palatine Migration of 1709
In the second half of the 17th century, the Palatinate had not yet fully recovered from the destructions of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), in which large parts of the region had lost more than two thirds of its population (see the dark red-brown area South of Frankfurt am Main on the map).
Throughout the Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
(1688–1697) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), recurrent invasions by the French Army devastated the area of what is today Southwest Germany. During the Nine Years War the French had used a scorched-earth policy in the Palatinate.
The depredations of the French Army and the destruction of numerous cities (especially within the Palatinate) created economic hardship for the inhabitants of the region, exacerbated by a rash of harsh winters and poor harvests that created famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
in Germany and much of northwest Europe. The specific background of the migration from the Palatinate, as documented in emigrants' petitions for departure registered in the southwest principalities, was impoverishment and lack of economic prospects.
The emigrants came principally from regions comprising present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, and northern areas of Baden-Württemberg along the lower Neckar
The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenn ...
. During the so-called '' Kleinstaaterei'' ("small state") period when this emigration occurred, the Middle Rhine region was a patchwork of secular and ecclesiastical principalities, duchies and counties. No more than half of the so-called Palatines originated in the namesake Electoral Palatinate, with others coming from the surrounding imperial states of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and Nassau-Saarbrücken, the Margraviate of Baden, the Hessian Landgraviates of Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Homburg, Hesse-Kassel, the Archbishoprics of Trier and Mainz, and various minor counties of Nassau, Sayn, Solms, Wied, and Isenburg.
What triggered the mass emigration in 1709 of mostly impoverished people to England was the Crown's promise of free land in British America. Parliament discovered in 1711 that several "agents" working on behalf of the Carolina
Carolina may refer to:
Geography
* The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina
** North Carolina, a U.S. state
** South Carolina, a U.S. state
* Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712
* Carolina, Alabama, a town in ...
province had promised the peasants around and South of Frankfurt free passage to the plantations. Spurred by the success of several dozen families the year before, thousands of German families headed down the Rhine to England and the New World.
Arrival in England
The first boats packed with refugees began arriving in London in early May 1709. The first 900 people to reach England were given housing, food and supplies by a number of wealthy Englishmen. The immigrants were called "Poor Palatines": "poor" in reference to their pitiful and impoverished state upon arrival in England, and "Palatines" since many of them came from lands controlled by the Elector Palatine.
The majority came from regions around the Rhenish Palatinate and, against the wishes of their respective rulers, they fled by the thousands on small boats and ships down the Rhine River to the Dutch city of Rotterdam, whence the majority embarked for London. Throughout the summer, ships unloaded thousands of refugees, and almost immediately their numbers overwhelmed the initial attempts to provide for them. By summer, most of the Poor Palatines were settled in Army tents in the fields of Blackheath and Camberwell
Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...
. A Committee dedicated to coordinating their settlement and dispersal sought ideas for their employment. This proved difficult, as the Poor Palatines were unlike previous migrant groups — skilled, middle-class, religious exiles such as the Huguenots or the Dutch in the 16th century — but rather were unskilled rural laborers, neither sufficiently educated nor healthy enough for most types of employment.
Political controversy
During the reign of Queen Anne (1702–1714), political polarization increased. Immigration and asylum had long been debated, from coffee-houses to the floor of Parliament, and the Poor Palatines were inevitably brought into the political crossfire.
For the Whigs, who controlled Parliament, these immigrants provided an opportunity to increase Britain's workforce. Only two months before the German influx, Parliament had enacted the Foreign Protestants Naturalization Act 1708, whereby foreign Protestants could pay a small fee to become naturalized. The rationale was the belief that an increased population created more wealth, and that Britain's prosperity could increase with the accommodation of certain foreigners. Britain had already benefited from French Huguenot refugees, as well as the Dutch (or "Flemish") exiles, who helped revolutionize the English textile industry.
Similarly, in an effort to increase the sympathy and support for these refugees, many Whig tracts and pamphlets described the Palatines as "refugees of conscience" and victims of Catholic oppression and intolerance. Louis XIV of France had become infamous for the persecution of Protestants within his realm. The invasion and destruction of the Rhineland region by his forces was considered by many in Britain as a sign that the Palatines were likewise objects of his religious tyranny. With royal support, the Whigs formulated a charity brief to raise money for the "Poor Distressed Palatines", who had grown too numerous to be supported by the Crown alone.
The Tories and members of the High Church Party (those who sought greater religious uniformity), were dismayed by the numbers of Poor Palatines amassing in the fields of southeast London. Long-standing opponents of naturalization, the Tories condemned the Whig assertions that the immigrants would be beneficial to the economy, as they were already an acute financial burden. Similarly, many who worried for the security of the Church of England were concerned about the religious affiliations of these German families, especially after it was revealed that many (perhaps more than 2,000) were Catholic. Although the majority of the Catholic Palatines were immediately sent back across the English Channel, many English thought their presence disproved the claimed religious refugee status of the Poor Palatines.
The author Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
was a major spokesman, who attacked the critics of the government's policy. Defoe's ''Review'', a tri-weekly journal dealing usually with economic matters, was for two months dedicated to denouncing opponents’ claims that the Palatines were disease-ridden, Catholic bandits who had arrived in England "to eat the Bread out of the Mouths of our People." In addition to dispelling rumors and propounding the benefits of an increased population, Defoe advanced his own ideas of how the Poor Palatines should be "disposed".
Dispersal
Not long after the Palatines' arrival, 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 ...
was charged with finding a means for their dispersal. Contrary to the desires of the immigrants, who wanted to be transported to British America, most schemes involved settling them within the British Isles, either on uninhabited lands in England or in Ireland (where they could bolster the numbers of the Protestant minority). Most officials involved were reluctant to send the Palatines to America due to the cost, and to the belief that they would be more beneficial if kept in Britain. Since the majority of the Poor Palatines were husbandmen, vinedressers and laborers, the English felt that they would be better suited in agricultural areas. There were some attempts to disperse them in neighboring towns and cities. Ultimately, large-scale settlement plans came to nothing, and the government sent Palatines piecemeal to various regions in England and Ireland. These attempts mostly failed, and many of the Palatines returned from Ireland to London within a few months, in far worse condition than when they had left.
The commissioners finally acquiesced and sent numerous families to New York to produce naval stores at camps along the Hudson River. The Palatines transported to New York in the summer of 1710 totaled about 2800 people in ten ships, the largest group of immigrants to enter British America before the American Revolution. Because of their refugee status and weakened condition, as well as shipboard diseases, they had a high rate of fatalities. They were kept in quarantine on an island in New York harbor until ship's diseases had run their course. Another 300-some Palatines reached Carolina. Despite the ultimate failure of the Naval stores effort and delays on granting them land in settled areas (they were given grants on the frontiers), they had reached the New World and were determined to stay. Their descendants are scattered across the United States and Canada.
The experience with the Poor Palatines discredited the Whig philosophy of naturalization, and figured in political debates as an example of the pernicious effects of offering asylum to refugees. Once the Tories returned to power, they retracted the Act of Naturalization, which they claimed had lured the Palatines to England (though few had in fact become naturalized). Later attempts to reinstate an Act for Naturalization would suffer from the tarnished legacy of Britain's first attempt to support mass immigration of foreign-born peoples.
Re-settlement in Ireland
In 1709, some 3,073 Palatines were transported to Ireland. Some 538 families were settled as agricultural tenants on the estates of Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
landlords. However, many of the settlers failed to permanently establish themselves and 352 families were reported to have left their holdings, with many returning to England. By late 1711 only around 1,200 of the Palatines remained in Ireland.[
Some contemporary opinion blamed the Palatines for the failure of the settlement. ]William King William King may refer to:
Arts
*Willie King (1943–2009), American blues guitarist and singer
*William King (author) (born 1959), British science fiction author and game designer, also known as Bill King
*William King (artist) (1925–2015), Ame ...
, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, said, "I conceive their design 'tis but to eat and drink at Her Majesty's cost, live idle and complain against those that maintain them." But the real reason for the failure was apparently lack of political support for the settlement from the High Church Tories, who generally opposed foreign involvement and saw the settlers as potential Dissenters rather than buttresses to their own established church
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
.[
The Palatine settlement was successful in two areas: Counties Limerick and Wexford. In Limerick, 150 families were settled in 1712 on the lands of the ]Southwell family Southwell may refer to:
*Southwell (surname)
*Southwell, assumed name of Nathaniel Bacon (Jesuit)
*Southwell, Dorset, a village
*Southwell, Nottinghamshire, a town
**Southwell Minster, historic cathedral
***Prebends of Southwell
**Southwell Raceco ...
near Rathkeale. Within a short time, they had made a success of farming hemp, flax, and cattle. In Wexford about the same time, a large Palatine population was settled on the lands of Abel Ram, near Gorey. The distinctive Palatine way of life survived in these areas until well into the nineteenth century. Today, names of Palatine origin, such as Switzer, Hick, Ruttle, Sparling, Tesky, Fitzell, are dispersed throughout Ireland.[
]
Palatine Migration to New York and Pennsylvania
Palatines had trickled into British America since their earliest days. The first mass migration, however, began in 1708. Queen Anne's government had sympathy for the Palatines and had invited them to go to America and work in trade for passage. Official correspondence in British records shows a combined total of 13,146 refugees traveled down the Rhine and or from Amsterdam to England in the summer of 1709.[Knittle, Walter Allen, ''Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration'', Genealogical Publishing, 2019 reprint, p. 65] More than 3500 of these were returned from England either because they were Roman Catholic or at their own request. Henry Z Jones, Jr.
Henry Z (Hank) Jones Jr. (born June 3, 1940) is an American actor, musician, genealogist and author. He became known to a wide audience primarily through his appearances in Disney films.
Life
Hank was born in Oakland, California and raised ...
quotes an entry in a churchbook by the Pastor of Dreieichenhain that states a total of 15,313 Palatines left their villages in 1709 "for the so-called New America and, of course, Carolina".
The flood of immigration overwhelmed English resources. It resulted in major disruptions, overcrowding, famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
, disease and the death of a thousand or more Palatines. It appeared the entire Palatinate would be emptied before a halt could be called to emigration. Many reasons have been given to explain why so many families left their homes for an unknown land. Knittle summarizes them: "(1) war devastation, (2) heavy taxation, (3) an extraordinarily severe winter, (4) religious quarrels, but not persecutions, (5) land hunger on the part of the elderly and desire for adventure on the part of the young, (6) liberal advertising by colonial proprietors, and finally (7) the benevolent and active cooperation of the British government."
No doubt the biggest impetus was the harsh, cold winter that preceded their departure. Birds froze in mid-air, casks of wine, livestock, and whole vineyards were destroyed by the unremitting cold. With what little was left of their possessions, the refugees made their way on boats down the Rhine to Amsterdam, where they remained until the British government decided what to do about them. Ships were finally dispatched for them across the English Channel, and the Palatines arrived in London, where they waited longer while the British government considered its options. So many arrived that the government created a winter camp for them outside the city walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
. A few were settled in England, a few more may have been sent to Jamaica and Nassau, but the greatest numbers were sent to Ireland, Carolina and especially, New York in the summer of 1710. They were obligated to work off their passage.
The Reverend Joshua Kocherthal
Josua Harrsch, also known as Joshua Kocherthal (30 July 1669 – 27 December 1719Bente, FAmerican Lutheranism, Volume ISt. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. 1919, p. 31.) was a German Lutheran minister who led German emigrants to New York.
Bio ...
paved the way in 1709, with a small group of fifty who settled in Newburgh, New York, on the banks of the Hudson River. "In the summer of 1710, a colony numbering 2,227 arrived in New York and were aterlocated in five villages on either side of the Hudson, those upon the east side being designated as East Camp, and those upon the west, as West Camp." A census of these villages on 1 May 1711 showed 1194 on the east side and 583 on the west side. The total number of families was 342 and 185, respectively. About 350 Palatines had remained in New York City, and some settled in New Jersey. Others travelled down the Susquehanna River, settling in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The locations of the New Jersey communities correlate with the foundation of the oldest Lutheran churches in that state, i.e., the first called Zion at New Germantown (now Oldwick), Hunterdon County; the 'Straw Church' now called St. James at Greenwich Township, Sussex (now Pohatong Township, Warren County); and St. Paul's at Pluckemin, Bedminster Township, Somerset County.
Indentured Servitude
Settlement by Palatines on the east side (East Camp) of the Hudson River was accomplished as a result of Governor Hunter's negotiations with Robert Livingston, who owned Livingston Manor
Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain.
History
Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...
in what is now Columbia County, New York. (This was not the town now known as Livingston Manor
Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain.
History
Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...
on the west side of the Hudson River.) Livingston was anxious to have his lands developed. The Livingstons benefited for many years from the revenues they received as a result of this business venture. West Camp, on the other hand, was located on land the Crown had recently "repossessed" as an "extravagant grant". Pastors from both Lutheran and Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
churches quickly began to serve the camps and created extensive records of these early settlers and their life passages long before the state of New York was established or kept records.
The British Crown believed that the Palatines could work and be "useful to this kingdom, particularly in the production of naval stores, and as a frontier against the French and their Indians". Naval stores which the British needed were hemp
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
, tar and pitch, poor choices given the climate and the variety of pine trees in New York State. On 6 September 1712, work was halted. "The last day of the government subsistence for most of the Palatines was September 12th." "Within the next five years, many Palatines moved elsewhere. Several went to Pennsylvania, others to New Jersey, settling at Oldwick or Hackensack, still others pushed a few miles south to Rhinebeck, New York
Rhinebeck is a village (New York), village in the Rhinebeck (town), New York, town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeepsie– ...
, and some returned to New York City, while quite a few established themselves on Livingston Manor here they had originally been settled
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here
Television
* Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...
Some forty or fifty families went to Schoharie between September 12th and October 31, 1712."
In the winter of 1712–13, six Palatines approached the Mohawk clan mothers to ask for permission to settle in the Schoharie River valley, a tributary of the Mohawk River.[Paxton, James ''Joseph Brant and His World'', Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 2008 page 12] The clan mothers, moved by the story of their misery and suffering, granted the Palatines permission to settle; in the spring of 1713 about 150 Palatine families moved into the Schoharie valley. The Palatines had not understood that the Haudenosaunee were a matrilineal kinship society, and that the clan mothers had considerable power. They headed the nine clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
s that made up the Five Nations. The Palatines had expected to meet male sachems rather than these women, but property and descent were passed through the maternal lines.
Resettlement
left, upright=1, William Burnet (colonial administrator), William Burnet, Governor of New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and Province of New Jersey, New Jersey.
A report in 1718 placed 224 families of 1,021 persons along the Hudson River while 170 families of 580 persons were in the Schoharie valley. In 1723, under William Burnet (colonial administrator), Governor Burnet, 100 heads of families from the work camps were settled on each in the Burnetsfield Patent midway in the Mohawk Valley, Mohawk River Valley, just west of Little Falls. They were the first Europeans
Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...
to be allowed to buy land that far west in the valley.
After hearing Palatine accounts of poverty and suffering, the clan mothers granted permission for them to settle in the Schoharie Valley. The women elders had their own motives. During the 17th century, the Haudenosaunee had suffered high mortality from new European infectious diseases, to which they had no immunity. They also had been engaged in warfare against the French and against other indigenous tribes. Finally, in the 1670s–80s French Jesuit missionaries had converted thousands of Iroquois (mostly Mohawk) to Catholicism and persuaded the converts to settle near Montreal.[Paxton, James, ''Joseph Brant and his world'', Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 2008, p. 13]
Historians referred to the Haudenosaunee who moved to New France as the Canadian Iroquois, while those who remained behind are described as the League Iroquois. At the beginning of the 17th century, about 2,000 Mohawk lived in the Mohawk River Valley, but by the beginning of the 18th century, the population had dropped to about 600 people. They were in a weakened position for resisting encroachment by English settlers. The governors of New York had showed a tendency to grant Haudenosaunee land to British settlers without permission. The clan mothers believed that leasing land to the poor Palatines was a preemptive way to block the governors from granting their land to land-hungry immigrants from the British isles. In their turn, the British authorities believed that the Palatines would serve as a protective barrier, providing a reliable militia who would stop French and Indigenous raiders coming down from New France (modern Canada).[Preston, David. We intend to live our lifetime together as brothers': Palatine and Iroquois Communities in the Mohawk Valley". ''New York History'', Volume 89, No. 2, Spring 2008, p. 183.] The Palatine communities gradually extended along both sides of the Mohawk River to Canajoharie. Their legacy was reflected in place names, such as German Flatts
German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,258 at the 2010 census.
The town is in the southern part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, across from the village of Herkimer. T ...
and Palatine Bridge
Palatine Bridge is a Village (New York), village in Montgomery County, New York, Montgomery County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 737 at the 2010 census. The basis of the name is the community's location in a region ...
, and the few colonial-era churches and other buildings that survived the Revolution. They taught their children German and used the language in churches for nearly 100 years. Many Palatines married only within the German community until the 19th century.
The Palatines settled on the frontiers of New York province in Kanienkeh ("the land of the flint"), the homeland of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League (becoming the Six Nations when the Tuscarora joined the League in 1722) in what is now upstate New York, and formed a very close relationship with the Iroquois. The American historian David L. Preston described the lives of the Palatine community as being "interwoven" with the Iroquois communities.[Preston, David. We intend to live our lifetime together as brothers': Palatine and Iroquois Communities in the Mohawk Valley". pages 179–189 in ''New York History'', Volume 89, No. 2, Spring 2008, p. 181.] One Palatine leader said about the relationship of his community with the Haudenosauee that: "We intend to live our lifetime together as brothers". The Haudenosauee taught the Palatines about the best places to gather wild edible nuts, together with roots and berries, and how to grow the "Three Sisters", as the Iroquois called their staple foods of beans, squash and corn. One Palatine leader, Johann Conrad Weiser, had his son live with a Mohawk family for a year in order to provide the Palatines with both an interpreter and a friend who might bridge the gap between the two different communities. The Palatines came from the patriarchal society of Europe, whereas the Haudenosaunee had a matrilineal society, in which clan mothers selected the sachems and the chiefs.
The Haudenosaunee admired the work ethic of the Palatines, and often rented their land to the hard-working immigrants. In their turn, the Palatines taught Haudenosaunee women how to use iron plows and hoes to farm the land, together with how to grow oats and wheat. The Haudenosaunee considered farming to be women's work, as their women planted, cultivated and harvested their crops. They considered the Palatine men to be unmanly because they worked the fields. Additionally, the Palatines brought sheep, cows, and pigs to Kanienkeh. With increased agricultural production and money coming in as rent, the Haudenosaunee began to sell the surplus food to merchants in Albany. Many clan mothers and chiefs, who had grown wealthy enough to live at about the same standard of living as a middle-class family in Europe, abandoned their traditional log houses for European-style houses.
In 1756, one Palatine farmer brought 38,000 beads of black wampum during a trip to Schenectady, which was enough to make dozens upon dozens of wampum belts, which were commonly presented to Indigenous leaders as gifts when being introduced. Preston noted that the purchasing of so much wampum reflected the very close relations the Palatines had with the Iroquois. The Palatines used their metal-working skills to repair weapons that belonged to the Iroquois, built mills that ground corn for the Iroquois to sell to merchants in New York and New France, and their churches were used for Christian Iroquois weddings and baptisms.[Preston, David. We intend to live our lifetime together as brothers': Palatine and Iroquois Communities in the Mohawk Valley". pages 179–189 in ''New York History'', Volume 89, No. 2, Spring 2008, p. 185.] There were also a number of intermarriages between the two communities. Doxstader, a surname common in some of the rural areas of south-western Germany, is also a common Iroquois surname.
Palatine and Indian Relationship
left, upright=1, Palatines maintained good relations with the Indians.
upright=1, A Indian fort, 1671">Susquehannock Indian fort, 1671
Preston wrote that the popular stereotype of United States frontier relations between white settler colonists and Native Americans as being from two racial worlds that hardly interacted did not apply to the Palatine-Iroquois relationship, writing that the Palatines lived between Iroquois settlements in Kanienkeh, and the two peoples "communicated, drank, worked, worshipped and traded together, negotiated over land use and borders, and conducted their diplomacy separate from the colonial governments".[Preston, David. We intend to live our lifetime together as brothers': Palatine and Iroquois Communities in the Mohawk Valley". pages 179–189 in ''New York History'', Volume 89, No. 2, Spring 2008, p. 188.] Some Palatines learned to perform the Haudenosaunee condolence ceremony, where condolences were offered to those whose friends and family had died, which was the most important of all Iroquois rituals. The Canadian historian James Paxton wrote the Palatines and Haudenosaunee "visited each other's homes, conducted small-scale trade and socialized in taverns and trading posts".
Unlike the frontier in Pennsylvania and in the Ohio river valley, where English settlers and the Indians had bloodstained relations, leading to hundreds of murders, relations between the Palatine Dutch and Indians in Kanienkeh were friendly. Between 1756 and 1774 in the New York frontier, only 5 colonists or British soldiers were killed by Native Americans, while just 6 Natives were killed by soldiers or settlers.[Preston, David. ''The Texture of Contact: European and Indian Settler Communities on the Frontiers of Iroquoia, 1667–1783''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009. p. 180.] The New York frontier had no equivalent to the Paxton Boys, a vigilante group of Scots-Irish settlers on the Pennsylvania frontier who waged a near-genocidal campaign against the Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern p ...
Indians in 1763–64, and the news of the killing perpetrated by the Paxton Boys was received with horror by both whites and Indians on the New York frontier.
However, the Iroquois had initially allowed the Palatines to settle in Kanienkeh out of sympathy for their poverty, and expected them to ultimately contribute for being allowed to live on the land when they become wealthier. In a letter to Sir William Johnson, the Superintendent of Northern Indian Affairs, in 1756, Oneida sachems and clan mothers complained that they had allowed the Palatines to settle in Kanienkeh out of "compassion to their poverty and expected when they could afford it that they would pay us for their land", going on to write now that the Palatines had "grown rich they not only refuse to pay us for our land, but impose on us in everything we have to do with them". Likewise, many Iroquois sachems and clan mothers complained that their young people were too fond of drinking the beer brewed by the Palatines, charging that alcohol was a destructive force in their community.
Palatines during the French and Indian War (1754–1763)
Despite the intentions of the British, the Palatines showed little inclination to fight for the British Crown, and during French and Indian War, tried to maintain neutrality. After the Battle of Fort Bull and the Fall of Fort Oswego to the French, German Flatts and Fort Herkimer become the northern frontier of the British Empire in North America, causing the British Army to rush regiments to the frontier.[Preston, David. We intend to live our lifetime together as brothers': Palatine and Iroquois Communities in the Mohawk Valley". pages 179–189 in ''New York History'', Volume 89, No. 2, Spring 2008. p. 182.] One Palatine, Hans Josef Herkimer, complained about the British troops in his vicinity in a letter written in broken English to the authorities: "Tieranniece yrannyover me they think proper ... Not only Infesting my House and taking my rooms at their pleashure leasurebut takes what they think Nesserarie ecessaryof my Effects".
The Palatines sent messages via the Oneida to Quebec City to tell the governor-general of New France, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, of their wish to be neutral while at the same time trading with the French via Indian middlemen.[Preston, David. We intend to live our lifetime together as brothers': Palatine and Iroquois Communities in the Mohawk Valley". pages 179–189 in ''New York History'', Volume 89, No. 2, Spring 2008. pp. 182–183.] An Oneida Indian passed on a message to Vaudreuil in Quebec City, saying: "We inform you of a message given to us by a Nation that is neither English, nor French nor Indian and inhabits the lands around us ... That Nation has proposed to annex us to itself in order to afford each other mutual help and protection against the English". Vaundreuil in reply stated "I think I know that nation. There is reason to believe they are the Palatines". Another letter sent by the Palatines to Vaudreuil in late 1756 declared that they "looked upon themselves in danger as well as the Six Nations, they are determined to live and die by them & therefore begged the protection of the French".
Vaudreuil informed the Palatines that neutrality was not an option and they could either submit to the King of France or face war. The Palatines tried to stall, causing Vaudreuil to warn them that this "trick will avail nothing; for whenever I think proper, I shall dispatch my warriors to Corlac" (the French name for New York). At one point, the Oneida sent a message to Vaudreuil asking that "not to due othem he Palatines
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
any hurt as they were no more white people but Oneidas and that their blood was mixed with the Indians". Preston wrote that the letter may have been exaggerating somewhat, but interracial and intercultural sexual relations are known to have occurred on the frontier. The descendants of the Palatine Dutch and Indians were known as Black Dutch.
On 10 November 1757, the Oneida sachem Canaghquiesa warned the Palatines that a force of French and Indigenous combatants were on their way to attack, telling them that their women and children should head for the nearest fort, but Canaghquiesa noted that they "laughed at me and slapping their hands on their Buttucks uttockssaid they did not value the Enemy". On 12 November 1757, a raiding party of about 200 Mississauga and Canadian Iroquois warriors together with 65 and militiamen fell on the settlement of German Flatts at about 3:00 am, burning the town down to the ground, killing about 40 Palatines while taking 150 back to New France. One Palatine leader, Johan Jost Petri, writing from his prison in Montreal, complained about how "our people have been taken by the Indians and the French (but for the most part by our own Indians) and by our own fault". Afterwards, a group of Oneida and Tuscaroras came to the ruins of the German Flatts to offer food and shelter for the survivors and to bury the dead. In a letter to Johnson, Canaghquiesa wrote "we have condoled with our Brethren the Germans on the loss of their Friends who have been lately killed and taken by the Enemy ... that Ceremony was over three days ago".
New York Dutch
Because of the concentration of Palatine refugees in New York in the 18th century, the term "Palatine" became associated with German. "Until the American War of Independence 'Palatine' henceforth was used indiscriminately for all 'emigrants of German tongue'."
Pennsylvania Dutch
Many Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
men are descendants of Palatines who settled the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The Pennsylvania Dutch language, spoken by the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch in the United States, is derived primarily from the Palatine German language
Palatine German (endonym: ; Standard German: ), also known as Palatine Dutch, is a Rhenish Franconian language and is spoken in the Upper Rhine Valley, roughly in the area between Zweibrücken, Kaiserslautern, Alzey, Worms, Ludwigshafen am R ...
which many Mennonite refugees brought to Pennsylvania in the years 1717 to 1732.[Astrid von Schlachta: ''Gefahr oder Segen? Die Täufer in der politischen Kommunikation.'' Göttingen 2009, p. 427.] The only existing Pennsylvania German newspaper, '' Hiwwe wie Driwwe'', was founded 1996 in the village of Ober-Olm, which is located close to Mainz, the state capital (and is published bi-annually as a cooperation project with Kutztown University). In the same village one can find the headquarters of the German-Pennsylvanian Association.
Palatine Migration in the 19th Century
Many more Palatines emigrated in the course of the 19th century, and the majority of them came to North America. For a time in the American Union, "Palatine" was synonymous with German American
German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...
.
Palatine immigrants came to live in big industrial cities such as Germantown, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. Land-searching Palatines moved to the Midwestern States and founded new homes in the fertile regions of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
A vast inpouring of Palatines began to come especially in the middle of the 19th century. Johann Heinrich Heinz (1811-1891), the father of Henry John Heinz who founded the H. J. Heinz Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, emigrated from Kallstadt
Kallstadt () is a village in the Palatine part of Rhineland-Palatinate, one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is part of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region whose largest city is Mannheim, Germany's 22nd largest city. During much of the 19th ce ...
, Palatinate, to the United States in 1840.
Notable Palatines and descendants
Included are immigrants that came during the Colonial Period between 1708 and 1775 and their immediate family members.
* 1708 – Josua Harrsch
Josua Harrsch, also known as Joshua Kocherthal (30 July 1669 – 27 December 1719Bente, FAmerican Lutheranism, Volume ISt. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. 1919, p. 31.) was a German Lutheran minister who led German emigrants to New York.
Bio ...
alias Kocherthal (1669–1719), Lutheran minister
* 1710 – Johann Conrad Weiser Sr.
Johann Conrad Weiser Sr. (1662–1746) was a German soldier, baker, and farmer who fled his homeland with thousands of other Germans from the Palatinate region due to constant invasions by French armies and destruction of crops. As a result, ...
(1662–1746), baker
* 1710 – Conrad Weiser (1696–1760), interpreter
* 1710 – Johann Hartman Windecker (1676–1754), settler
* 1710 – John Peter Zenger (1697–1746), printer and journalist
* 1710 – Johann Jost Herkimer (1700–1775), father of brigadier general Nicholas Herkimer
Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer (also known as Nikolaus Herchheimer; – August 16, 1777) was an American military officer who fought during the Revolutionary War. He died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany.
Early life and career
Herki ...
(c 1728–1777) and of Loyalist Johan Jost Herkimer (c 1732–1795)
* 1717 – Caspar Wistar (1696–1752), glassmaker
* 1720 – Conrad Beissel (1691–1768), Baptist leader
* 1729 – Alexander Mack, (1679–1735), Brethren leader
* 1738 – Casper Shafer (1712–1784), miller
* 1738 – John Reister (1715–1804), farmer
* 1742 – Henry Muhlenberg (1711–1787), Lutheran pastor
* 1746 – John Christopher Hartwick (1714–1796), Lutheran minister
* 1749 – Henry Stauffer
Henry Stauffer was born in Worms-Ibersheim, Ibersheim, Germany on 1724 and died November 27, 1777. He immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 9, 1749, and settled in Bedminster Township, Pennsylvania, Bedminster on , purchased of Wil ...
(c 1724–1777), settler
* 1750 – Henry William Stiegel
Henry William Stiegel (May 13, 1729 in Cologne, Germany – January 10, 1785 in Pennsylvania, USA) was a German-American glassmaker and ironmaster.
Stiegel was the eldest of six children born to John Frederick and Dorothea Elizabeth Stiegel i ...
(1729–1785), glassmaker
* 1755 – Bodo Otto (1711–1787), surgeon
* 1775 – David Ziegler
David Ziegler (July 13, 1748 – September 24, 1811) was a German immigrant to the United States who served in the U.S. military and became the first mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Early life and career
Johann David Ziegler was born in Heidelberg ...
(1748–1811), officer
See also
* Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
* Hiwwe wie Driwwe
* Potato Germans
The Potato Germans (''Kartoffeltyskere'') were a group of German families who settled in the heathlands of central Jutland in Denmark during the mid-1700s. The term is sometimes also extended to their descendants.
History
The German immigrants ...
Notes
Further reading
* Defoe, Daniel. ''Defoe's Review''. Reproduced from the original edition, with an introduction and bibliographical notes by Arthur Wellesley Secord. 9 vols. in 22 (Facsimile Text Soc., 44). New York, 1938–9.
* Dickinson, Harry Thomas. "The poor Palatines and the parties". ''English Historical Review'', 82 (1967), 464–85.
*
* Jones, Henry Z, Jr. ''The Palatine Families of Ireland''. 2nd. ed., Picton Press: Rockport, Maine, 1990.
* Knittle, Walter Allen
Early eighteenth century Palatine emigration; a British government redemptioner project to manufacture naval stores, by Walter Allen Knittle..
''Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration: A British Government Redemptioner Project to Manufacture Naval Stores]''. Philadelphia: Dorrance, 1937.
* Statt, Daniel. ''Foreigners and Englishmen: The Controversy over Immigration and Population, 1660-1760''. Newark, Del.: University of Delaware Press, 1995.
*
* Olson, Alison. "The English Reception of the Huguenots, Palatines and Salzburgers, 1680-1734: A Comparative Analysis" in Randolph Vigne & Charles Littleton, (eds.), ''From Strangers to Citizens: The Integration of Immigrant Communities in Britain, Ireland and Colonial America, 1550-1750''. Brighton and Portland, Ore.: The Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland and Sussex Academic Press, 2001.
* O'Reilly, William. "Strangers Come to Devour the Land: Changing Views of Foreign Migrants in Early Eighteenth-Century England". ''Journal of Early Modern History'', (2016), 1-35.
*
* Conrad Richter, Richter, Conrad.
The Free Man
'. Fictional account of a Palatine who emigrated to the United States in the early 1700s and lived during the Revolutionary War.
External links
Palatines to America
{{Authority control
Palatines
18th-century Irish people
Palatines
Palatines
Palatines
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.