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PALATINE HISTORY
by Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com/
Copyright © 1996[This article has been published, with permission as
Irish Palatine Story on the Internet in Irish Palatine Association Journal, No. 7 December 1996]
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This article may be reproduced as long as it is not changed in any way, all identifying URLs and copyright information remain intact (including this permission), and a link is provided back to Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com/
The Palatinate or German PFALZ, was, in German history, the land of the
Count Palatine, a title held by a leading secular prince of the Holy Roman
Empire. Geographically, the Palatinate was divided between two small
territorial clusters: the Rhenish, or Lower Palatinate, and the Upper
Palatinate. The Rhenish Palatinate included lands on both sides of the
Middle Rhine River between its Main and Neckar tributaries. Its capital
until the 18th century was Heidelberg. The Upper Palatinate was located in
northern Bavaria, on both sides of the Naab River as it flows south toward
the Danube and extended eastward to the Bohemian Forest. The boundaries of
the Palatinate varied with the political and dynastic fortunes of the Counts
Palatine.
The Palatinate has a border beginning in the north, on the Moselle River about 35 miles southwest of Coblenz to Bingen and east to Mainz, down the Rhine River to Oppenheim, Guntersblum
and Worms, then continuing eastward above the Nieckar River about 25 miles
east of Heidelberg then looping back westerly below Heidelberg to Speyer,
south down the Rhine River to Alsace, then north-westerly back up to its
beginning on the Moselle River.
The first Count Palatine of the Rhine was Hermann I, who received
the office in 945. Although not originally hereditary, the title was held
mainly by his descendants until his line expired in 1155, and the Bavarian
Wittelsbachs took over in 1180. In 1356, the Golden Bull ( a papal bull:
an official document, usually commands from the Pope and sealed
with the official Papal seal called a Bulla) made the Count Palatine an
Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. During the Reformation, the Palatinate
accepted Protestantism and became the foremost Calvinist region in Germany.
After Martin Luther published his 95 Theses on the door of the castle church at Wittenberg on 31 October 1517, many of his followers came under considerable religious persecution for their beliefs. Perhaps for reasons of mutual comfort and support, they gathered in what is known as the Palatine. These folk came from many places, Germany, Holland, Switzerland and beyond, but all shared a common view on religion.
The protestant Elector Palatine Frederick V (1596-1632), called the
"Winter King" of Bohemia, played a unique role in the struggle between Roman
Catholic and Protestant Europe. His election in 1619 as King of Bohemia
precipitated the Thirty Years War that lasted from 1619 until 1648. Frederick
was driven from Bohemia and in 1623, deposed as Elector Palatine.
During the Thirty Years War, the Palatine country and other parts of
Germany suffered from the horrors of fire and sword as well as from pillage
and plunder by the French armies. This war was based upon both politics and
religious hatreds, as the Roman Catholic armies sought to crush the religious
freedom of a politically-divided Protestantism.
Many unpaid armies and bands of mercenaries, both of friends and foe,
devoured the substance of the people and by 1633, even the
catholic French supported the Elector Palatine for a time for political
reasons.
During the War of the Grand Alliance (1689-97), the troops of the
French monarch Louis XIV ravaged the Rhenish Palatinate, causing many
Germans to emigrate. Many of the early German settlers of America (e.g. the
Pennsylvania Dutch) were refugees from the Palatinate. During the French
Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Palatinate's lands on the west bank
of the Rhine were incorporated into France, while its eastern lands were
divided largely between neighbouring Baden and Hesse.
Nearly the entire 17th century in central Europe was a period of turmoil as
Louis XIV of France sought to increase his empire. The War of the Palatinate (as it was called in Germany), aka The War of The League of Augsburg, began in 1688 when Louis claimed the
Palatinate. Every large city on the Rhine above Cologne was sacked. The
War ended in 1697 with the Treaty of Ryswick. The Palatinate was badly
battered but still outside French control. In 1702, the War of the Spanish
Succession began in Europe and lasted until 1713, causing a great deal of
instability for the Palatines. The Palatinate lay on the western edge of the
Holy Roman Empire not far from France's eastern boundary. Louis wanted to
push his eastern border to the Rhine, the heart of the Palatinate.
While the land of the Palatinate was good for its inhabitants, many of whom were farmers, vineyard operators etc., its location was unfortunately subject to invasion by the armies of Britain, France, and
Germany. Mother Nature also played a role in what happened, for the winter of 1708 was particularly severe and many of the vineyards perished. So, as well as the devastating effects of war, the Palatines were subjected to the winter of 1708-09, the harshest in 100 years.
The scene was set for a mass migration. At the invitation of Queen Anne in the spring of 1709, about 7 000 harassed Palatines sailed down the Rhine to Rotterdam. From there, about 3000
were dispatched to America, either directly or via England, under the auspices of William Penn. The remaining 4 000 were sent via England to Ireland to strengthen the protestant interest.
Although the Palatines were scattered as agricultural settlers over
much of Ireland, major accumulations were found in Counties Limerick and
Tipperary. As the years progressed and dissatisfactions increased, many of these folk seized opportunities to join their compatriots in Pennsylvania, or to go to newly-opened settlements in Canada.
There were many reasons for the desire of the Palatines to emigrate to the
New World: oppressive taxation, religious bickering, hunger for more and better
land, the advertising of the English colonies in America and the favourable
attitude of the British government toward settlement in the North American
colonies. Many of the Palatines believed they were going to Pennsylvania, Carolina or one of the tropical islands.
The passage down the Rhine took from 4 to 6 weeks. Tolls and fees were
demanded by authorities of the territories through which they passed. Early in
June, the number of Palatines entering Rotterdam reached 1 000 per week. Later
that year, the British government issued a Royal proclamation in German that
all arriving after October 1709 would be sent back to Germany. The British
could not effectively handle the number of Palatines in London and there may
have been as many as 32 000 by November 1709. They wintered over in England
since there were no adequate arrangements for the transfer of the Palatines
to the English colonies.
In 1710, three large groups of Palatines sailed from London. The first went
to Ireland, the second to Carolina and the third to New York with the new Governor, Robert Hunter. There were 3 000 Palatines on 10 ships that sailed for NY and approximately 470 died on the voyage or shortly after their arrival.
In NY, the Palatines were expected to work for the British authorities, producing naval stores [tar and pitch] for the navy in return for their passage to NY. They were also expected to act as a buffer between the French and Natives on the northern frontier and the English colonies to the south and east.
After the defeat of Napoleon (1814-15), the Congress of Vienna gave the east-bank lands of the Rhine valley to Bavaria. These lands, together with some surrounding territories, again took the name of Palatinate in 1838.
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