Foreign Protestants
The "Foreign Protestants" were a group of French Lutheran and German Protestant immigrants to Nova Scotia that largely settled in Halifax at Gottingen Street (named after the German town Göttingen) and Dutch Village Road as well as Lunenburg.
History
In 1749, the British colony of Nova Scotia was almost completely populated by native Mi'kmaq and 10,000 French-speaking and Roman Catholic Acadians. The British, specifically the Board of Trade, wanted to settle Protestants in the region. Attracting British immigrants was difficult as most preferred to go to the warmer southern colonies. Thus, a plan was developed to aggressively recruit foreign Protestants. These came mostly from German duchies and principalities on the Upper Rhine in the present-day Rhineland-Palatinate bundesländer. The duchy of Württemberg was the major source, which included the French region of Montbeliard, and there were also "Foreign Protestants" from the present day Tripoint of France, Germany and Switzerland.
This recruiting drive was led by John Dick, who was quite successful. The British government agreed to provide free passage to the colony, as well as free land and one year's rations upon arrival. Over 2,000 of the "Foreign Protestants" arrived between 1750 and 1752, in 12 ships:[1][2]
- Aldernay (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 this new outpost. They built their own chapel in Halifax, Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church. They had to wait for their promised lands. Many of the Foreign Protestants settled Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. In the early years, their living conditions resulted in Lunenburg Rebellion. The Foreign Protestants also faced numerous Mi'kmaw attacks, such as the Raid on Lunenburg (1756).
Legacy
Most of the foreign Protestants settled along the South Shore between Liverpool 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, Knickle, Morash, Naas, Rehfus (anglicized to Rafuse), Reichert (anglicised to Richards), Schmidt (anglicised to Smith), Vogler, Wile, Zinck, Zwicker, or the various ways to spell Rhodeniser are common. Many towns such as Lunenburg, bear distinctly German 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 ethnonymic basis behind the name "New Brunswick", as well as support behind naming "Prince Edward Island" for a representative of the Braunschweiger dynasty.
Gallery
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Johann Phillip Henericie's Monument, 1st European to settle Riverport, Nova Scotia -
John Payzant (1749–1834) – taken captive for four years (age 6-10) -
Johann Gottlob Schmeisser – earliest known image of Foreign Protestant in Nova Scotia (c.1790) -
The Jessen Bell
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Notable Foreign Protestants
- Johann Gottlob Schmeisser
- Otto William Schwartz
- Dettlieb Christopher Jessen
- Joseph Pernette
- John Payzant
See also
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. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1961
- History of Bridgewater, NS
- History of Riverport District, NS
- The Foreign Protestants
- The Foreign Protestants