The "Poor Palatines" of 1709: The Origins and Characteristics of an Early Modern Mass Migration

Philip Otterness

In 1709 over 13,000 German-speaking emigrants left their homes and traveled to London, the first leg of a journey they hoped would eventually end in America. Although the British government sent most of the emigrants home, it did eventually dispatch 3,000 to New York. Their arrival in 1710 marked the beginning of large-scale German migration to British North America. Although they played a significant role in shaping German society in colonial America, the origins, characteristics, and motivations of the 1709 emigrants have been little studied. This paper describes the dynamics of the 1709 migration, arguing that it was shaped by the poverty of its participants and by the powerful rumors of free land that lured them from their homes.

[WP #96026]