Everything about The Pennsylvania Dutch totally explained
The
Pennsylvania Dutch (perhaps more strictly
Pennsylvania Deitsch,
Pennsylvania Germans or
Pennsylvania Deutsch) are the descendants of
German immigrants who came to
Pennsylvania prior to 1800. According to Don Yoder, a Pennsylvania German expert and retired University of Pennsylvania professor, the word
"Dutch" in this case owes its origin to an archaic meaning where the word "Dutch" designated groups that are today considered German
and Dutch - prior to the
Thirty Years' War, the Netherlands were part of the
Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch were generally regarded as one of several German peoples. Although Yoder rejects other explanations, other sources, such as Hostetler (1993) give the origin of "Dutch" as a corruption or a "folk-rendering" of the term "Deitsch". It is worth noting that the adjective "German" is "" in the
German language and "" in the
Dutch language. Also some southern German dialects still pronounce "Deutsch" as "Deitsch" ([Daɪtʃ]). The difficulty is enlarged by the fact that the oldest native term for the Dutch language happens to be
Dietsch, a stem that also shows up in the derivation of
Plautdietsch.
Plautdietsch developed on a mixed Dutch /
Low German substrate, according to the Dutch linguist Ad Welschen (2000), which is certainly not the case with
Pennsylvania Deitsch. So
Deitsch etymologically means 'German', while
Dietsch means 'Dutch' .
Pennsylvania Dutch were historically speakers of the
Pennsylvania German language. They are a people of various religious affiliations, most of them
Lutheran or
Reformed, but many
Anabaptists as well. They live primarily in southeastern Pennsylvania in the area stretching in an arc from Bethlehem and
Allentown through
Reading,
Lebanon, and
Lancaster to
York and
Chambersburg. They can also be found down throughout the
Shenandoah Valley (the modern
Interstate 81 corridor) in the adjacent states of
Maryland,
Virginia,
West Virginia and
North Carolina, and in the large Amish and Mennonite communities in
Mifflin County,
Pennsylvania, in
Ohio north and south of
Youngstown and in
Indiana around
Elkhart. Their cultural traditions date back to the
German immigrations to
America in the
17th and
18th centuries. Only then did German immigration from various parts the southern
Rhineland,
Palatinate, the southern part of
Hesse,
Baden,
Alsace and
Switzerland gain momentum, and soon dominate the area. But the Pennsylvania Dutch language is ultimately a derivative of
Palatinate German.
Pennsylvania Dutch from the Palatinate of the Rhine
Many Pennsylvania Dutch are descendants of refugees from the
Palatinate of the German Rhine. For example, most
Amish and
Mennonite came to the Palatinate and surrounding areas from the German speaking part of Switzerland, where, as
Anabaptists, they were persecuted, and so their stay in the Palatinate was of limited duration.
However, for the majority of the Pennsylvania Dutch, their roots go much further back in the Palatinate. During the
War of the Grand Alliance (1689-97), French troops, under
King Louis XIV, pillaged the Palatinate, forcing many Germans to flee. The War of the Palatinate (as it was called in Germany), also called the War of Augsburg, began in 1688 as Louis took claim of the
Palatinate, and all major cities of
Cologne were devastated. By 1697 the war came to a close with the
Treaty of Ryswick, and the Palatinate remained free of French control. However, by 1702, the War of the Spanish Succession began, lasting until 1713. French expansionism forced many Palatines to flee as refugees.
The first major emigration of
Germans to America resulted in the founding of the
Borough of Germantown in northwest Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1683-1685. Mass emigration of Palatines began out of Germany in the early 1700s. In the spring of 1709,
Queen Anne had granted refuge to about 7,000 Palatines who had sailed the
Rhine to
Rotterdam. From here about 3,000 were sent to
America either directly, or through
England, bound for
William Penn’s colony. The remaining refugees were sent to Ireland to strengthen the Protestant presence in the country. By 1710, large groups of Palatines had sailed from
London, the last group of which was bound for
New York. There were 3,200 Palatines on 12 ships that sailed for New York and approximately 470 died en route to America. In New York, under the new Governor,
Robert Hunter, Palatines worked for British authorities and produced tar and pitch for the
Royal Navy in return for their safe passage. They also served as a buffer between the French and Natives on the frontier and the English colonies. In 1723, some 33 Palatine families, dissatisfied under Governor Hunter’s rule, migrated from Schoharie, NY, to Tulpehocken, Berks County, PA, where other Palatines had settled. During the
American Revolution most of the Pennsylvania Dutch were
loyalists. They feared that their royal land grants would be in danger with a new republican form of government.
Pennsylvania Dutch Identity
Recently due to loss of the Pennsylvania German language (among others)- in many communities, as well as to
intermarriage and increased
mobility, especially in the more
secular communities, Pennsylvania Dutch
ethnic consciousness is often very low, especially among younger Pennsylvania Dutch. Many young Pennsylvania Dutch consider themselves only descendants of Pennsylvania Dutch and it isn't part of their personal identity. However many of those raised in the immediate area, or those who have close ties there, still hold those ties close even if their parents don't emphasize those ties. In some communities the Pennsylvania Dutch name is reserved only for members of the
Amish and traditional
Mennonite communities.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Pennsylvania Dutch'.
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