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 it 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. This is also reflected in the fact that the German
endonym (Deutsch), the archaic Dutch endonym (diets(ch)) and
the modern Dutch word for "German" (duits) are all cognates.
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 Pennsylvania Dutch's endonym "Deitsch".
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.
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.
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 is not 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.
