The Foreign Protestants were a group of

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and

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Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

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. They largely settled in Halifax at Gottingen Street (named after the German town of

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) 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 The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nor ...

and 10,000 French-speaking and

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Acadians The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the ...

. The British, specifically the

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, wanted to settle Protestants in the region. Attracting British immigrants was difficult since most preferred to go to the warmer southern colonies. Thus, a plan was developed to aggressively recruit foreign

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, who came mostly from German duchies and principalities on the

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. The

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was the major source, which included the French region of

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, and there were also "Foreign Protestants" from what is now the

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and Switzerland. The recruiting drive was led by John Dick, a recruiting agent for settlers in the New World. The British government agreed to provide free passage to the colony, free land, and one year of rations upon arrival. Over 2,000 of the "Foreign Protestants" arrived between 1750 and 1752, in 12 ships: *''Alderney'' (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 the new outpost. They built their own chapel in Halifax, Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church. Issues arose as a number struggled with high rents in the "shanty town" they had to live in, as well as trouble accessing building materials and having to pay exorbitant prices, while they awaited their promised lands. Governor Hopson and his council had a large number of the Protestants removed and resettled in the Summer of 1753 to Merliguish/Merligash, renamed to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Conditions in Lunenburg were initially quite poor and rumours that the people were not receiving all of the support authorized by the British Parliament resulted in the Lunenburg Rebellion in December 1753. 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

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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, Kaiser, Knickle, Mariette (anglicized to Marriott), Mettetel (anglicized to Matatall), Morash, Naas, Petterquin (anglicized to Patriquin), Rehfus (anglicized to Rafuse), Reichert (anglicized to Richards), Schmidt (anglicized to Smith), Seeberger (anglicized to Seaboyer), Teubert (anglicized to Tibert), Vogler, Wenzel (anglicized to Wentzell), Whynacht (anglicized to Whynot), Weil (anglicized to Wile), Zinck, Zwicker, or the various ways to spell Rhodeniser are common.Passenger Lists
/ref> Many towns such as Lunenburg, bear distinctly

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 New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

", as well as support behind naming "

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

" for a representative of the Braunschweiger dynasty.

Gallery

File:Ritceymonumentriverportnovascotia.jpg, Johann Phillip Henericie's Monument, 1st European to settle Riverport, Nova Scotia File:Otto William Schwartz, Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia.jpg, Otto William Schwartz File:John Payzant (1744-1834), Nova Scotia.jpg, John Payzant (1749–1834) – taken captive for four years (age 6-10) File:JohannGottlobSchmeisser.png, Johann Gottlob Schmeisser – earliest known image of Foreign Protestant in Nova Scotia (c.1790) File:The Jessen Bell, St. John's Anglican Church, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.jpg, The Jessen Bell File:Rev Bruin Romcas Comisco, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.png, Rev

Bruin Romkes Comingo Bruin Romkes Comingo ("Mr. Brown") was the first Presbyterian minister ordained in Canada. He arrived in Halifax as a Foreign Protestants during Governor Edward Cornwallis' tenure. He was ordained by Rev. John Seccombe. He served at St. Andrew ...

, 1st Presbyterian minister ordained in Canada, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Lunenburg)

Notable Foreign Protestants

* Johann Gottlob Schmeisser * Otto William Schwartz * Dettlieb Christopher Jessen * Joseph Pernette * John Payzant

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.

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