This is the first comprehensive history of the German-speaking settlers who emigrated to the Georgia colony from Germany; Alsace; Switzerland; Austria; and adjacent regions. Known collectively as the Georgia Dutch; they were the colony's most enterprising early settlers; and they played a vital role in gaining Britain's toehold in a territory also coveted by Spain and France.The main body of the book is a chronological account of the Georgia Dutch from their earliest arrival in 1733 to their dispersal and absorption into what was; by 1783; an Anglo-American populace. Underscoring the harsh daily life of the common settler; George Fenwick Jones also highlights noteworthy individuals and events. He traces recurrent themes; including tensions between the realities of the settlers' lives and the aspirations and motivations of the colony's trustees and supporters; the web of relations between German- and English-speaking whites; African Americans; and Native Americans; and early signs of the genesis of a distinctly new and American sensibility.Three summary chapters conclude The Georgia Dutch. Merging new material with information from previous chapters; Jones offers the most complete depiction to date of Georgia Dutch culture and society. Included are discussions of religion; health and medicine; education; welfare and charity; industry; agriculture; trade; and commerce; Native-American affairs; slavery; domestic life and customs; the arts; and military and legal concerns.Based on twenty-five years of research with primary documents in Europe and the United States; The Georgia Dutch is a welcome reappraisal of an ethnic group whose role in colonial history has; over time; been unfairly minimized.
#1133198 in Books 2013-11-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.00 x 6.13l; .95 #File Name: 0817357742272 pages
Review
