French Migrants in Colonial Pennsylvania

The French Migrants in Colonial Pennsylvania

The French migrant population in Pennsylvania were composed of two factions, the Protestant Huguenots and French Catholics. The Huguenots immigrated first but not mainly from France.

French Protestants endured miserable religious persecution under Louis XIV. Louis' Grandfather, Henry IV had granted the French Calvinistic Protestants certain rights. France was a Catholic Country but the Edict of Nantes(1598) granted French Protestants certain rights such as the freedom to practice their religion and to hold public offices.

However, the French Protestants also called the Huguenots were resented by the strong Catholic population. This resentment brought about an agitation which culminated in the nullification of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.

As a result thousands of Huguenots fled France and became refugees. A few did go to America but the vast majority went to other European countries. Some went to Holland, Ireland, or Switzerland but many went to Germany. When people from these countries immigrated to the America the Huguenots went with them

Pennsylvania was a perfect retreat for the Huguenots since the colony was founded on the notion of religious freedom. However, historians don't find large settlements of French settlers in Pennsylvania because the Huguenots tended to assimilate totally into the cultures they settled with.

Many came with the German settlers to Pennsylvania and had already assimilated into their culture and even changed their names. Even later French migrants changed their French surnames to better blend with their German neighbors. In the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, John Jacob Michelet became Mickley and Daniel Tournet became Dorney. Both these names are common in the area to this day.

Later, many French Catholics immigrated to America, but their motive were different. Many Catholic immigrants were looking for political refuge after the French Revolution. Some were looking for a more prosperous life. Religious persecution was not a factor for them.

In 1755,a group of French colonists in Nova Scotia were expelled by the British Governor. It was during the French Revolution and the British wanted to secure lines of supply. These French colonists were neutral and would not swear allegiance to Britain. In 1755 seven thousand French Arcadian’s were expelled from Nova Scotia. Four hundred and fifty four of these were sent to Philadelphia. They were destitute, without any provisions and many died soon after arriving. Philadelphia voted to help these immigrants with money to meet their immediate needs. They were absorbed into the established community and their identity as a group was soon lost

Sources:

   Dunaway, Wayland Fuller. "The French Racial Strain in Colonial Pennsylvania." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 53, no. 4 (1929): 322-342. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20086715 . (accessed October 21, 2011).

"Edict of Nantes." 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica - Free Online. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Edict_of_Nantes (accessed October 31, 2011).