A study of an unexpected large-scale migration, of the many issues it gave rise to, and of its aftermath.


Although Ireland is usually thought of as a place from which people emigrate, there was in the early eighteenth century a significant immigration to Ireland of 'poor Palatines' from southwestern states of the Holy Roman Empire. This book explores this mass immigration and the related issues. It outlines what caused the sudden movement of so many people in one six-month period - successive wars, widespread devastation, famine and the notably cold winter of 1708/09. It discusses the role of pan European Protestantism, with churchmen working alongside colonists and shows how the migration was a Whig initiative, supported by a major public relations exercise in which leading literary figures participated.

It situates the migration within the migration of poor Palatines more widely in Britain and Britain's American colonies and examines the subsequent evolution of the Palatine community as they struggled with problems of identity and worked to settle and integrate, in some cases making significant contributions to Irish life. Throughout, the book highlights the debates, familiar at present, as to whether migrants were potential contributors to the wealth of a nation, or simply a likely drain on a nation's resources.