English and Scottish Exiles in Northwest Germany c. 1683–1709

Abstract

The politically and culturally diverse north western territories of the Holy Roman Empires so far lack an analysis of Scottish exile communities which could hold up to the work published on seventeenth century exiles communities in the United Provinces or Poland-Lithuania. This is unfortunate as some German territories and cities received intensive attention from English and Scottish religious and political exiles who had left or were in the process of leaving the British Isles during the Restoration period seeking refuge on the continent. Although a majority of these exiles found support within expatriate communities established in Dutch cities, some Scots and Englishmen aimed to relocate to other Northern European locations due to safety issues or economic opportunities. In November 1683 the Englishman Sir William Waller, accompanied by the Scots Adam Freer and Sir George Melville, led negotiations with the senate of the Calvinist and Imperial city of Bremen for the settlement of Scottish and English exiles. When these failed due to pressure exerted by Charles II, talks continued with the Lutheran duke Georg Wilhelm of Braunschweig-Luneburg. On 9 August 1684, the latter issued religious and economic privileges to families and individuals of reformed faith belonging to any nation who were willing to settle in the city of Luneburg. These freedoms led not only to English and Scottish but also to French and Dutch migration of religious and political exiles as well as of economic opportunists. This article analyses the aims of the exiles and their negotiations with the local authorities in North West Germany. It also examines the success and failure of the communities in Bremen and Luneburg and their long-term impact on individuals such as the Scottish entrepreneur Robert Hog. Furthermore, the articles analyses if the diverse migration of individuals of several nationalities resulted in the formation of a single British or multi-ethnic religious community or if the migrants organised themselves in several groups, divided by nationality or other criteria.