The Thirty Years War (1618–1648)

Ernest Crofts' A Scene from the Thirty Years' War

After the introduction of Calvinism to the Palatinate in 1559, the region became one of the major centres for the religion in Europe.  This adoption of Calvinism made the area one of the key fault lines in the religious wars that would dominate Europe over the next 200 year. The most notable of these wars became known as the Thirty Years War.
As anyone who has witnessed modern history will know, wars rarely have a single cause.  The Thirty Years War was primarily between the Protestant states of Europe and the Catholic ones led by the Holy Roman Empire.  The Palatinate was caught up in the the Thirty Years War in what is referred to as the Palatinate Campaign.  This lasted from approximately 1620 - 1622.  The main participants of the campaign were the Spanish who attacked from the Spanish Netherlands (modern day Belgium, Luxembourg) and the English who were garrisoned in the Palatinate.  This campaign ended with a Spanish victory and they occupied the Palatinate.
The war itself would drag on until 1648 where it would finally end with the Peace of Westphalia.  The result of this peace was that the Palatinate was effectively split into Catholic Upper Palatine to the north of Bavaria and a Protestant Lower Palatine along the Rhine. The Lower Palatine corresponds approximately to the modern state of Rhineland Palatinate.
The Thirty Years War was a disaster for the Palatinate.  By the end of it the state was devastated.  The new Emperor Palatinate, Charles Louis embarked on a program to rebuild the battered state. Charles Louis also adopted a pro-French policy that included marrying his daughter, Elizabeth Charlotte, to Philippe of France the brother of Louis XIV.  This decision would have momentous consequences for the palatines.

The Palatinate

Flag of the Electoral Palatinate

In the late winter of 1710 Johann Weiss arrived with his family in Wexford. Their journey had been long and full of hardship. Ireland had not been their intended destination. They ended up there by chance as much as anything.  They spoke no English, or Irish for that matter. They were penniless, depending on the mercy of others. From literally nothing they began the task of rebuilding their lives, establishing themselves in their adopted homeland.
To understand the forces that brought Johann's family to this point we need to step back a bit to understand the geography and history of his homeland. Johann came from and area of south western Germany commonly referred to as the Palatinate (Rheinpfalz). The Palatinate is situated along the Franco German border. The southern part of the Palatinate is hilly and heavily forested.  The northern part is an important wine region.  The river Rhine runs through the Palatinate and provides an important route for both the region.  It also served as the gateway by which the German palatines emigrated.

The region known as the Palatinate has changed over the years due to wars and border disputes.  However, the origins of the region can trace its history back to the middle ages when as part of the Holy Roman Empire it was ruled over by a Count Palatine.  The area came into existence around the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1356, a decree was issued by the Reichstag assembly.  This decree became known as the Golden Bull of 1356.  The Golden Bull officially recognised the Palatinate as one of the secular regions.  The Count Palatine, now known as the Elector Palatine was a hereditary ruler meaning that rule passed down the family. However, when the senior branch of the family died out in 1559 the Electorate passed to Frederick III of Simmern. Frederick III converted from Catholicism to Calvinism and thus it now became the official religion of the region. This was a decision that would have major consequences for the palatines.  The area grew as a major centre for Calvinism.  It attracted Calvinists from many other parts of Germany and Switzerland where they were facing religious persecution.  The decision to adopt Calvinism was also something that would eventually see the Palatinate become entangled in the Thirty Years War.

Prologue

When I was young my grandmother told me about her family, the Wyse family.  She told me the story about how our family was originally German. Specifically we were descended from German Quakers from the Black Forest who fled to Gorey in Wexford escaping religious persecution in Germany. The story had been passed down from generation to generation in our family. To me this story seemed almost too fantastical too be true.  Not least because historically Ireland would not have been considered a haven for any protestants to come and practice their religion. Also, I had never read in any of the history books about any German influx into Ireland.
Some years ago I started to investigate the roots of the Wyse family. Almost by chance I came across a newspaper article online that talked about the Palatine Germans and their immigration to Ireland.  And there at the bottom of the page among the names of the immigrant families was the name 'Wyse/Wise, Gorey'. And that was the moment I knew I had found them.  The story that had seemed too fantastical to be true was even more fantastical because it was true. It was a special moment, but tinged with some regret that my gran was not around to hear the full story that had passed down to her in fragments.
From then on I set out to find out what I could.  This was a history I wanted to know more about. It was a story that I wanted to tell and to pass on to other generations in our family. Ironically the reason that the newspaper article appeared is that the Palatines in Ireland were just celebrating the tri-centenary of their arrival.  So the very article that had alerted me to presence was telling me that I had missed a golden opportunity to connect with other palatines and learn from them. However, there was still a wealth of information out there on the Palatines, now that I knew where to look.
This blog is a summary of what I have found out in the last few years. It is going to be structured (to begin with anyway) in three parts:

• The first part is going to look at the origins of the palatines. In particular we will look at the Palatinate, the area where the palatines came from. By understanding its history we can understand the reasons why the palatines chose to leave in the first place.
• The second part looks at the journey of the palatines from their home in the Palatinate to their new home in Wexford.
• The third part looks at the palatines themselves; some of the individual families, their lives, and the stories they have to tell.

Mike Mulligan