Q WHO are the Pennsylvania Dutch and why did they go to America? Do they still speak Dutch today? - Mrs L Byrne, Harrogate.

ATHE first thing you need to know about the Pennsylvania Dutch is that they were not actually Dutch.

The name is an American corruption of the word Deutsch, meaning German, since the Pennsylvania Dutch are in fact mostly of German origin. They are found mainly in the eastern counties of Pennsylvania and have lived in the area since the 18th century.

The state of Pennsylvania started life as a colony and was founded by the British Quaker William Penn (1644-1718). He had been granted the territory in settlement of a debt owed to his father by the King of England.

Pennsylvania was named after Penn (sylvan referred to the wooded nature of the area) and he developed it as a major refuge for the Quakers.

Penn also encouraged other Christian groups to pursue religious freedom in Pennsylvania.

In 1683, a German religious settlement called Germantown was established in Pennsylvania and was settled by Germans from Krefeld under the leadership of Francis Daniel Pastorius. These Germans were adherents of the Mennonite religious order.

Mennonites did have a Dutch connection, since they were named after a Dutch religious reformer called Menno Simons (1496-1561).

More German Mennonites arrived in the US after 1710, mostly from the southern region of Germany known as the Palatinate. Over time more Germans would follow, along with Swiss Mennonites and people from other European religious groups like Moravians and Dunkards.

By the end of the 18th century it was estimated that one third of Pennsylvania's population was German.

Today, apart from in Pennsylvania, Mennonites can be found in Ohio, as well as in Mexico and South America. There are also communities of Mennonites in Russia and the Ukraine, and there are around a million Mennonites around the world.

One particular German sect of Mennonites is the Amish community, found mainly in the Pennsylvanian county of Lancaster.

The Amish community has a distinctive, simple style of dress and generally prefers not to use modern inventions like electric light, motor vehicles and telephones.

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