I am following Klaus Wust's description of the events which led up to their being any Germanna Colonies. He talks at some length about the causes of the 1709 emigration of large numbers of Germans.
Michel was joined in London by Christopher von Graffenried, and the latter persuaded Michel to admit him into the plans. In July of 1709, the two men appeared before the Board of Trade with a new proposal for a settlement in Virginia. One of the points which most impressed the Board was the promise that the colony would be between Virginia (as it was settled then) and the French. The new proposal omitted the special requests. It won immediate approval, and, in August, an order of the Council directed the Governor of Virginia to allot the petitioners, upon their arrival in Virginia, certain lands upon the Southwest Branch of the Potomac, i.e., on the Shenandoah. Earlier, a map of this region had been submitted by Michel to the Board of Trade. This Swiss settlement in the Shenandoah Valley never came about.
Of the thousands of Germans in London in 1709, the proprietors of North Carolina obtained the right to have about six hundred of them shipped to North Carolina. They reached an agreement with Graffenried that they would transport a small contingent of Swiss if Graffenried would lead the Germans also. This was a change of plans for Graffenried, for he still held the approval of the Queen for land in Virginia.
While waiting for the Swiss to arrive in London, Michel and Graffenried had time to plan another phase of their enterprise. This second part seemed more exciting than settling Germans and Swiss in North Carolina. The new project was to develop the silver mines that Michel thought he had discovered in the back country. Michel was perhaps confused about the political jurisdiction in which the silver lay, though he had a reasonably good geographical location in mind. They engaged a man by the name of Johann Justus Albrecht to procure workmen and tools from German mining areas. (Wust expressed the thought that Albrecht was a first-class imposter.)
Albrecht chose Siegen as the area from which to procure the tools and miners. Getting the tools was the easier part of the job. Getting the miners was harder, even though Albrecht described himself as a man who had been appointed by the Queen and the Proprietors of Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to develop mines and smelters for gold, silver, and other metals. [Perhaps he over did it.] To build good will among the prospective miners, Albrecht promised to make a donation to the three Reformed ministers in Siegen from the proceeds of the American mines. Wust said that Graffenried later had some second thoughts about Albrecht who apparently had to be bailed out by the English envoy after the imperial authorities had apprehended him.
(13 May 03)
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