Tar and Pitch

Governor Hunter of New York saw the Palatine situation as something other than the burden it actually was; an opportunity.  He proposed a German settlement in the forests of New York to produce naval stores of tar and pitch.   There, the Palatines would also serve as a human barrier against the French and their Indian allies.

The primary producer of tar and pitch in the early 18^th century was Sweden.  Tar was used on a ship’s ropes to prevent rotting, and pitch was used to caulk the hulls.  As it was a necessary commodity for the British Navy, they had long been searching for a way to produce it for themselves. 

In early December, Hunter’s proposal was accepted by the British Board of Trade.  The money that the Palatines earned by the production of the naval stores would be used to pay off the cost of their settlement and subsidies.  After their debt was paid, each person would be granted forty acres of land. 

At last a plan that made sense; at least for the British.  As farmers, the Palatines were ill-suited to work in pine forests, nor did they want to.  However, regardless of how the Germans felt, ships were chartered to send 3,000 Palatines to New York.  They were finally on their way.  Almost….

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness