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The Palatinate was a German territory of the Holy Roman Empire located on both sides of the middle section of the river Rhine.

It was subject to frequent incursions by French troops during the conflict known as the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14). Much of the Protestant population of the area fled the troubles, and in 1709 about 3,000 of these refugees arrived in Ireland.

This proclamation asked that the ‘Poor Strangers’ be treated well because they were victims of ‘the same exorbitant Power of France’ which had driven so many thousands of Irish Protestants to seek refuge in England in 1688, where they had been ‘kindly received and charitably supported’.

The Lord Mayor asked that the refugees not be charged excessive prices or given sub-standard goods and services. The proclamation required all officers of the City to ‘apprehend such Persons, as shall at any time assault, insult, reproach, or abuse any of the said Palatines, in order that such Offenders may be prosecuted with the utmost Rigour of Law.’

Citation:
A Proclamation by the Lord Mayor of the City of Dublin (Dublin, 1709).,
Marsh's Library Exhibits,
accessed December 6, 2025,
https://www.marshlibrary.ie/digi/items/show/478