Neue Welt: Germans and the Americas, 1493-1830

Who were the Germans? The most convenient working definition applies to the German-speakers of traditional German lands, with Austria, parts of Switzerland, and other places where German-speakers settled, including parts of present-day France, the Baltic, and the Low Countries. Others with a first language other than German, such as Slavic and Jewish people, also made important contributions to German culture, and many became thoroughly assimilated. In some periods, learned Germans preferred to communicate in Latin or French, expanding the territory of what might be regarded as a German book.