Relationships of Protestant Germans with the Local Population of Southern Ukraine (second half of the 18 – 19 century)

Abstract

The article analyzes the experience of relations between German Protestants and the local population of Southern Ukraine in the second half of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The challenges and successes of the colonists are examined, focusing on their agricultural colonization, economic and social development.

Highlights include: the efforts of the Russian Empire in the second half of the eighteenth century to agrarianize southern Ukraine for the purpose of economic development and border security; the initial difficulties of German Protestants due to climatic challenges, unfamiliar agricultural practices, and local hostility, which eventually turned into successful adaptation and development; the role of colonists in introducing new agricultural practices, livestock breeding, and agricultural technologies.

The emergence and development of industry in the German colonies during the nineteenth century, the transition from auxiliary crafts to organized production, which emphasizes the capitalist evolution of the region; social and cultural integration of German Protestants, including their contribution to local education, religious practices, and public life are highlighted.

It is proved that the German colonial farms developed on a capitalist basis, which contributed to the accumulation of capital and entrepreneurial activity; the colonists made a significant contribution to agricultural and industrial development through rational methods of management, plant breeding, and the introduction of new technologies. The interaction of Protestant Germans with the local Ukrainian population had two main directions: social activity through educational projects and participation in public life, and religious spiritual activities that encouraged local people to get involved. The economic development of southern Ukraine in the 1870s contributed to a decrease in the self-isolation of the colonists, increasing interaction with the Orthodox population. Pietism, which originated in Germany, due to its close ties with the southern Ukrainian colonies, had a significant impact on the development of educational trends and cultural processes in Ukraine, and also contributed to the development of Ukrainian Stundism and later Protestantism.