A Family of Emigrants is Welcomed by the Elector of Brandenburg (c. 1732)

This copper engraving depicts migrants from Salzburg, who were expelled from their homeland in 1731 and found refuge in the electorate of Brandenburg. According to this depiction, this “devout flock” of Protestants fled “superstition,” meaning Catholicism, and found refuge in the protection of the Prussian king Frederick William I, who is celebrated as a “hero.” Pamphlets like this one were part of a propaganda effort to attract more religious refugees to Brandenburg. One of the objectives of this policy was to encourage population growth in Brandenburg/Prussia in order to increase its economic potential.