Following a previous post, in which the details of how the Royal Bounty collection has been made available online, we look at the history of these manuscripts and how the fund was set up and organised. The Royal Bounty was a forward thinking project aimed at lifting Huguenot refugees and their descendants out of abject poverty. Indeed, the majority of them were left with nothing after having had to flee France without their possessions….

Well known in the 19th century as a spa resort, Karlshafen, along with its surrounding villages, was initially founded in the late 17th century by Landgrave Karl of Hessen-Kassel as a settlement for Huguenot and Waldensian refugees. Fleeing religious persecution in France and in the Piedmont, the settlers left their mark on local customs and architecture; their heritage is kept alive by their descendants and in museum displays at Karlshafen and Hofgeismar….