Page:Gregor The story of Bohemia.pdf/147



As early as the thirteenth century the people began to be divided into two nations, the Germans and Bohemians. The Bohemian language was used at first by the native nobility, the clergy, and the common people; the German, in the royal cities and villages settled by German immigrants. The German settlers brought with them their own customs and habits, which differed considerably from those of the natives; but, in course of time, the two civilizations became blended, although it must be confessed that the Bohemians became far more German than the Germans Bohemian. This was due to the fact that, for several reigns, both the rulers and the nobility showed a morbid preference for everything that was foreign.

Had it not been for the denationalizing tendency, the German immigrants would have been a benefit to the country. They generally were industrious and enterprising, and aided considerably in developing the resources of the country. It was mostly due to them that the silver-mines of Kuttenberg and German Brod became such a source of wealth. They also helped to improve the manufactures of the country. Yet these were not in a high state of excellence; for linens were imported from France and Bavaria, broadcloths from Ghent, and Bohemian goods found a market only in Poland and Hungary.

The unfavorable side of the German colonists was that, in time of war, they invariably joined the side of the enemy.

Like most Slavonic nations, the Bohemian people