Yes, it is true that the Spanish intermarried with or procreated with the Dutch and Germans during their occupation. Yes, some of these children were dark. When one is talking about the Appalachian Mountains, though, the term "Black-Dutch" refers most often to the mixing of the Europeans with the Native-Americans. Due to Andrew Jackson's genocidal practices against Native groups, such as in the "Trail of Tears", there were those who were afraid to identify themselves a being Native-American. Many of these people "hid" in the mountains. When asked about their dark coloring, many said that they were "Black Dutch" or "Black Irish" in order to escape persecution, and many of them had ancestors who were Scots-Irish and German. The term "Black Dutch" is an Americanism which occurred largely due to prejudice. The group which the "Black Dutch" of the Appalachians most closely identify with are the Melungeons. There is a twist to this, however. There are records from when the first settlers from the area of the British Isles came to this continent indicating that some were told by the Native people that there were people in the Mountains who had a more European style of community than the Native people did. These people being referred to claimed to be Portuguese. It is thought that some of them descended from ship-wrecked groups who were part of the Spanish explorer outfits and that some may have been Spanish, Turk, or any other ethnicity which populated Spanish ships. The "records" I referred to were largely comprised of entries into diaries and reports back to England. This claim shows up a great deal in the Melungeon history. Anyway, no body is wrong here. It's just not a good idea to give a pat answer as to what the term "Black Dutch" means. A person has to take into consideration the geographical area in which people live. The genealogist in Knoxville who said that the term "Black Dutch" referred to the descendants of the Spanish and the Dutch and Germans is not incorrect AS LONG AS he or she also says that the term also refers to descendants of unions between European and Native-American individuals. I am an Appalachian Mountain historian and teacher and I can only speak for that history. If the Native-American part of the "Black Dutch" story is not included, then you have a peanut-butter sandwich with no peanut-butter. For those of you who may feel that this has nothing to do with CRAIG genealogy, please reconsider. Many CRAIGs were part of this Black Dutch Appalachian Mountain history. Ima ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.