The Salzburg Protestants began to experience new persecutions in 1731. Some of the leading men of the community were thrown in prison, their children torn from them and placed in Roman Catholic homes. These injustices reached the ears of King George II of England, a Hanoverian who succeeded to the throne of England in 1714. He interceded with the Holy Roman Emperor, who promised redress, but failed to keep his promise.
With the permission of King George II, a group of about four hundred Salzburgers set sail for England, where they were generously welcomed. It was intended to send these exiled Protestants to the Province of Georgia in North America, but some remained as laborers and others left for Germany.
In March of 1734, the first shipload of 120 Salzburgers landed at Charleston, SC, and on November 20, 1734, the forty families were settled at Ebenezer. They arrived in Georgia in such impoverished circumstances that they were granted a period of years before any quitrents (land taxes) could be collected. The colonists were very energetic, and from the start, they began their new life with great courage.
Many more Salzburg Protestants came to Georgia by way of England. By the end of 1743, there was a group of 800, making them the most powerful group in Georgia, even exceeding the English.