First, a little history

In the 12th century, the Donauschwaben, an ethnic German group from the Alsace-Lorraine region, came to various eastern European countries. During the Hapsburg Empire in the 17th century, immigration increased among the Donauschwaben who came to the Banat region of Romania. In 1740, Maria Theresa of Austria became the Queen of Hungary, and told various groups to colonize the Romanian region. Throghout history, the Donauschwaben have been given land grants. When I imagine colonizers, I imagine Britain and India or the Congo and Brussels.  I have never thought about my family as colonizers, but they were.