This is a topic that I've wanted to start for a long time, but never did, because I wanted to make a long first post, describing all the possibilities. I eventually didn't. It's not about where Donald Duck really comes from (we all know that), but in the Duck universe itself: where do the Ducks come from?
We know Donald is supposed to be the average American, so they must come from Europe. And indeed, Scrooge is from Scotland while Ludwig is from a German/Austrian branch. The Ducks are probably not from beneath the Alps, I'd say northern/central Europe. What do you think?
This raises another question: when did they come to America? Did Donald descend from the early Spanish and Dutch settlers, or from the later Scandinavian ones? What we know is that Grandma Duck dates back to at least the Civil War, so that narrows it down.
If you can show 'evidence' from a story, please do - but remember, every artist is as much 'canon' as everyone elese.
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Topic: Where do the Ducks come from?
(5 messages)
Dutch Duckfan Down Under
Where do the Ducks come from?
Message 1 -
2012-09-26 at 21:04:55
Robb_K
Where do the Ducks come from?
Message 2 -
2012-09-26 at 21:49:28
I've seen no "evidence" that Grandma Duck is any older than Scrooge. I think she was born between 1870 and 1875, or so. Therefore, her family wasn't, necessarily, living in USA before The Civil War. They could have been immigrants in the 1870s first great mixed wave of Europeans, including Irish, Germans, Russians, Swedes and Norwegians. Well, we can be pretty sure that they weren't Jews, as grandma always celebrates Christmas, and Jews and Gentiles didn't mix back in those days. Even when I was a kid, i never knew of any "mixed marriages". I think Disney's and Western publishing's policy would have desired the "All American" image to be made by assuming no single national origin of the family, but assumed to be from The British Isles and "Northern Europe"(Holland, Scandinavia and the German countries (Germany, Switzerland and Austria(only the Germanic portion of the latter)).
The heritage of Scrooge is clearly from Scotland from many, many generations, based on many stories. The clues in stories lead us to guess that Grandma Duck was raised in The US upper Midwest great plains on a farm. Many of the farmers there were from Sweden, Norway, Germany and the remainder were mostly from The British Isles. So, we can infer that her family may have been a mixture of those ethnic groups (although her family name, "Duck" is English, rather than the Scandinavian "And", Dutch "Eend" or German "Ente". But, that English family could have married into other northern European Protestant Christian families.
By the way,-why should we care to pursue this conjecture??? Does it matter? Would you think differently if The Ducks were actually of African origin, or Jews or Asian Moslems or Hindus or Bhuddists, who just happen to celebrate Christmas as a non-religious, traditional US "national holiday"?
The heritage of Scrooge is clearly from Scotland from many, many generations, based on many stories. The clues in stories lead us to guess that Grandma Duck was raised in The US upper Midwest great plains on a farm. Many of the farmers there were from Sweden, Norway, Germany and the remainder were mostly from The British Isles. So, we can infer that her family may have been a mixture of those ethnic groups (although her family name, "Duck" is English, rather than the Scandinavian "And", Dutch "Eend" or German "Ente". But, that English family could have married into other northern European Protestant Christian families.
By the way,-why should we care to pursue this conjecture??? Does it matter? Would you think differently if The Ducks were actually of African origin, or Jews or Asian Moslems or Hindus or Bhuddists, who just happen to celebrate Christmas as a non-religious, traditional US "national holiday"?
MustangRockstar
Where do the Ducks come from?
Message 3 -
2012-09-27 at 04:58:36
I always assumed Duck was that universe's equivalent of Smith as a last name. In that sense, I guess I always assumed they were of Mayflower/Pilgrim/British origin, though having been pretty early settlers in the Americas.
Dutch Duckfan Down Under
Where do the Ducks come from?
Message 4 -
2012-09-27 at 17:19:06
Quote from user: Robb_KBy the way,-why should we care to pursue this conjecture??? Does it matter? Would you think differently if The Ducks were actually of African origin, or Jews or Asian Moslems or Hindus or Bhuddists, who just happen to celebrate Christmas as a non-religious, traditional US "national holiday"?
Oh, it's nothing. Just seemed interesting to me.
Oh, it's nothing. Just seemed interesting to me.
Baar Baar Jinx
Where do the Ducks come from?
Message 5 -
2012-09-27 at 19:43:39
Quote from user: Dutch Duckfan Down UnderQuote from user: Robb_KBy the way,-why should we care to pursue this conjecture??? Does it matter? Would you think differently if The Ducks were actually of African origin, or Jews or Asian Moslems or Hindus or Bhuddists, who just happen to celebrate Christmas as a non-religious, traditional US "national holiday"?
Oh, it's nothing. Just seemed interesting to me.
It certainly is not out of line with some other discussions we've had here, attempting to make fictional anthropomorphic waterfowl fit into our own world history or culture, so why not?
Oh, it's nothing. Just seemed interesting to me.
It certainly is not out of line with some other discussions we've had here, attempting to make fictional anthropomorphic waterfowl fit into our own world history or culture, so why not?
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