The European Migration to North America

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The European Migration to North America

• North America Themes
• Term 1, Week 3

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Push Factors 1

• No natural check on European popn since Black
  Death in 14thC
• Rapid popn growth e.g. Eng popn doubles from 2.5
  to 5m 1500-1600 puts pressures on food resources
  in rural areas, though new agric. techniques
  means no widespread starvation.
• Encourages migration to urban areas in search of
  food, work, resources, etc. Urban standard of
  living v. low
• Migration not a new phenomenon, Europeans
  accustomed to economically driven movement.

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Push Factors 2

• Wars forced relocation of large numbers of
  people, especially internal wars, where loyalty
  of every individual mattered.
• 15thC - the Hundred Years War Wars of the Roses
• 16thC French civil war Italian wars English
  conquest of Ireland the religious wars in
  Germany.
• People move to avoid death and destruction of
  homes and livelihoods.

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Push Factors 3

• Religion protestant reformation from 1519, in
  Eng leads to persecution of Caths under
  Elizabeth, and of dissident prots under James I
  in Germany, protestants living under Catholic
  princes and vice-versa were frequently
  persecuted.
• Determination to maintain freedom of religion
  (partly due to reformation) frequently involved
  migration, initially within Europe, ultimately to
  North America where distance increased religious
  freedom

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Pull Factors

• why America?
• Seen as vast virgin land, fresh start, safe haven
  from war and persecution etc
• No problems with overpopn, ec downturns etc,
  offers possibility of quick profit
• importance of promotional literature - not always
  accurate

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17thC Migration

• Sp/Fr cols seen as military or trading posts,
  popns generally adult males, few women or
  families. Not seen as permanent change of
  lifestyle, few intended to stay permanently so
  numbers increased only slowly during the 17thC.
• Eng cols attracted a continuous stream of c.
  100,000 migrants from England to Virginia
  1607-1700 further 25,000 to NEng before 1642.

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Virginia

• Historians agree most Virginia migrants sought
  profit and financial reward prospect of free
  land etc
• contemporary perception that migrants were
  rogues, whores and vagabonds ship passenger
  lists from mid 17thC suggest that the majority of
  settlers were middling sort, ie yeomen farmers
  and artisans. But gaps in the records, mean that
  poorest laborers were probably undercounted, also
  little info on settlers pre 1620.
• Likely that Virginia migration reasonably
  representative of Eng popn, mainly ordinary
  people, few truly destitute, few rich, many from
  London, as well as west country, midlands and
  Yorkshire.

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Problems in Virginia

• Few women before 1618 effect on society
• Death rates very high 1607-1624 7,000 migrants,
  only 1,000 alive in 1624
• Lack of authority, Virginia Co, local governors,
  martial law 1611
• Indian wars, 1622, 1644
• Tobacco, introduced 1612, sells at 20/- per lb in
  1620, vast profit potential, over-planted, price
  crash in early 1620s, effect on soil

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Jamestown
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New England

• Settled by dissident religious groups, Pilgrims
  in 1620, Puritans in 1630.
• Most migrants in family groups, sometimes as
  entire communities
• Demographically self-sustaining, 25,000 arrive
  during Great Migration of 1630-42, actual popn
  is 40,000 in 1642.
• Lower death rate, fewer Indian problems, more
  cohesive society than Virginia, more moralistic,
  less liberal
• Less financial emphasis, most are farmers, some
  merchants, able to have comfortable life without
  seeking riches.

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Plymouth
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John Winthrop
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Migration to Fr / Sp cols

• Sp col popn grew slowly Fl 3,000 (1760) N.Mex,
  20,000 (1790) Texas, 2,500 (1790) Calif 2,000
  (1800) much better opportunities in central
  south America 250,000 migrants from Spain
  1500-1600 further 500,000 1600-1700
• Fr col popn grew slightly faster Canada 80,000
  (1763) Louisiana 9,000 (1760) compare Haiti
  (40,000 in 1790)
• Neither can match British migration to N.Am

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Migration to British Cols to 1776 (1)

• Eng takes over eastern seaboard by 1750, controls
  all land east of Miss. by 1763
• Migration mainly English in 17thC, diversifies in
  18thC to include Scots, Irish
• New colonies leads to recruitment of foreign
  prots eg from Germany, many were religious
  dissidents fleeing persecution eg Huguenots after
  revocation of Edict of Nantes 1683.
• Migration to Br cols 150,000 by 1680, further
  150,000 1680-1720 another 500,000 1720-1776.
  (250,000 were African)

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Migration to 1776 (2)

• By 1776 about 5 of Eng popn and 10 of Scot popn
  had migrated to America.
• Forced migration - indentured servitude common
  for whites before 1680, less common after,
  replaced by slave labour, brought direct from
  Africa.
• Free white migration continued due to ec
  opportunities in America, relative sense of
  political/religious freedom, more social mobility
• Natural increase swelled popn in Br cols to 2.5m
  by 1776, real melting pot.

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European Migration before 1776
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19thC Migration

• Most migrants free not forced, end of slave trade
  1807
• Germany (5 mill) and Ireland greatest sources of
  migrants, esp during famine years of 1840s, up to
  4m Irish lef also 2m from Scandinavia
• Attraction continued to be large empty nature
  of US, ec opportunity, personal liberty
• Later 19thC increasing numbers of southern
  Europeans esp Italians Eastern Europeans - 20 m
  from Russia, Poland, etc of which Jews 2m
• 3 phases 1820-60 5mill 1860-1890 13 mill
  1890-1914 18 mill
• Further 7 mill went to Canada during 19thC many
  later moved south to the USA

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Statue of Liberty (erected 1886)

• Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled
  masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched
  refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the
  homeless, tempest-tossed to me.I lift my lamp
  beside the golden door.

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Ellis Island, main immigration point into USA
between 1892-1954. Processed 12 million migrants
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20thC/21stC Migration

• Large number from Asia, esp China (backlash) in
  late 19th/early 20thc Philippines, Japan, Korea
  and later Vietnam
• Cold War political migration of communist
  dissidents
• Hispanic migration from Latin America from 1960s
• 1995-2000 7.5m foreign migrants entered USA (1.5m
  to California, 750,000 to Texas and New York,
  650,000 to Florida) illegal migrants outnumber
  legal migrants by 31
• Immigrants younger (mainly 25-45) and poorer (30
  on less than 20,000) than rest of popn
• 2003 33.5m foreign-born residents of USA (11.7
  of total popn)
• 36.9 from Central America
• 25 from Asia
• 13.7 from Europe
• 10.1 from Caribbean
• 6.3 from South America

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of residents born outside USA in 2000
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Retention of heritage

• 2000 census
• 42m German Americans
• 30m Irish
• 24m English
• 18m Mexican
• 15m Italian
• 9m Polish
• 8m French

• 5m Scottish
• 4m Dutch
• 4m Norwegian
• 4m Scots-Irish
• 4m Swedish

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US popn today

• c.75 classify themselves as white 63 of whom
  have British/Irish ancestry, and 86 come from NW
  Europe.
• 14 classify themselves as Hispanic, but might
  also call themselves white or non-white
• c.13 classify themselves as Black, mainly
  descended from slaves
• c.4 classify themselves as Asian
• Less than 1 classify as Native American

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Conclusions

• America seemingly able to absorb large nos of
  migrants
• Populations quickly assimilated
• Migration defining characteristic of America
  throughout its history.