6 - European Migration: We Were Also Migrants.
2022 No 6
You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
--Exodus 22:21
As each of us process the realities of migraton, it is important to recognize that we interpret everything we see through our own lense of experience. In the same way that Africa has a rich tradition of migration, so also does Europe. Our task, that is understanding African migration, requires more than just a basic comprehension of places of origin; it also demands an understanding of the context in places of destination. And just as the history of African migration influences those who leave the continent, the history of European migration plays a significant role in how immigrants are received. Comparing the two migratory cultures reveals that they share similar motivations for movement… and have done so for centuries.
Perceived prosperity in other places, particularly distant places, can become a draw to those who have the most to gain and the least to lose.
Population growth serves as an excellent example of this similarity. In a prior post, we observed the pressures created by an expanding population on the African continent. Europe has also faced her own period of unprecedented growth. In 1500, her population was approximately 65 million people. That number would double by 1750 and would double again to 300 million by 1900.1 Today Europe has a population of nearly 750 million people. And while population density can certainly drive migration, other factors can also influence movement. A brief review of the history of European migration may help to reveal these similarities.
Early Colonial Migration
It was not until the late Middle Ages that Europe began to develop the capacity to truly emigrate from the continent. European expansion along the West African coastline became possible due to advancing technology and maritime navigational skills.2 The Portuguese were the first to arrive in West Africa in 1455. Spain would soon colonize the Canary Islands in 1483. The British and the French came shortly after that and established small colonies on the African continent. For the most part, pre-colonial European interest in western Africa focused primarily upon trade opportunities along the coast.3 For nearly 150 years, their ships could bypass the trans-Saharan trade routes to gain direct access to salt, gold, and ultimately slaves.
With the discovery of the New World in the Americas, economic opportunities extended colonial movements to the West. Spain and Portugal once again led the way. Between 1500 and 1820, it has been estimated that over 500,000 Portuguese and 1.5 million Spaniards immigrated to Latin America. Their initial goal was conquest and the exploitation of local resources, particularly gold and silver. Most early immigrants were fortune seekers, willing to take great risks in exchange for their share of the pillage. (Take note of the similarities between this fact and the realities of today.) They would soon capitalize on the capacity to produce goods to be returned to Europe. Others came to fill governmental or religious positions as Spanish culture was being implanted in the conquered lands. They would then be followed by merchants, miners, and landowners.
By the late 16th century, France and Brittan had established colonies in the Caribbean and North America. The agricultural capacity of these new lands was lucrative and provided much of the cotton, sugar, and tobacco required for European consumption. The primary limitation for this enterprise was labor.4 Africa, however, could provide an unlimited source of slaves for the fields in the New World. Merchants in Europe were well-positioned to transport goods, particularly arms and gunpowder, for trade to Africa. Coastal West Africa was equally placed to receive those goods in exchange for slaves. Soon a powerful and well-established trade triangle would be formed.5
Before the American Revolution, nearly half of the 500,000 European immigrants to the thirteen colonies came under indentures; that is, they were willing to work to pay for their transit. Three-fourths were under the age of twenty-five.6 Of note, many were contracted to family members, who needed a reliable source of labor and who would ultimately become managers of their affairs. Most were working the tobacco fields and on the cotton plantations. The remaining non-indentured European immigrants enjoyed much more freedom. They had access to some measure of resource for the voyage across the Atlantic and held business or kinship connections with colonial merchants, officials, and planters.7 Prior to 1820, up to four million Europeans were estimated to have migrated to the Americas.8
The Great Migration
There was a period of European colonialism that has come to be known as the Great European Migration. It ran roughly from 1820 to 1965. The first wave was in force by the 1840s, arriving primarily from Ireland and Germany. The second wave developed from eastern and southern Europe in the 1880s. A third wave, which will be discussed in the next post, began towards the end of the first world war. As one can imagine, statistics vary greatly depending on the source. One such study suggests that between 1846 and 1940, some 55-58 million European migrants made the journey to the Americas. Sixty-five percent of those migrants went to the United States, with the remainder going to Canada, Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina.9
The reasons for these movements were generally economic.10 The effects of the industrial revolution had reduced many farmers to sharecroppers. Rapid urbanization had overwhelmed most cities in Europe, creating extreme slum conditions.11 Unemployment had become rampant. Famine had taken nearly a million lives in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. The abolition of slavery in Europe had created an even greater surplus of laborers. As the divide between the economic classes in Europe grew, so also did a sense of despair. The New World offered a measure of hope. (Once again, there is a remarkable similarity between the past and the present.)
In the early days, the Atlantic crossing was by sail. It was not an easy voyage. Passengers had to share their space with cargo. The boats were at the mercy of the prevailing winds, traveling south to Africa before west to the Americas. This reality limited the number of passengers and extended the time required for arrival. Eventually, steam power would replace the wind for propulsion, and massive passenger vessels could cross the Atlantic in a matter of days.12 It is estimated that by 1870, over 90% of all immigrants arrived by steamship. And a note to be addressed in a moment, those vessels had to return to Europe, offering reduced fares for their mostly empty staterooms. Thus, for those with even minimal resources, transcontinental, circular migration became possible.
Before World War I, a significant characteristic of the Great Migration was its autonomous nature. Movements tended to be individualized, related more to personal choice than familial expectation. Unlike Africa, where so much of life had a communal foundation, Europeans were not so restricted or under such obligations. One could look at their current situation and imagine life with a job in a factory, acquisition of land for a farm on the frontier, or perhaps the riches associated with a gold/silver rush, and then decide to move. As massive changes in the transportation industry facilitated those movements, millions would take the opportunity.
It is essential to recognize that just because people may have left by their own volition, this should not imply that they left their families behind. Many made the journey with the full intention of maintaining connections back home. It has been estimated that one in three participants in the great migration was circular, i.e., they eventually returned to their countries of origin.13 This is important in that they did not set their European culture aside; rather they migrated for reason and then returned with a story. As in Africa, that memory would consequently become a part of the future fabric of European migration… and influence the reception of foreign migrants. For some, their story was one of trials and suffering. For others, however, they brought stories of wealth, success, and associated fame.
Regardless of migratory status, many in the Americas would provide financial income for their families still in Europe. Western Union began its money transfer operations in 1871. They, along with immigrant banks, assisted with the transfer of resources back home. Many used informal channels, making the total amounts of their gifts very difficult to estimate. One study indicated that between 1870 and 1913, remittances represented 33% of the total GDP of eight European countries.14 As such, migration had become a lifeline for many, with great honor going to those who sacrificed much to ensure the stability of the family back home. Those stories, as noted above, are etched into the collective memory of many.
Thus, an initial comparison between the period of early colonial migration and modern African movements reveals similar push / pull factors at play. Population growth creates economic pressures and inequities, particularly among laborers. Those who are young seem to become the most restless. Perceived prosperity in other places, particularly distant places, can become a draw to those who have the most to gain and the least to lose. All they needed was an opportunity to make the journey. As the means became available, many took the risk and either bought a ticket or allowed someone to buy the ticket for them. In many ways, such is not that much different from today.
There is a reason why we study history. It is because human nature does not change over a matter of a few hundred years. The migration patterns we see today, particulary among African migrants, is simply a response to similar conditions in different times. Let us not forget that in the midst of these historic movements, we witnessed God pour His Spirit out through the great awakenings in the United States and Europe. Out of those revivals emerged the era of modern missions. It may well be that with so many people on the move today, that God is preparing the world for yet another great season of spiritual renewal.
1 Encyclopedia of European Social History ("The Population of Europe: Early Modern Demographic Patterns ." Encyclopedia of European Social History. . Encyclopedia.com. 25 Oct. 2021 https://www.encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia.com, 2021), s.v. "The Population of Europe: Early Modern Demographic Patterns."
2 It was not ever difficult to sail south, downwind, along the coast of Africa. But it wasn't until ships developed the ability to tack or sail against the wind that they were able to return to Europe.
3 Tony Hodges, Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara, African Historical Dictionaries, vol. no 35 (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1982). See also Christopher Harrison, France and Islam in West Africa, 1860-1960, African Studies Series, vol. 60 (Cambridge England ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 9. The French established trading posts in Senegal in 1624 and launched the French East India Company 40 years later. The British established the Royal African Company in 1660. They aimed to trade European commodities for African products that would have value in home markets.
4 See Michael B. A. Oldstone, Viruses, Plagues, and History: Past, Present, and Future, Third edition. ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 3. Indigenous populations had been devastated by European diseases. Due to the lack of slave labor from the conquered peoples of Latin America, it became necessary to import such labor in the form of slaves from Africa.
5 See K. G. Davies, "The Emergence of International Business: 1200-1800," in The Royal African Company (London: Routledge Press, 1999), 57. During this period, maritime technology was limited. Currents and winds favored sailing from Europe to West Africa but not back home. Once European supplies were traded for slaves, the prevailing winds would carry the ships east across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. There they would exchange their human cargo for goods bound for Europe. The Gulf Stream would then take the ships up the East coast of America until the winds would carry them back to Europe.
6 Christopher Tomlins, "Reconsidering Indentured Servitude: European Migration and the Early American Labor Force, 1600-1775.," Labor History 42, no. 1 (2001).
7 Ida Altman and James P. P. Horn, "To Make America": European Emigration in the Early Modern Period (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991), 91.
8 Ibid.
9 Adam McKeown, "Global Migration, 1846-1940," Journal of World History 15, no. June (2004).
10 Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan, "To the New World and Back Again: Return Migrants in the Age of Mass Migration," Industrial Labor Relations Review 72, no. March (2019).
11 See Charles Booth, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Thames and Hudson, "Charles Booth's London Poverty Maps: A Landmark Reassessment of Booth's Social Survey," (New York, NY, Thames & Hudson Inc.,, 2019, 1 atlas (287 pages)). See also, Tim Hitchcock and others, "A Population History of London", The Old Baily Procedings Online, 1674-1913 https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Population-history-of-london.jsp (accessed November 24, 2021). London, for example, had a population of one million in 1800. By 1900, the people of greater London had grown to over 6 million and was the world's largest city. A third were foreign-born residents. Another third lived in some of the world’s poorest slums of the day.
12 See Brigitte Benteli, "Coming to America on Board the Ss United States: An Interview with Brigitte Benteli", Ship History Center https://shiphistory.org/themes/immigration/ (accessed November 24, 2021).
13 Abramitzky and Boustan, "To the New World and Back Again: Return Migrants in the Age of Mass Migration."
14 Rui Esteves and David Khoudour-Castéras, "Remittances, Capital Flows and Financial Development During the Mass Migration Period, 1870–1913," European Review of Economic History 15, no. 3 (2011).