Transatlantic migration refers to the movement of people across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
in order to settle on the continents of
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
and
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
America. It usually refers to migrations after
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
' voyage to the Americas in 1492. For earlier
Transatlantic crossing
Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe or Africa and the Americas. The majority of passenger traffic is across the North Atlantic between Western Europe and North America. Centuries ...
s, see:
Norse colonization of North America
The Norse exploration of North America began in the late 10th century, when Norsemen explored areas of the North Atlantic colonizing Greenland and creating a short term settlement near the northern tip of Newfoundland. This is known now as L' ...
European colonization of the Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short t ...
forced migration
Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, ...
of Africans: See
Slave trade
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and ...
*The
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions ...
19th century onward
Among the various transatlantic migrations, the period of time between the mid-19th century to the early 20th century marks the “Age of Mass Migration” where 40% of U.S. population growth was due to the inflow of immigrants. Economic theory sought to explain, however, if immigrants were positively or negatively selected from the sending pool into the United States.
Ingrid Semmingsen in her book, ''Norway to America: a History of the Migration'', wrote “Many have asked if it was the more capable, the more enterprising and energetic persons who left, or if it was those who fell behind in the struggle for bread, the losers, the maladjusted, and the deviant” in reference to the composition of those who migrated into the United States.
The
Roy Model The Roy model is one of the earliest works in economics on self-selection due to A. D. Roy. The basic model considers two types of workers that choose occupation in one of two sectors.
Original model
Roy's original paper deals with workers select ...
of comparative advantage suggests that where there are higher wages for skilled workers in one location, the most able will migrate to that country and earn that income. Moreover, if there are higher wages for unskilled workers in one location, the least able will leave their own country and migrate to earn that income.
As a result of the improvements in transportation after the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, long-distance migrations increased in the 19th century. For example, the duration of the Atlantic passage fell from 5 weeks (1725) to one week (1900). In addition, the length of indentured servitude necessary to pay for the fare decreased from 4 years to approximately 4 weeks, substantially decreasing one of the main deterrents for making the trek. Between 1846 and 1940, some 55 million migrants moved from Europe to America. 65% went to the United States. Other major receiving countries were Argentina, Canada, Brazil and Uruguay. Also, 2.5 million Asians migrated to the Americas, mostly to the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
(where they worked as
indentured servant
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...
s in plantations) and some, notably the Japanese, to Brazil and the USA.
See also
*
Columbian exchange
The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) in ...
Immigration to the United States
Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country in the wor ...
*
Transatlantic relations
Transatlantic relations refer to the historic, cultural, political, economic and social relations between countries on both side of the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes it specifically means relationships between the Anglophone North American countr ...
forced migration
Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, ...
Age of Sail
The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid- 16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid- 19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of nav ...
Atlantic Creole
Atlantic Creole is a cultural identifier of those with origins in the transatlantic settlement of the Americas via Europe and Africa.Atlantic history