Different Profiles, Different Choices: Mid-Nineteenth Century Hessians Who Emigrated to the Southern Hemisphere

• Published in: Social science history 2017, Vol.41 (3), p.415-444
• Main Author: Wegge, Simone A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 19th century; Economic history; Emigration; European cultural groups; Farmers; Immigration; Manual workers; Migration; Noncitizens
• ISSN: 0145-5532; 1527-8034
• DOI: 10.1017/ssh.2017.18

Before 1890, German emigrants were one of the largest European groups to emigrate overseas in the middle of the nineteenth century. Most of them settled in North America, but a handful of Germans landed in countries south of the equator. This article examines those who chose uncommon paths and settled in the Southern Hemisphere, focusing on Hessians who went to either Australia or South America. Those who emigrated to the Southern Hemisphere were quite different from the Hessians who moved to the United States. More striking, however, are the contrasting backgrounds of the Australian-bound versus the South American–bound groups: These two groups were comparable in size, but in terms of any identifying socioeconomic characteristic they were poles apart from each other. Those bound for Australia were poorer, less skilled, and more likely to use a multiyear migration strategy to get their family members across the ocean, typical of the ways of those bound for the United States. In contrast, those who went to South America were wealthier, more skilled, and mostly emigrated as intact families without the use of such migration networks. This work shows that the choice of destination mattered for individuals and that certain destinations attracted particular types of individuals and groups, reemphasizing the role of self-selection in the migration experience.