Why did 60 million people leave Europe for overseas destinations in the hundred years after the Napoleonic Wars? What were the social and economic causes and effects of this mass migration? Why did some people emigrate and not others, and why did so many emigrants return to Europe? This short comprehensive survey answers these and other questions regarding emigration from different parts of Europe in the years between 1815 and 1930. Written specifically for undergraduate students, it reviews the current literature in several European languages, summarises both economic and demographic theories, and analyses the relation between economic change in Europe and the emigration rate, as well as discussing the economic effects of immigration on the receiving countries and the social experiences or the immigrants.

The issues around settlement, belonging, and poor relief have for too long been understood largely from the perspective of England and Wales. This volume offers a pan-European survey that encompasses Switzerland, Prussia, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Britain. It explores how the conception of belonging changed over time and space from the 1500s onwards, how communities dealt with the welfare expectations of an increasingly mobile population that migrated both within and between states, the welfare rights that were attached to those who “belonged,” and how ordinary people secured access to welfare resources. What emerged was a sophisticated European settlement system, which on the one hand structured itself to limit the claims of the poor, and yet on the other was peculiarly sensitive to their demands and negotiations.

ECONOMIST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2016 'A scintillating, encyclopaedic history, rich in detail from the arcane to the familiar... a veritable tour de force' Richard Overy, New Statesman 'Transnational history at its finest ... .. social, political and cultural themes swirl together in one great canvas of immense detail and beauty' Gerard DeGroot, The Times 'Dazzlingly erudite and entertaining' Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times A masterpiece which brings to life an extraordinarly turbulent and dramatic era of revolutionary change. The Pursuit of Power draws on a lifetime of thinking about nineteenth-century Europe to create an extraordinarily rich, surprising and entertaining panorama of a continent undergoing drastic transformation. The book aims to reignite the sense of wonder that permeated this remarkable era, as rulers and ruled navigated overwhelming cultural, political and technological changes. It was a time where what was seen as modern with amazing speed appeared old-fashioned, where huge cities sprang up in a generation, new European countries were created and where, for the first time, humans could communicate almost instantly over thousands of miles. In the period bounded by the Battle of Waterloo and the outbreak of World War I, Europe dominated the rest of the world as never before or since: this book breaks new ground by showing how the continent shaped, and was shaped by, its interactions with other parts of the globe. Richard Evans explores fully the revolutions, empire-building and wars that marked the nineteenth century, but the book is about so much more, whether it is illness, serfdom, religion or philosophy. The Pursuit of Power is a work by a historian at the height of his powers: essential for anyone trying to understand Europe, then or now.

Exodus and national identity

People move, individually and collectively, for a combination of economic, social, political and cultural reasons. The impact of migration on the individuals concerned, their families, the countries they leave and the societies they join raises issues that are hotly contested by academics, policymakers and politicians. By using a wide variety of analytical approaches the contributors to this book reveal the complexity and significance of this increasingly important phenomenon in Western European countries, which links these societies to the wider world. They engage directly with the challenge which human mobility represents by examining the reasons for migration, the contribution and needs of those migrating, and the ways in which public debate about migration may be manipulated for political reasons.

Emigration from Scotland has always been very high. However, emigration from Scotland between the wars surpassed all records; more people emigrated than were born, leading to an overall population decline. Why was it so many people left?Marjory Harper, whose knowledge is grounded in a deep understanding of the local records, maps out the many factors which worked together to cause this massive diaspora. After an opening section where the author sets the Scottish experience within the context of the rest of the British Isles, the book then divides the country geographically, starting with the Highlands, then coastal Scotland, and the urban Lowland highlighting in turn the factors that particularly influenced each of these areas. Harper then discusses the organised religious and political movements that encouraged emigration. By interweaving personal stories with statistical evidence Harper brings to life the reality behind the dramatic historical migration.

This extensive survey of migration in the modern world begins in the sixteenth century with the establishment of European colonies overseas, and covers the history of migration to the late twentieth century, when global communications and transport systems stimulated immense and complex flows of labour migrants and skilled professionals. In ninety-five contributions, leading scholars from twenty-seven different countries consider a wide variety of issues including migration patterns, the flights of refugees and illegal migration. Each entry is a substantive essay, supported by up-to-date bibliographies, tables, plates, maps and figures. As the most wide-ranging coverage of migration in a single volume, The Cambridge Survey of World Migration will be an indispensable reference tool for scholars and students in the field.