Heimler's History: Unit 6 - Effects of Worldwide Migration

Introduction

• Focus on the effects of migration on home and receiving societies.
• Migration involves two key parties:
  • Home society
  • Receiving society

Effects on Home Society

• Gender Roles
  • Many men migrated for work, impacting gender roles at home.
  • Women often took larger roles in family and society.
  • In some cases, men left male family members to maintain traditional roles.
  • Post-migration scenarios:
    • Families join migrated men, often leading to stronger roles for women.
    • Men return, restoring previous gender roles if male family members filled their place.

Effects on Receiving Societies

• General Effects
  • Cultural transfer through ethnic enclaves:
    • Influence on language, food, religion of receiving societies.

Specific Cultural Enclaves

• Chinese Enclaves

  • Southeast Asia:
    • Government jobs in Dutch East Indies.
    • Commerce in Indochina encouraged by French.
    • Opium industry in Malaya.
  • Americas:
    • Labor force in California Gold Rush and Transcontinental Railroad.
    • Worked on sugar plantations and mined guano in Peru and Cuba.
    • Cultural influence mainly seen in food.

• Indian Enclaves

  • British indentured servitude led to global migration.
  • Africa:
    • Worked on sugar plantations in Mauritius and railroads in Natal.
  • Southeast Asia:
    • Replaced indentured servitude with the Kangani system.
    • Family migration led to more freedom.
  • Caribbean:
    • Significant population presence today.

• Irish Enclaves

  • Major migration due to the Great Potato Famine.
  • Settled in urban US areas, taking low-wage jobs.
  • Faced anti-immigrant sentiment, particularly for being Roman Catholic.
  • Cultural impact through music, dance, labor unions, and religious influence.

• Italian Enclaves

  • Migrated to US and Argentina.
  • Argentina’s constitution encouraged European immigration with rights.
  • Italian language influenced Argentine Spanish.

Responses to Immigrants

• Generally negative, with immigrants taking lower-wage jobs.

• United States

  • Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned Chinese immigration.

• Australia

  • Chinese Immigration Act of 1855 set quotas.
  • By 1901, the White Australia Policy restricted non-British immigration.

Conclusion

• Call to action for Heimler's History resources and subscription encouragement.