Abstract
In this article I discuss intercontinental migration during the early modern period. The discovery of the New World sparked a large-scale movement lasting more than four centuries. Before 1800, only 2 to 3 million Europeans availed themselves of the opportunity to move to the New World. Colonial powers, therefore, turned to Africa and transported about 11.5 million slaves to America. After 1850 and the gradual abolition of slavery, the migration of Europeans increased dramatically, but these migrants avoided the former slave regions. Some areas therefore resorted to the importation of Asian indentured labourers, mainly from British India.
Highlights
The hostile attitude of modern welfare states towards unselected immigrants makes it much more difficult for Africa and Asia to follow the European economic growth model of the past
Before 1800, only 2 to 3 million Europeans availed themselves of the opportunity to move to the New World
Before 1850, intercontinental migration out of Europe and the slave trade out of Africa might have alleviated some of the hardships caused by bad harvests and low agricultural productivity in the sending regions, but the numbers were too small to have a wider economic impact
Summary
The hostile attitude of modern welfare states towards unselected immigrants makes it much more difficult for Africa and Asia to follow the European economic growth model of the past. Until 1850, intercontinental migration was still relatively modest in volume due to the limited technical and financial possibilities for transporting massive numbers of migrants across the oceans. Emigration out of Asia and Africa was almost cut off due to the abolition of the intercontinental slave trade and to the strict limitations placed on the migration of indentured labourers from Asia.
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