The battle for the migrants : the introduction of steamshipping on the North Atlantic and its Impact on the European exodus / Torsten Feys.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Feys, Torsten, author.

Contributor:

International Maritime Economic History Association, publisher.

Series:

Research in maritime history ; no. 50.

Research in maritime history ; number 50

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Immigrants--United States--History--19th century.

Immigrants.

Immigrants--United States--History--20th century.

Steamboats--North Atlantic Ocean--History.

Steamboats.

Shipping companies (Marine transportation)--North Atlantic Ocean--History.

Shipping companies (Marine transportation).

Europe--Emigration and immigration--Economic aspects.

Europe.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 409 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

St. John's, Newfoundland : International Maritime Economic History Association, 2013.

Summary:

This book approaches the well-documented study of European mass migration to the United States of America from the viewpoint of mass migration as a business venture. The overall purpose is to demonstrate that maritime and migration histories are interlinked and dependent on a deeper understanding of the social, economic, and political factors at work in the nineteenth century Atlantic community. It centres on both the evolution of the port of Rotterdam as a migration gateway, and the crucial role of the Holland-America line as a regulator of the North American passenger trade. The first part of the book explores the simultaneous rise of transatlantic mass migration and long-distance steamshipping between 1830 to 1870. The second part, divided into five chapters, explores how mass migration became a big business between 1870 and 1914, and scrutinises how steamship companies organised and provided initiatives for transoceanic migration, plus the role of shipping agents and agent-networks, and how passenger services were constructed within transatlantic networks. Over the course of the text it becomes increasingly clear that by approaching mass migration as a trade issue, the role of steamship companies in the facilitation of transatlantic migration is rendered both intrinsic and pivotal. It consists of an introduction containing contextual information, two sections providing historical overviews, five chapters exploring different aspects of the shipping industry's response to mass migration, conclusion, bibliography, and six appendices of passenger, destination, agent, and advertising statistics.

Contents:

Introduction

Part I: State policies and their influence on the connections between maritime and migration networks, 1830-1870

Part II: The impact of steam shipping on Transatlantic migration, 1870-1914

The role of middlemen

Competition and collusion: the growing pains of passenger shipping conferences

The IMM merger and further consolidations in the shipping industry

The nationalization of American migration policies and the visible hand of the shipping industry

Shipping companies' interference with the enactment and implimentation of immigration laws during the Progressive Era

Conclusion

Appendix 1: Rates of the NDLV members for the American market

Appendix 2: HAL total passengers, 1873-1914

Appendix 3: Total passengers of the main services on the North Atlantic and number of sailings, 1899-1914

Appendix 4: HAL through rates to and from hinterland destinations, 1893-1907

Appendix 5: New York agents and agents under bond, 1897-1909

Appendix 6: Advertisements by the HAL in American newspapers.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 30 Apr 2018).

ISBN:

1-78694-444-8

1-78694-885-0