Migration History: Europe
A guide to starting research on the various forms of migration of the past and present.
Start Here
The Europe tab includes migration resources from specific countries, some of which may be in different languages. Additional relevant resources can be found under General Databases.
General
- Netherlands Archives: Emigrants in the 19th and 20th CenturiesStatistics and data on emigration from Netherlands to places such as the US and Australia in the 19th and 20th century
- Irish Emigration Database"The Irish Emigration Database (IED) is a virtual archive of original primary material which has been transcribed, digitised and is key-word searchable. The documents within IED are related to historic Irish migration to North America from 1700-1950. The collection policy has always been wide-ranging with 17 different categories of documents including emigrant letters, newspaper articles, shipping advertisements and passenger lists. "
- Norway HeritagePassenger and ship lists of emigrants from Norway
- Eurobarometer - Europe Public OpinionsA large set of surveys measuring public opinion in the countries of the European Union, on a wide variety of topics. Data is available through ICPSR and GESIS-ZACAT which has many of these surveys and others through free registration.
Italy
- Roma interculturaThis is the website of Roma Intercultura, an information portal created to study the historical, political, and sociological aspects of national and international migration. This would be particularly useful to study migration topics related to Italy. [in Italian]
- Altre Italie: portale di studi sulle migrazioni italianeAltre Italie is an excellent Web resource for scholars studying and researching Italian diaspora, and the roles Italian people have adopted in their host countries. [Mostly in Italian]
UK
- Imperial War MuseumThe museum’s digital collections start from 1917 to the present day on wars and conflicts relating to the UK and the British Empire.
- Charles Booth's London: Poverty Maps and Police Notebooks (Migrant Communities)"During the period of Charles Booth's survey, London was the centre of an enormous empire that spanned the globe. The police notebooks provide us with a glimpse of some of the different communities from different places who settled and lived in London at the time, and how they were perceived by the authorities."
- Striking Women“An educational site about migration, women and work, workers' rights, and the story of South Asian women workers during the Grunwick and Gate Gourmet industrial disputes.”
- The Scottish Emigration Database"The Scottish Emigration Database currently contains the records of over 21,000 passengers who embarked at Glasgow and Greenock for non-European ports between 1 January and 30 April 1923, and at other Scottish ports between 1890 and 1960."
- U.K. Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new windowThe U.K. Parliamentary Papers consists of the following modules:
● House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, 18th Century, 19th Century and 20th Century (1688-2004)
● House of Lords Parliamentary Papers (1800-1910)
● Hansard (1803-2005)
● Eighteenth Century Parliamentary Papers Collection, which is comprised of: 1) Harper Collection of Private Bills (1695-1814); 2) House of Commons Sessional Papers (1715-1800); 3) House of Lords Sessional Papers (1714-1805); 4) Journals of the House of Commons (1688-1834); 5) Journals of the House of Lords (1688-1834); 6) Local and Personal Acts (1797-1834); and 7) Parliamentary Register (1780-1796).
The National Archives
The National Archives are an archive of historical documents from the governments of the UK, England and Wales. Some of these documents have been digitized and research guides can provide more information to orient research. Resources specifically focus on migration issues related to the UK, former British colonies, naturalization and slavery. There are various research guides available to orient researchers, on topics ranging from:
- Moving Here"It is a gateway for resources on immigration to England during the last two hundred years, concentrating on four main immigrant groups, tracing Caribbean, Jewish, Irish and South Asian roots. The site features a range of resources, including photographs, personal papers, government documents, maps, and audio and video clips, which can be searched through the online catalogue available on the site." Currently available as a web archive by the National Archives
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