Migration History: Home

General Databases will lead you to databases on general migration topics, travel and tourism, chronological and general topics. 

Data includes global databases of UN data and international migration statistics and reports.

International Law will guide you to various international agreements and legal databases related to migration.

Labor Migration will lead you to resources on forced labor migration such as modern and historic slavery and human trafficking. It also includes databases on voluntary labor migration and economics topics such as remittances and brain drain.

Refugees cites sources from archives, the UNHCR and research organizations. 

United States, Canada & Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia & Oceania tabs will lead you to migration data, primary sources and archives specific to those locations.

Maps will guide you to historic maps and GIS data of different regions.

Literature includes databases of literature written by diasporic communities. 

Multimedia includes resources in video, audio and visual formats.
 

This guide is a starting point for research on migration of various forms throughout history. The resources listed here are only a selection of what is available and provide an uneven coverage of potential research topics. Many interesting migration topics may not have a dedicated section; as such, I would recommend starting research in the General Databases tab. I would also recommend utilizing a variety of keywords in searching for related information. 

Other guides of interest:

Types of migration to consider: 
Internal vs. External (migration, displacement)

Forced: enslaved, slavery, coolie, indentured servants, refugees, displace*, asylum seeker, human smuggling, trafficking, coerced
vs. Voluntary: assisted / unassisted migration

Temporary: migrant work*
vs. Permanent: assimilation, diaspora, expat*

Further Topics
US Migration: illegal, aliens, DACA, undocumented
Labor & economics: remittances, migration for employment, migrant workers, brain drain, skilled migration
Reasons: push / emigration, pull / immigration, climate refugees
 

Minard, Charles Joseph. Carte figurative et approximative représentant pour l'année 1858 les émigrants du globe, les pays d'où ils partent et ceux où ils arrivent [Worldwide flow of emigrants in the year 1858]. From David Rumsey Map Collection.

Guide created by Tanvi Jadhav under the supervision of Prof. Lora Wildenthal.