Websites
The following sites are a small sample of the websites on migration that are available. Museums and archives also have websites with information about migration. You will find a listing of these on the more resources page. You can also use intute to locate other websites.
- Migration to the Americas
- Migration to Australasia
- African migration
- British migration
- European migration
- Ship lists
Migration to the Americas
The African-American Mosaic
This website was created to tie in with the Library of Congress publication, 'The African-American Mosaic: A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture', outlining the collections available for the study of African-American history and culture. This publication covers material held at the Library of Congress which relates to nearly 500 years of African-American history. The website looks at four areas covered by the guide: Colonization, Abolition, Migration, and WPA (Works Progress Administration). Each section provides a broad outline of the topic and then moves on to cover some of the primary source material available at the Library of Congress. The type of material available on the site includes: photographs, drawings, painting, letters, newspaper clipping and maps.
The Atlantic world : America and the Netherlands
"The Atlantic World: America and the Netherlands" is a website created by the Library of Congress in partnership with the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, and is also part of the Library of Congress's Global gateway programme. It explores the history of the Dutch in America and also traces interactions between the Netherlands and the United States, from Henry Hudson's voyage in 1609 to the post-World War II period. At the time of cataloguing, the first stage of the project had been completed. This focuses on the initial settlement founded by the Dutch West India Company. The site presents images of original documents from the collections of the Library of Congress and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, which can be viewed as collections or explored via the site's themed sections, the first of which is "The Dutch in America, 1609-1664". Further themes will include: "Dutch patriots and the War of Independence"; "Nineteenth-century Dutch migration"; "Holland-mania"; and "World War II and beyond". The themed sections include essays that provide a context for the collections. These are illustrated with images from the collections. Many of the images are hosted by the partner website of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, and opening links to them will take the user to the relevant entry on the Koninklijke Bibliotheek's website, "The Memory of the Netherlands". All images are available in larger formats, whether they are hosted on the Library of Congress site or "The Memory of the Netherlands". Most of the documents are available in full, and each is accompanied by bibliographic information. They include: drawings and illustrations; maps; journals; letters; deeds and notices of conveyance; and contemporary printed books and pamphlets. The site is available in English and Dutch. This website is already a valuable resource for students and researchers interested in relations between America and the Netherlands, and is likely to become more so as its collections are enriched.
Center for Migration Studies
The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), founded in New York in 1964, is one of the premier institutes for migration studies in the United States. It is committed to facilitating the study of sociodemographic, historical, economic, political, legislative and pastoral aspects of human migration and refugee movements'. The website provides information on the Center's current projects and services, and a list of links to other websites.
The Chinese in California 1850-1925
The Chinese in California 1850-1925 is a major online collection of primary sources illustrating the history of Chinese immigration to that state and the resulting social tensions. The site contains over 8,000 images and pages of text. The featured materials include photographs, cartoons, letters, diary excerpts, business records, legal documents, pamphlets, magazine articles, and various other printed sources. A large number of sources deal with Chinatown in San Francisco, but there are also materials relating to other smaller Chinese communities. The collection may be searched or browsed by various criteria. There is also a timeline of American and Chinese history relating to immigration and social upheavals. Images are scanned at a high resolution. The source materials have been gathered from the collections at The Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley; The Ethnic Studies Library, University of California Berkeley; and The California Historical Society, San Francisco. This is an excellent site that provides a major online resource for those studying the history of Chinese immigrants in the Western USA.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Expatriate Archive Centre
The Expatriate Archive Centre is an archive of expatriate life stories. It collects primary source materials including letters, journals, diaries, photos, films, documents relating specifically to expatriate life. The collection dates from the 1890s to the present day. It was originally founded by Shell spouses (hence our location in The Hague) but now archives material from any expats worldwide.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Irish migration studies in Latin America
Irish Migration Studies in Latin America (ISSN 1661-6065) is an information-rich website providing a range of materials useful for research into Irish emigration to Latin America. Compiled by the Society for Irish Latin American Studies, users will find articles, papers, reviews, databases and much more. These materials are browsable by such themes as: 'Origins', tracing those counties in Ireland with the highest emigration rates; 'Journey', concerning travel to the continent; 'Settlement', concerning the settlers themselves; and 'Culture', about the cultural values, together with the language, literature, music, sport and so on of the Irish in Latin America. Resources and materials featured within these sections include a timeline of major events in Irish - Latin American history; a passenger list of over 7,000 arrivals to Latin American ports; a list of over 4,300 Irish settlers and the interesting 'Dictionary of Irish Latin American Biography'; interviews with descendents of Irish immigrants; and a vast bibliography of books, audio-visual material and other Web resources to assist further study. The site functions essentially as a journal, with new articles and resources added with each new update. Information about the Society itself is also provided. Scholarly, detailed and user-friendly, this website is designed to appeal to a broad range of students and researchers, including historians, literary scholars, anthropologists and geographers of the Irish and British migration to Latin America.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
The latina/o history project
The website, the Latina/o History Project is an excellent online resource devoted to ethnic Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican and other Latino histories in the United States. It offers longer essays which chronicle, for example, the history of Californios in the US, or the development of MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and short pieces, often taken from other publications, which outline notable events from Latino history. The site gives access to a collection of short articles reflecting, for example, news from this particular week in history, or historical dates clustered around a particular theme, such as politics. Of especial use is the site's vast database of Latino history. Here, users will find detailed information regarding about notable individuals, places and themes: users may browse by these terms or by keyword, such as arts and music; gender and sexuality; migration; and sports. All the information is cross-referenced to other relevant parts of the database. Illustrations, including photographs and maps, are provided throughout, as are quotations from Latino historians, writers, artists, politicians and so on. The site also features a lively discussion forum and announces forthcoming related events together with calls for papers and research funding opportunities. This resource is highly recommended to all students and researchers of Latino history and culture, both as a reference tool, a means of keeping up-to-date with current news from the Latino communities, and of exchanging ideas.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Mexican migration project
The website for the Mexican Migration Project provides information on this interdisciplinary research project to investigate the process of Mexican migration to the United States, as well as offering primary resources collated as a result of the project's work since 1982. Co-ordinated by scholars from the University of Guadalajara in Mexico and Princeton University in the U.S., the project works to gather social, economic and demographic information from samples of Mexican households both in the U.S. and Mexico. The aim is to collect information about individuals' trips to the U.S. and subsequent returns to Mexico. This information is stored in databases, and details of how to access this data is provided on the site. Publications resulting from the project are listed and an interactive map (Quicktime Viewer is required to access this) demonstrates the areas of Mexico covered so far by the project. Of most interest to humanities researchers will be the oral testimonies provided on the site; these offer a snapshot of the reasons for and consequences of migration. Furthermore, the site highlights the work of migrant artists, providing a digital gallery of paintings by Mexican artists from 1900 to 1992. This project website will provide valuable contextual material for researchers of Latin American migrant literature and art.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Open Collections Programme: Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930
Set up with a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in November 2002, the Harvard University Library Open Collections Program aims to " ... increase the availability and use of textual and visual historical resources for teaching, learning, and research by selecting resources from the Harvard Libraries ...", digitising them and making them available online. The Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930 digitised collection includes books, pamphlets, manuscripts and photographs. You can scan materials by subject (e.g. people, organizations), genre (e.g. book, photograph), or perform a full-text search.
The Peopling of Canada 1891-1921
This site is a tutorial on the peopling of Canada during one of the country's most significant migration periods - 1891-1921. The site begins with an introduction to Candian migration - the economic and agricultural condition of the country prior to 1891 and the reasons why it was regarded by settlers as an attractive region.The distribution of Canada's many ethnic populations is then explored, preparing for discussion of the impact of new arrivals. Of particular interest is the handling of the ways in which Canada simultaneously encouraged migration (for economic purposes) and resisted it (for both economic and cultural reasons).
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Peopling North America: population movements and migration
This site is a detailed tutorial about North American population movement and migration. The site begins with anthropological perspectives on migration and a discussion of some of the methodological problems involved with research of this kind. The site is then divided into studies of migration from particular geographical regions to North America - such as European migration to Mexico and the Carribean, and from Africa to the New World under the auspices of the slave trade. The site thus goes into some detail about the social, economic and political impact of population movement.The final section of the site considers migration to North America since the First World War, including recent refugee migrations.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
South Asian diaspora
The South Asia Diaspora website hosted by the South / Southeast Asia Library at the University of California, Berkeley, contains several useful resources for scholars researching the Indian diaspora. The site briefly describes the relevant archives held at Berkeley, and includes images from the archive illustrating aspects of the diaspora in California. An 'essays' section summarises the history of Indian immigration to California during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and links to further materials. There are a large number of bibliographies available from the site, concerning not just the Asian diaspora but also various other immigrant groups. The bibliographies are structured by country or region of destination, and by topic. The site also hosts the diaspora project database of research, which provides abstracts of current research being undertaken in the field of diaspora studies around the world. Scholars may submit details of their own research. A large list of annotated links is provided to other relevant websites. This site should be of interest not just to those researching the Indian diaspora, but diaspora studies more broadly.
Statistics Canada: historical statistics of Canada
Historical Statistics of Canada is a publication supported by the Social Science Federation of Canada and published by Statistics Canada, an office of the Canadian federal government. This site, which constitutes the online version of the 1983 edition of the publication, contains over 1000 statistical tables on social, economic and institutional conditions in the country from Confederation in 1867 to the mid-1970s.Statistical topics are organised into several sections: Population and Migration; Vital Statistics and Health ; Social Security; The Labour Force; Wages and Working Conditions; Gross National Product and the Capital Stock; The Balance of International Payments, International Investment Position and Foreign Trade; Government Finance ; Banking and Finance; Price Indexes; Lands and Forests; Agriculture ; Fisheries; Mining; Energy and Electric Power; Manufactures; Construction and Housing; Transportation and Communication; Internal Trade; Education; Politics and Government; and Justice.Under these formal rubrics, there are tables elucidated by dry commentary. Details are additionally available in an alphabetized index for everything from cement exports, to the domestic disappearance of chickens, to murder statistics and all imaginable information in between. There are entries for particular provinces, and tables which trace the size, scope and nature of employment in the federal government, thereby illustrating its own development.In general, historians searching for statistics for this period that was so essential to the early growth of the country will find comprehensive data. Care should be taken with some of the spreadsheets, which exclude some provinces and territories -- especially Quebec and Newfoundland -- or include them as quoted from other provincial sources. However, all exceptions and earlier sources are clearly noted.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Migration to Australasia
Australian historic records register (AHRR)
The Australian Historic Records Register (AHRR) is a database describing non-government manuscripts and archives held in private ownership in Australia and relating to all parts of Australia. The main criteria for inclusion is relevance to Australia's social, economic, business, labour and cultural history at the local level, recording Australian life from the early years of European settlement until 1988. Subjects covered are as diverse as: family history, women and children's history, local history, ruralproperties, businesses, personal World War I and II histories, migrants and migration, sports and sporting clubs and festivals and celebrations. There are over 3,500 entries of private papers and records of business and community organisations, which were created as part of the Australian Bicentennial Historic Records Search carried out from May 1987 to April 1988. There are good descriptions of the archival material, usually submitted by the owner/contributor and edited by the Manuscript Section, and includes contact details for access to the primary material. The Register is also available as a microfiche, published in 1989, and as part of the Art, Heritage and Environment CD-ROM.
Golden threads
The Golden Threads website is the online portion of an exhibition concerning the experiences of Chinese Australians in New South Wales during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is published by Australian Galleries and Museums OnLine, in collaboration with a range of museums and heritage organisations in New South Wales. The site is split into four sections, the first of which is the online exhibition. This contains chapters covering work, immigration, leisure, religious beliefs, dress and food, which explore the Chinese presence in New South Wales, and the communities they established. Also available on the website is a search facility, and a collection of stories about individuals, objects and places, which can be downloaded in a PDF format. In addition to these there is a comprehensive collection of web links, covering topics like researching family history, digs, sites and trails, individual stories, museums and exhibitions, education, organisations, research aids and centres, and collections.
A home away from 'home': British and Irish immigration to New Zealand 1840-1914
A Home away from 'Home' is published as part of the collection of online exhibitions on the NZhistory.net website. The site publishes statistical information on immigration to New Zealand from Britain and Ireland between 1849 and 1914, based on an immigration project undertaken by the History Group and funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. The figures have been compiled using a range of sources, including death registers, shipping records and military records. The statistics have been translated into graphs and tables charting when immigrants came to New Zealand, the UK countries they came from, and the regions within these, where the immigrants settled in New Zealand, and what their occupational background was.
The Irish in New Zealand
The Irish in New Zealand website is published by the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. It is a draft entry for the forthcoming online publication of the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, which will provide interactive essays and resources on the country's history, culture, development, institutions and people. The site, available in both English and Maori, looks at the history of Irish settlers in New Zealand, from the beginning of the nineteenth century onwards. The course of migration in the nineteenth century is covered, and the creation and gradual decline of Irish culture over the decades. The site also features some well-chosen digitised primary source material, biographies, a virtual tour of the content and suggestions for further reading.
Long journey for sevenpence: assisted immigration to New Zealand from the United Kingdom 1947-1975
Long Journey for Sevenpence is an online exhibition published on the NZ History.net website. The exhibition is based upon a book of the same name written by Megan Hutching and published by Victoria University Press. Using a range of primary source material the exhibition looks at the assisted immigration scheme run by the New Zealand government between 1947 and 1975. Of particular focus are the details of the scheme being set up by Bert Buckett, advertising in the United Kingdom, the voyages over to New Zealand, and life for new settlers in the first few years. Amongst the primary sources on the site are photographs, posters, oral histories and video clips.
Van Nederland naar Australië : emigranten 1946-1991
'Van Nederland naar Australië : Emigranten 1946-1991' is a database of Dutch emigrants to Australia after the Second World War. Dutch consulates in Australia kept detailed records of Dutch emigrants from 1946. The migration cards show how the consulates helped migrants to establish themselves in Australia. In 2006 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over the Australian Emigration Cards Archive to the National Archive. The database provides online information about names, emigration dates and means of transport, and is fully searchable. A copy of the full record may be ordered online for historical research. An introduction, background information, list of references and links to related resources complete this resource for historians interested in emigration history or in relations between the Netherlands and Australia.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
African migration
Ìrìnkèrindò: a journal of African migration
Ìrìnkèrindò (ISSN 1540-7497) is a peer reviewed ejournal that publishes scholarly research on the causes, patterns and consequences of migration and immigration involving Africans. The journal seeks to facilitate the dissemination of descriptive research results and critical commentaries on the impact of migration on the cultural and social infrastructure in Africa, and the implications of immigration to the political and economical structures in the world. Publications have included: anthropological, geographical and statistical analyses of migration to Europe and USA; and a discussion of identity and self-esteem in African immigrants against the backdrop of Erik Erikson's stage model of personality development and Henri Tajfel's ethnic minority model. Ìrìnkèrindò is an annual journal, which first came out in 2002. Its publications can freely be downloaded from the Web in HTML and PDF formats. The website of Ìrìnkèrindò is available in a frames only version, with one frame displaying the journal name, another a navigation menu, and a third the main document. The website also offers links to conference announcements, exhibitions and other resources related to African immigrants.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Roll of emigrants to Liberia, 1820-1843 and Liberian census data, 1843
The Roll of Emigrants to Liberia, 1820-1843 and Liberian Census Data, 1843 website is published by the University of Wisconsin's Data and Program Library Service. The site offers two databases of raw data on the migration of freed slaves from the United States to Liberia during the nineteenth century. The data is not available in text form, and is only suitable for researchers who are familiar with using datasets and have the required statistical software programmes to manipulate the data. The databases provide information about the emigrants including place of origin, personal status, first and last name, age, where they settled in Liberia, literacy, occupation, date of death, the name of the ship they arrived on, and information about family members. Also on the site are codebooks that provide keys to aid the interpretation of data, and an alphabetical list of the emigrants to Liberia in a PDF format, which doesn't require advanced knowledge to use.
Slave movement during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
This is an online data archive concerning the Atlantic Slave Trade, published by the Data and Program Library Service at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From the site users are able to download documentation and raw data files documenting the journeys of slave ships in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The data is suitable only for researchers familiar with statistical data manipulation and software, who will be able to analyse the data for information such as point of departure and destination, the demographic make up of the population of the slave ships, and physical information - construction, tonnage, type of vessel - about the ship itself. The available data sets cover quite a wide geographic scope, with information about the slave trade to the Americas, Havana, Rio de Janeiro, and Jamaica, and from countries like England, France, and Angola.
British migration
Centre for English Local History: University of Leicester
The study of English local history at the University of Leicester goes back to 1948, and it was the first University to offer an MA in that subject. Among other projects it houses the English Surnames Survey and the Nichols Archive project. The site contains a useful history of the department, information on its courses, and details of the module seminars for the MA degree. These seminars are linked to substantial web-based resources in various aspects of local history, including landscape history, medieval migration and manorial accounts. The pages give details of the Centre's seminars (given by visiting speakers), publications, and theses and dissertations. There is a link to course materials on medieval and early-modern palaeography. The Centre hosts web pages for four related organisations, the Whittlewood Project, the Friends of English Local History, the Vaughan Archaeological and Historical Society, and TASC (the Trans-national Database and Atlas of Saints' Cults).
(Record courtesy of intute.)
In depth guide to family history
This website on family history research is published by The National Archives, and is designed for adult learners. This is an informative site providing details of the various materials held at The National Archives that can be used for family history research, and advice on where to locate information. A range of documents and sources have been identified, with explanations of the areas they cover, and with helpful images and examples of the materials themselves. These include civil registers, censuses, wills and death duty registers, oath rolls, employment records, army and naval records, legal and criminal records, and records of migration, emigration and immigration. In addition to these, there is a bibliography and a list of links to useful websites.
Moving here
Moving Here is funded by the New Opportunities Fund and published in collaboration with The National Archives. 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. There are also two Histories Galleries, Migration Histories and Tracing Your Roots. The first gallery provides background information on each migrant group, looking at the reasons why people emigrated, and the patterns of settlement in England. The second gallery provides excellent and extremely helpful information on undertaking genealogical research, with comprehensive general information, and separate sections that look at how to research Caribbean, Jewish, Irish and South Asian immigrants' family trees. The site also includes a growing range of stories of people's experiences of moving to England.
National Research Centre for Migration Studies
The National Research Centre for Migration Studies is a joint initiative between Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Scotland's only Gaelic college, and the University of Aberdeen. The Centre provides a focal point for academics and researchers from both institutions with an interest in issues relating to migration studies. Particular areas of investigation include contemporary migration in Scotland, linking migration to demographic change, economic development, access to housing and social facilities and language use and change. The site provides information about individual research projects, publications, and staff members.
Royal Historical Society Bibliography of British and Irish History
The Bibliography is an authoritative guide to what has been written about all aspects of British and Irish history from the Roman period to the present day. You can search for literature relating to British and Irish migration by using the broad subject heading 'migration' or by using the browsable hierarchy of indexing terms to search for other terms such as 'Assisted migration' or 'Migration, female'. You can also limit the search by geographical area and time period. The results are listed in publication date order and, where possible, links to online resources are given.
Scottish emigration database
The Scottish Emigration Database is an online resource resulting from an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project, which ran from January 2003 to March 2005 at the University of Aberdeen's AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies. The database, which may be searched in a number of ways, holds the records of 21,090 passengers who embarked at Scottish ports for non-European ports between 1890 and 1960. The aim of this resource is to identify patterns of movement from these Scottish ports, to facilitate research into Scottish diaspora, concentrating in particular on the origins, occupations, ages and family composition of the passengers. As such, the project directors hope that this valuable quantative research tool will work to challenge stereotypes of Scottish emigration. The information contained in the database is drawn from the Board of Trade records in the National Archives. As well as free access to the database, this website also details the background to the project, its aims and methodology. Full guidelines on using the database are provided, and users are invited to collaborate with the project by supplying any information about the individuals listed.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
UK local history legacies
The Web Site "UK Local History Legacies" is published by the BBC. Its aim is "to scrutinise the same UK history that you can find in any book or website, but to show how this history unfolds across every locality of the UK". The site also allows a focus on the diverse microcosmic elements of local history that are sometimes subsumed by the emphasis on national histories. It features sections on immigration and emigration, nicely illustrated by an easy to use map (although at the time of cataloguing Cheshire had metamorphosed into Staffordshire). The user can choose a location and read about local myths and legends. The site is interactive and there are opportunities for people to submit their own information, which will enhance the site. There are also links in the margins to relevant or similar external sites. Local legends include such characters as Old Mother Shipton, Twm Sion Catti (the Welsh Robin Hood), and Sawney Bean. There are over 60 legends featured, and a rather helpful message board. An excellent site for those researching local history.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
European migration
Altre Italie: portale di studi sulle migrazioni italiane
Altre Italie is an excellent Web resource for scholars studying and researching Italian diaspora, and the roles Italian people have adopted in their host countries. The website is developed and run by the Centre for Documentation on Italian Populations and Cultures in the World, that was established by the Giovanni Agnelli Foundation in 1993. The site is regularly updated and very well maintained. It provides free access to the online version of the journal "Altreitalie" which offers essays on Italian migration and the Italians abroad, with emphasis on culture, history, literature and arts. The essays are mainly in Italian with abstracts available in English, French and Portuguese. The journal also publishes information on: primary and secondary sources; international conferences; TV programmes; and books and journals reviews. The site's "Find your roots" section - prior to registration - provides access to databases holding the transcription of the data contained in the passenger lists of the ships that arrived with Italian emigrants in New York, Buenos Aires and Vitoria between 1858 and 1920. Other pages of the site feature: bibliographies; news; links to other relevant institutions, research centres and online periodicals; tools for research and studies; and information on publications.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Breaking the silence: staying at home in an emigrant society
Breaking the Silence is an online oral history archive published by the Irish Centre for Migration Studies. Available on the site are fifty interviews with individuals about the impact of emigration in the 1950s on those who stayed living in Ireland. On the site there is a very thorough explanation of how the project was devised and carried out, and there is a good bibliography on oral history too. In terms of content there is an introduction to life in Ireland in the 1950s written by academics, with particular reference to the demographic malaise, modernisation, and Irish ways of life, and each section incorporates relevant interviews. Also included in this section are photographs, statistics, newspaper clippings, and other related resources. The oral history interviews themselves can be browsed or searched, and for each there is a chronological summary of the content. They can be listened to with a free RealOne Player, and either the entire interview can be accessed, or smaller segments.
The database of Irish historical statistics
The database of Irish historical statistics holds quantitative statistics for Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Information collected refers to decennial census data, emigration statistics, poverty data from poor law statistics, annual totals of births, deaths and marriages, crime statistics and yearly statistics of agricultural production. The holdings of the database are extremely complex but assistance can be provided by the Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the Queen's University of Belfast. The Centre is responsible for the development of the database. Images from the census preface pages are available with links to selected table data prepared for importation into Excel. Based on the printed census returns, the holdings do not provide information relating to individuals.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Catalogue of the Archival papers of the Deutsches Exilarchivs 1933 - 1945
This site is devoted to the collections related to exile at branches of the German National Library, notably the Deutsches Exilarchiv in Frankfurt am Main and related literature collections at the Deutsche Bücherei in Leipzig. Exile in this case refers to a relatively new field of scholarly enquiry into the culture, literature and history of people, especially Jews, who fled Germany, Austria and other parts of Europe leading up to and during World War II. The site primarily gives information on archival holdings (files, private papers and special collections, letters and manuscripts). These holdings will be of particular interest for historians, as they include the records of exile organisations such as the American Guild for German Cultural Freedom; the Emergency Rescue Committee of New York; old BBC broadcasts; deutschsprachiger Autoren im Ausland, London (1953 - 1990) (German-speaking authors abroad, London); Deutscher PEN-Club im Exil (1933 - 1940) (the German PEN club in exile); Club 1943, London; and Schutzverband Deutscher Schriftsteller in der Schweiz (Association for the protection of German writers in Switzerland). Private papers are listed alphabetically according to authors' names, and feature a great range of professionals: writers; artists; scientists; academics; doctors; jurists; journalists; and linguists. Private collections on more famous exiles include: Albert Einstein; Heinrich Mann; Thomas Mann; Franz Werfel; Arnold Zweig; and Stefan Zweig. Users should also check the special collections subsite (Sondersammlungen), with information on posters; patents; international organisations; socialist publications; and, from an earlier period, the Reichsbibliothek von 1848 which has some 4,600 sources on the famed Frankfurt Parliament of 1848. The printed collection also holds newspapers, books and other materials. A good subsite on exile newspapers, Exilpresse Digital, is reviewed elsewhere in Humbul. Of connected interest here are subpages on the Anne-Frank-Shoah-Bibliothek and the Börsenvereinsbibliothek for Frankfurt am Main nach 1945 (the Library on the stock exchange group at Frankfurt after 1945). The site gives further information on access to collections, contact details, exhibitions and related publications.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
The General Langfitt story: Polish refugees recount their experiences of exile, dispersal and resettlement
The Web Site "The General Langfitt story : Polish refugees recount their experiences of exile, dispersal and resettlement" is an online version of a book of the same title by Helen Cattalini and Maryon Allbrook, first published in 1995. The publication is part of the official Web Site of the Australian Government's Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. The book takes as its focus stories of the passengers who arrived in Australia on the General Langfitt, and highlights the moving experiences of Poles who were deported to Siberia, Kazakhstan, and many other eastern areas. Many generations of the same families were deported several times, having finally managed to return to Poland. The book consists of six chapters, which begins with an overview of Polish history and ends with accounts of resettlement in Australia. Of particular interest is the chapter on the the dispersal to Tehran, settlements in India, and Africa. This site is of interest to those researching diaspora studies or Polish history.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Irish centre for migration studies
The Irish Centre for Migration Studies, part of University College Cork, is an interdisciplinary organisation whose focus is on researching the history of Irish migration and the Diaspora, and also the effects of contemporary migration into the country, with reference to economic migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. The website provides information about the teaching programme of the Centre, and the research being carried out in the areas of immigration, emigration, and asylum. The site also features ERIN (The Emigration Resources Information Network), and FAILTE (Focus on Asylum-seeker and Immigrant Lives Trends and Experiences), web pages that specifically reference resources related to historical migration and contemporary immigration respectively. Also published on the site are three oral history archives, and over twenty full-text articles on nineteenth and twentieth century population movement in Ireland.
Irishdiaspora.net
Irishdiaspora.net is part of the Irish Diaspora Studies scholarly network, and acts as a supplement to the established academic website of the Irish Diaspora Studies Research Network at the University of Bradford. Irishdiaspora.net has been created by the Irish historian Patrick O'Sullivan, and includes contributions from other Irish studies academics as well. The website is simply designed and the content is easily navigated. The content includes book reviews, project news, web links, notices, and articles, and covers topics from the Dion Committee Report on the Needs of the Irish in Britain, to music in Northern Ireland during the 1970s.
Journal for Maritime Research
The Journal for Maritime Research publishes book reviews and articles covering the latest research in maritime and naval history. The journal also publishes articles relevant to migration. The journal is available by subscription but you can find free articles on their free access articles page.
Norway Heritage
A site with resources about Norwegian emigration, including ships lists (with a passenger name search facility), details of emigration ships, advice on genealogy, and image galleries. It also contains a large selection of articles. See, for example, 'Migration from Northern Europe to America via the Port of Hull, 1848-1914' by Nicholas J. Evans.
Population displacement, state-building and social identity in the former Russian Empire, 1918-c.1930
The website of the project "Population Displacement, State-Building and Social Identity in the Lands of the Former Russian Empire, 1918-1930" is an excellent and ambitious collection of resources. It is of great use to students, researchers, those with a personal interest in the area or events, and those interested in the issues of forced-migration. Based at the University of Manchester under the direction of Professor Peter Gatrell and Dr Nick Baron, the site has the potential to become a major academic resource on three important aspects of early twentieth century central and east European history, culture and politics. With the aid of researchers based in Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus, the project has gathered together a wonderful range of information making it altogether easier to work on the area. The website describes the research into state-building, population displacement, and social identity in more detail, provides a country-by-country bibliography of the resources available, and has made a few papers available online. There is also a discussion list on the subject of forced-migration. The project received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB).
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Roma intercultura
This is the website of Roma Intercultura, an information portal made available by the Centro Studi Immigrazione Roma (CSER) (the Rome Centre for Migration Studies), which was established in 1963 to study the historical, political, and sociological aspects of national and international migration. This site provides annotated links to hundreds of other related Web resources. There is also information on news, resources, and contacts with regard to migration studies. The Centre's library specialises on Italian and international migration; the library's catalogue is fully searchable online and is consultable by appointment. There is also a freely accessible Mediateca, a collection of audiovisual recordings on relevant issues. Tables of contents and submission guidelines are provided for the Centre's publication Studi Emigrazione (Migration Studies). Information on other relevant publications is also given. The site provides details of forthcoming cultural, academic, and educational events on themes of migration. Users can search the site and subscribe to a newsletter to receive updates. This resource would be of great interest and use to scholars of migration studies in relation to Italy. It provides valuable links and information on Italians living abroad and non-Italians in Italy.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Simon-Dubnow-Institut für jüdische Geschichte und Kultur, Universität Leipzig
This is the home page of the Simon Dubnow Institute for Jewish History and Culture at the University of Leipzig. The site's thematic overview summarises the institute's history since its establishment in 1995, and outlines its development as a centre for international scholarship on the history of Jewish life in Southern and East Central Europe, and East-West Jewish relations in the modern period. It also addresses the context of the non-Jewish environment, especially the Latin, Orthodox and Islamic worlds within and without Europe. There are special concentrations in the institute on political and diplomatic history ; the history of migration ; intellectual history and the history of ideas. Extensive information on the institute's conferences and colloquia is provided, including some summaries of remarks. The institute's cooperational and internal research projects are described. The site also lists academic fellows along with their recent publications.The library has an alphabetised list of its collection of periodicals, but there appears to be a broken link to the general catalogue. There are some other broken links in the site as well. A caution in navigation: although English and German sides of the site appear to be completely parallel translations, the German side is the more complete version. The site has its own search engine.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
Ship lists
Emigration ship lists and resources
This website is published as part of a wider collection of genealogy resources, and on it users will find passenger lists for various immigrant ships and other related material. There are over 100 links on the site, some linking to passenger lists transcribed by the website author and others to separate websites. Users will find resources on immigration from Europe to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century. Amongst the groups of immigrants specifically mentioned are Jewish, German and Irish passengers. This is a useful site for genealogists and those interested in population history.
Immigrant ships transcribers guild
The Immigrant Ship Transcribers Guild website is a fantastic resource on immigration to the United States from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The organisation makes freely available online transcriptions of passenger lists, which have been transcribed by genealogist volunteers. There are currently over 5,000 passenger lists available on the site, covering arrivals in Canada, Galveston Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Orleans Louisiana, New York, Philadelphia, Virginia, the West Coast, and also Australia and New Zealand. The records can be browsed by date, the ship's name, port of departure, port of arrival, and the Captain's name, and cover the years 1638-1948. There is also a selection of special projects, including passenger lists of Eastern European refugees who emigrated to Australia during the Second World War, and rare lists of arrivals in Halifax, Nova Scotia during the nineteenth century. In addition to these useful resources there are also maritime newspaper articles, immigrant photographs and a resource gateway, the Compass, which includes web links and research guides.
Puke ariki passenger lists: Taranaki area passenger arrivals 1852-1885
This is an online database of immigrant passenger arrivals in the Taranaki region of New Zealand in the nineteenth century. It is jointly published by the Puke Ariki cultural centre and the New Plymouth Genealogy Group. The site allows users to search for passenger arrivals between 1852 and 1885 by surname, first name, ships name and date. The results give details of the passenger's name, ship, date, direction, port of arrival, port of departure and the date the arrival was published in the newspaper. This is a useful resource for genealogists and colonial and immigration history.
(Record courtesy of intute.)
The ships list
The Ships List is a vast website published by a professional historian of immigration history. The site provides a plethora of resources on British immigration to the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Users will find passenger lists, fleet lists, ship descriptions, ship pictures, reports of ship arrivals, information on the 1847 Irish Famine immigrants, details of marriages at sea, and information on ship wrecks. There is also some excellent primary source material, with diaries and journals of voyages, immigration reports, and articles from the Illustrated London News.