State Policies and Their Influence on the Connections between Maritime and Migration Networks, 1830-1870
This section studies the rise of transatlantic mass migration and long-distance steamshipping between 1830 to 1870, and the ways in which the two intersected. It explores the successes and failures in establishing migration networks, and contrasts activity at the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp to better understand the impact of commercial networks on the path dependency of migrants. It also considers the organisation of transport and the influence of government policies on both sail and steam shipping during the period. It examines chain migration; business networks; American migration legislation; the rise of Nativism; and migration as an international trade issue, before concluding that steamship lines targeted migrants with full knowledge of their financial value.