Post by NZBC on Jun 12, 2007 21:55:00 GMT 12
Where Do The Migrants Originate?
A Brief Overview of Chinese Migration
Chinese migration to overseas destinations dates back at least 500 years, and the primary objective has been to expand the economic base of the family.
Events within China and in the colonial empires of the countries that once divided China acted as catalysts to disperse ethnic Chinese thoughout the world. From the 15th to the 17th centuries, many of the migrating Chinese were entreprenuers; in the 18th and 19th centuries, most were coolies who served the labor needs of the European colonial powers.
The 19th century saw a great wave of migration that took Chinese to North America, Australasia, Southeast Asia, South America and southern Africa as well to destinations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Discoveries of gold in the Western United States from 1848, Southern Australia from 1851, and Western Canada from 1858 set in motion a flow of people from China that, over the next 80 years, would include millions of individuals.
Nineteenth century Chinese migrations came from areas in China where contact with outsiders had been most intense -- the coastal provinces of Guangdong (Canton), Fujian and Zhejiang. (See Maps)These areas still provide the most significant numbers of illegal immigrants today. In each sending area there is both ready access to ports of departure and enough prosperiy to make travel to overseas destinations economically viable.
usinfo.state.gov/eap/east_asia_pacific/chinese_human_smuggling/originate.html
A Brief Overview of Chinese Migration
Chinese migration to overseas destinations dates back at least 500 years, and the primary objective has been to expand the economic base of the family.
Events within China and in the colonial empires of the countries that once divided China acted as catalysts to disperse ethnic Chinese thoughout the world. From the 15th to the 17th centuries, many of the migrating Chinese were entreprenuers; in the 18th and 19th centuries, most were coolies who served the labor needs of the European colonial powers.
The 19th century saw a great wave of migration that took Chinese to North America, Australasia, Southeast Asia, South America and southern Africa as well to destinations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Discoveries of gold in the Western United States from 1848, Southern Australia from 1851, and Western Canada from 1858 set in motion a flow of people from China that, over the next 80 years, would include millions of individuals.
Nineteenth century Chinese migrations came from areas in China where contact with outsiders had been most intense -- the coastal provinces of Guangdong (Canton), Fujian and Zhejiang. (See Maps)These areas still provide the most significant numbers of illegal immigrants today. In each sending area there is both ready access to ports of departure and enough prosperiy to make travel to overseas destinations economically viable.
usinfo.state.gov/eap/east_asia_pacific/chinese_human_smuggling/originate.html