Transcription
Okay, we've talked about the causes of migration from 1750 to 1900, so now, as is proper, let's talk about the effects. And my goodness, they're spicy! So if you're ready to get those brain cows milked, let's get to it.
The first major effect of this period of massive migration occurred in the home societies of many of these migrants, namely an increasing gender imbalance. You see, since the majority of migrants during this period were men seeking jobs in urban centers or cash cropping operations, the result was that there were far more women than men in their home society. That reality led to the necessity of women taking on roles that were traditionally reserved for men. For example, in areas where subsistence farming was the norm, men traditionally broke the ground for planting and tended the livestock. But now, with all those men gone, it was women who took up those traditionally masculine and physical duties. Additionally, family structures in those places began to change as well. For example, in South Africa, where men were absent in larger numbers than they were in many other places, about 60% of the households were now led by women. Women in some places in Africa were able to sell excess food, like cassava, on the market and were thus able to gain financial independence as well. In fact, just for poops and giggles, I should also tell you that as women gained more and more independence in this region, a popular saying gained wide purchase among women: they said, "What is man? I have my own money." That's spicy!
Now, a second major effect of migration in this period was the increasing creation and presence of ethnic enclaves throughout the world. Now, if you'll remember from earlier in the course, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with a high concentration of people of the same ethnicity and culture within a foreign culture. Because migrants tended to move to cities, nearly every major urban area in the Western Hemisphere had a growing and diverse immigrant population that lived together in these enclaves, which themselves had two significant effects. First, ethnic enclaves provided a small outpost of the migrants' culture in the receiving society, where they spoke their native language, practiced their religion, and ate ethnically distinct foods from home. In that way, these were places of familiarity in the midst of very unfamiliar surroundings. For example, Indians who migrated to Mauritius and Natal were both Hindu and Muslim, and they practiced these religions together in their ethnic enclave. But second, the presence of these communities also contributed to the cultural diffusion of their home cultures into the receiving society. For example, Irish enclaves were present in cities in the eastern United States, and traditionally, the U.S. considered itself Protestant. However, the growing numbers of Irish encouraged the unprecedented growth of Catholicism in the U.S. We can also talk about the Chinese migrants to Southeast Asia, who clustered together in ethnic enclaves and over time became key players in the colonial economy.
And I know that sounds like it was all puppies and rainbows for these migrants, but now let's shatter that image and talk about the third effect of migration, namely nativism. Now, by definition, nativism is a policy of protecting the interests of native-born people over against the interests of immigrants. So despite the fact that immigrants often filled low-wage jobs that people in the receiving society didn't want, and in that way they contributed significantly to the economies of those places, they were often met with a kind of nativist resistance. Ultimately, nativism is rooted in ethnic and racial prejudice, or, you know, like a fear of cultural difference. For example, the Irish in the United States were deemed a lower race and thus marginalized in many of the cities in which they lived and worked. Like in Europe, most of these Irish people would be considered white because, you know, according to racial categories, that's what they were. But not in the United States, baby! No, they were not white; they were Irish. And that justified their political and social marginalization for a long time.
In response to those nativist reactions, some governments actually passed policies to restrict immigration to their states. I'm going to give you two examples. The first was the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed in the United States. As I mentioned in the last video, Chinese immigrants were vital in the construction of railroads that connected the vast territory of the U.S. Even so, native-born Americans began to resent the growing number of Chinese people, which led to several anti-Chinese riots in the 1870s and 1880s, in which Chinese immigrants were brutalized and lynched. As a result, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned almost all Chinese immigration to the United States.
The second example comes from the British government, and it was known as the White Australia Policy. You know, it's exactly what it sounds like. Australia also received large numbers of Chinese immigrants in the 19th century, and there was a similar nativist backlash there. The British government was concerned to keep Australia British, which is to say white, so they introduced the White Australia Policy, which almost completely cut off the flow of Asian immigrants to Australia.
Okay, it's the end of the unit! So click here to grab my AP World HLER review guide, which is the fastest way to study for all your class exams and for your exam in May. Or you can click here to keep reviewing other topics in Unit 6. I appreciate you coming around, and I'll catch you on the flip-flop. I'm out!