Portuguese Migration in Global Perspective

Joseph Garcea is an assistant professor of political studies at the
University of Saskatchewan.

This collection of essays provides an overview of Portuguese emigration
to various parts of the world during the imperialist and postimperialist
eras.

The first section, “Beginnings,” deals with Portuguese emigrations
to various parts of the world during the past several centuries. Its
first chapter “Portuguese Migration Before 1800,” describes the
early political economy of Portuguese immigration. “Portuguese
Migration to Brazil in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries”
provides a brief account of Portuguese migration to Brazil from 1808 to
1930. The chapter explores the political and cultural linkages between
Portugal and Brazil, as well as the phenomenon of the “Brazilian” in
Portugal. “Migration from the Portuguese Atlantic Islands in the
Second Half of the Nineteenth Century: The Case of Madeira” offers
insights on migration from that island.

The second section, “Migration and Modern Portugal,” examines the
nature of migration in recent decades and the effects of migration on
the Portuguese economy. “Leaving, Remaining, and Returning: Some
Thoughts on the Multifaceted Portuguese Migratory System” discusses
the migratory habits of the Portuguese through biographical sketches of
a handful of individuals. It also provides some interesting insights on
the experience of the wives of migrant men, who were left behind to
manage the household while their husbands were abroad. “Money and
Migration in Modern Portugal: An Economist’s View” examines the
impact of emigrant remittances (i.e., the money that migrants send back
to their home country).

The book’s third section, “Aspects of the Portuguese Diaspora,”
discusses various matters. “Portuguese Ontario: A Photographic
Essay” depicts the lifestyle of Portuguese communities and households
in that province. “ ‘Portygees and Other Caucasians’: Portuguese
Migrants and the Racialism of the English-speaking World” sheds some
disturbing light on the prejudice toward this particular immigrant group
in parts of the United States. “Portuguese Immigrant Women in
Canada” is basically a statistical analysis of the socioeconomic
status of such women. “Azorean Migration Patterns in the United
States” reveals that most Portuguese immigrants settled in five
states. “The Cape Verde Islands: Their Settlement, the Emergence of
Their Creole Culture, and Subsequent Migrations of Their People”
examines the migrations of a population that existed to serve the
geopolitical interests of the Portuguese colonial authority. “Islands
in a Segregated Land: Portuguese in South Africa” describes certain
prejudices that South Africans have had toward Portuguese immigrants,
and details the economic links between South Africa and the former
Portuguese colony of Mozambique.