Migrations in the Past 500 Years

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Migrations

During the transatlantic trade, most Africans were forcefully migrated to America because they relied on African slave labor on their plantations .also the slaves were being exchanged for the manufactured goods made in Europe .they were loaded onto ships on the African coast. They were shipped across the Atlantic ocean to Europe .there was also the shipment of crops and products like tobacco, cotton, sugar, and molasses to Europe. The forced migration was mainly for slaves to Europe. The reasons for the migration of the 19th century were the industrial revolution and the end of the slave trade. The industrial revolution led to the creation of new and more industries, which led to the production of more goods. The initiatives required raw materials and labor, which were mainly found outside Europe. This led to the slave trade, which resulted in migration into Europe. The urge to get raw materials resulted in steam technology which made traveling more efficient and cheaper and transportation of raw materials. Steam technology made migration in the 19th century more accessible and more affordable. Industrialization also led to urbanization which caused people to migrate from rural areas to urban centers.

The end of slavery in the European countries in the 1800s was also a reason for the massive wave of migration in the 19th century. This lead to a shortage of labor; hence more people migrated voluntarily to work in the industries .in the 20th century, many European migrated because they were in search of economic prosperity .they moved to the urban areas because of initiatives, and there were better living standards because there were employment opportunities and education opportunities. Living conditions degraded .poverty and the high population led to food shortage. People immigrated in search of better living conditions. While in the 21st century, people immigrated because of economic and political reasons, their desires to change their surroundings, or natural disasters.

Migration led to the transfer of human resources and skills .when people migrated, they mainly sought economic prosperity, which led to them working in the industries and finding other employment opportunities hence providing enough human resources for the enterprises. They also taught their skills to other people. When people they ensured that their skills reach other places. This confirmed there was economic prosperity throughout the world. The governments also got more revenue, and people thrived from the effectiveness of the skilled migrants. Migration also led to technological advancements. The need to travel the world during the 19th century led to the development of steam technology to ease the movement. With this, it encouraged people to make more advancements in technology which is essential in solving lots of human problems throughout the world today. There was an improvement in housing structures. Due to the increased population as people migrated, there was a need to improve the housing structures hence leading to discoveries that have been made in the world all over the years.

There are also improvements in the education fields. The migrants were required to learn new skills to be employed in the industries .this led to the discovery of learning institutions and enhancements to suit the population and what was required of people. It also led to specialization. Even though migration has its adverse effects, some developments deal with such problems. Examples of the increased unhygienic conditions have been dealt with with improvements in medicine. There are many actions to deal with many diseases all over the world. Migration also ensures there is no labor shortage as the migrants are willing to be employed for low wages, and there is a large workforce.

Migrants experience stresses that affect their mental well-being, including loss of cultural norms, religious beliefs, and social support system, which changes their identity and self-concept. One may lose their cultural identity as they try to absorb and fully understand the new culture as they move within the contemporary society. Post-migration stress includes culture shock, where they feel disoriented and cultural conflict, which both lead to cultural confusion and isolation. Globalization has also affected the cultures in developing countries, leading to the loss of local cultural identity. Globalization is threatening the oldest civilizations in the world hence threatening cultural identity all over the world. Migration always affects religion .when people migrate to new places, they alter the daily routines of their lives. Many may change their religious practices and beliefs to fit into contemporary society. Some may even forget their religion and try to assimilate to the new spiritual practices. Somehow faith gives a person their identity. This will change their identity hence threatening national identity. However, religion may cause migration. Organized religious groups move to other areas to preach and defend their faith. Some people may be assimilated hence changing their religious beliefs and practices hence changing their national identity.

As people migrate, they leave their friends and families behind; hence they lose the people to support them socially and in all aspects of their lives. This increases stress in many migrants leading to physical and psychological impairments. Many of them may resort to social vices such as theft. It also leads to family disruptions and long terms marriage separations. This changed people’s social and personal values .also the migrants formed their social support systems to help each other while away from home. Many changed their characters and beliefs hence being assimilated into the new society .this changed their identity, therefore, threatening their national identity.

Bibliography

De Haan, Arjan. “Livelihoods and poverty: The role of migration‐a critical review of the migration literature.” The journal of development studies 36, no. 2 (1999): 1-47

Jessopp, Mark J., Michelle Cronin, Thomas K. Doyle, Mark Wilson, Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, Stephen Newton, and Richard A. Phillips. “Transatlantic migration by post-breeding puffins: a strategy to exploit a temporarily abundant food resource?.” Marine biology 160, no. 10 (2013): 2755-2762

Timotijevic, Lada, and Glynis M. Breakwell. “Migration and threat to identity.” Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 10, no. 5 (2000): 355-372.