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MIGRATION
• History 1 (A) AnaLyze the effects of physicaL and human geographic patterns ...
including significant physicaL features and environmentaL conditions that influenced migration patterns and shaped the distribution of cuLture groups today .
• Geography 7 (B) ExpLain how poLiticaL, economic, sociaL, and environmentaL
push and puLLfactors and physicaL geography affect the routes and flows of
human migration.
Physical and human factors influence where people settle. However, people do not always stay
in one location. Migration refers to the movement of people from one area to another. Generally, migration refers to a permanent move by people to a new location.
0- What
reasons cause people to migrate to different areas?
-
IMPORTANT IDEAS -
A.
Political, economic, social, and environmental push-and-pull factors cause people to migrate, or move, from one place to another.
B.
Physical geography often affects the routes that human migrations take.
GEOGRAPHIC TERMINOLOGY
• Migratiot1
• Push-at1d-Pull Factors
• Social Factors
IN THIS CHAPTER
• Etht1ic Persecutiot1
• Religious Persecutiot1
• Et1virot1tMet1talFactors
• Forced Migratiot1
• Physical Jarriers
• Lat1d Jridge
WHY PEOPLE MIGRATE
Geographers generally divide the reasons for migration into "push" and "pull" factors.
Push factors are those events that push people out of their old location, while pull factors
are the attractions that lure migrants to a new location.
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PULL FACTORS
PUSH FACTORS
•
•
•
•
_
Oppression
Poverty
PoLiticaL ConfLicts
EnvironmentaL
~=-----..:~~
Factors
• Freedom
• Economic
Opportunity
• CuLturaL Ties
Often, people migrate because of a combination of both "push" and "pull" factors. Let's
look at some of the most important factors that cause people to migrate.
FACTORS LEADING TO MIGRATION
SOCIAL FACTORS: Religious Persecution
Social factors concern how people organize into groups, such as religious groups. Throughout history, many societies have persecuted people because of their religious beliefs. Religious minorities will often leave a place if they face such persecution.
CASE STUDY:
Jewish Migrations
Under the Roman Empire, Jewish
peopLe were driven from IsraeL
after they rebelled against Roman
ruLe. In the MiddLe Ages, Jews in
Europe often faced prejudice and
discrimination
from their Christian neighbors.
.----~
JEWS EXPELLED FROM ENGLAND,
FRANCE and SPAIN, 1290-1492
I--~---,
Where Jewish
Refugees Fled
~
In 1290, EngLand expeLLed its
Jewish community.
France foLLowed in 1394. In 1492, Ferdinand
and IsabeLLa of Spain ordered aLL
Jews to convert to Christianity or
Leave Spain. Some Jews converted,
but the vast majority chose to
Leave. From these countries, Jews migrated to HoLLand, Hungary, PoLand and ItaLy, where
they were weLcomed. Many Jews also migrated to the Ottoman Empire, where they settLed
in IstanbuL or PaLestine.
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CHAPTER 11: Migration
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POLITICAL FACTORS
Political factors can also lead people to migrate. Politics concerns governments, government policies, wars, and citizens' rights. People often flee their homes when they become
scenes of armed conflict arising out of political differences. Such fighting might occur
because of an invasion by another country or because of a civil war caused by conflicts
between rival groups. People also migrate to escape political persecution or to enjoy greater
political freedoms and rights in a new place.
CASE STUDY:
Cubans Flee Communism
In 1959, FideL Castro came to power in Cuba.
He promised to create a democracy in Cuba.
However, once in power, Castro set about
estabLishing
a Communist
dictatorship.
Cubans who spoke out against Castro's policies were imprisoned. ALLnewspapers, radio
and teLevision stations opposed to Castro's
regime were either shut down or put under
government control. Thousands of Cubans,
disillusioned by his poLicies and opposed to
Communism, fled Cuba for the safety of the
United States. Once there, they couLd enjoy
the benefits of a democratic society.
Many Cubans fled on homemade boats in an attempt to reach the United States.
CASE STUDY:
The Flight of Afghan Refugees
In 1979, some citizens of Afghanistan fled
their country after the Soviets invaded
and a Long civiL war began. FoLLowing
the attack on the WorLd Trade Center in
2001, the United States declared war
against terrorism. Soon after, the United
States attacked TaLiban forces in Afghanistan. To escape the fighting, thousands
of Afghan refugees fled into Pakistan and
other neighboring countries. By the end
of 2001, there were 5 miLLionAfghan refugees Livingin Pakistan.
o
Miles
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SOCIAL FACTORS: Ethnic Persecution
People also migrate when they are persecuted for being members of a particular ethnic group.
CASE STUDY:
Burundi and Rwanda
In 1994, bitter fighting began in Central Africa between
the Hutu and the Tutsi tribes of Burundi and Rwanda.
The Tutsi tribal people are generally taller than the
Hutus and have other distinguishing characteristics that
make their physical appearance distinct. In Rwanda, the
majority Hutu-dominated army massacred almost half a
million of the Tutsi people. Millions of Rwandans, fearing
for their lives, fled to neighboring Tanzania and Zaire,
where they lived in refugee camps. Thousands died in
these refugee camps from epidemics of diseases common to the camps, such as cholera and dysentery.
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC
OF CONGO
TANZANIA
I
o
i
Miles
100
ECONOMIC MOTIVES
When people in a society suffer from extreme poverty, this "pushes" some of them to
attempt to leave. The motivation is greater if people have heard that conditions elsewhere
are better. For example, in the early 20th century, many people left impoverished conditions in Eastern and Southern Europe to come to the United States, where they sought
new economic opportunities. Economic motives may be strengthened by social ones when
other relatives have already migrated to a place.
CASE STUDY:
Guest Workers in Germany
After World War II, many Turks, attracted by
higher wages, left Turkey to work as "guest
workers" rebuilding West Germany. Many of
these workers later returned to Turkey, but a
large number continued to remain in Germany.
Many of these guest workers live in "ghettos,"
where they do not speak German. Their housing
and education are below average. Most of them
are still not German citizens, even after living
for decades in the country.
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APPLYING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
Using two of the case studies on the previous page, explain the importance of both
"push" and "pull" factors to migration.
ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS
People sometimes migrate because of the environment. Some groups traditionally migrate
with the seasons. For example, the Fulani of Africa move south with their herds in the dry
season, and return north in the wet season. Changes in the environment, such as cooling
or rising temperatures, or a series of droughts, may lead people to migrate. Sudden environmental catastrophes, such as crop failures, floods, fires, and earthquakes, can also force
people to migrate.
CASE STUDY:
Irish Potato Famine
In the early nineteenth century, many Irish
people depended on potatoes as their main
food. In the 1840s, Ireland faced a disaster
when its potato crop was struck by the potato
blight, a disease making potatoes inedible.
The blight, transported in ships traveling
from North America to Ireland, affected the
nation's entire crop. More than a million Irish
starved to death. Another half-million Irish
were evicted from their cottages. Driven by
this environmental disaster, many Irish emigrated to America.
Food riots in Ireland.
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CASE STUDY:
Drought in the Sahel
The SaheL region of Africa has undergone a series of
severe droughts. Some scientists beLieve that these
droughts have been caused by worLd climatic changes
and the overgrazing of cattLe. A majority of the peopLe
in the SaheL region are invoLved in nomadic herding. The
impact of drought has been devastating to the Sahel. It
has Led to the erosion of the soil and to the deaths of
Large numbers of Livestock. During the 1970s, muLti-year
droughts Led to the deaths of more than 300,000 peopLe. Thousands of Africans have now migrated from the
SaheL region to neighboring areas. Subsistence farmers
must reLocate because they do not have food. Extended
periods of drought can aLso Lead to dust storms, making
herding and farming aLmost impossibLe.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FACTORS: Forced Migration
Sometimes migration is not voluntary but forced. Forced migration has accompanied war
and the persecution of people, throughout most of history.
CASE STUDY:
The Atlantic Slave Trade
Between 1500 and the mid1800s, millions of Africans
were forcibLy taken from their
homeLands and shipped to
the West Indies, BraziL, or the
United States, where they were
treated as sLaves. Those who
survived the voyage were soLd
SOUTH
at sLave auctions and Lived in
AMERICA
PA CIFIC
captivity. The sLave trade had
OCEAN
PA CIFIC
a strongLy disruptive effect
OCEA N
on African cuLtures, encouraging tribes to go to war
with one another and draining taLent and Labor. It Led to the migration of millions of
Africans to the Americas.
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Another example of forced migration occurred in North America. British and American
settlers uprooted millions of Native American Indians. These Native American Indians
were forcibly relocated to distant and often inhospitable reservation lands. Native tribes
were similarly removed from their lands in South Africa and Australia so that they could
be replaced by white farmers and settlers.
HOW PHVSICAL &EO&RAPHV
AFFECTS THE FLOW OF MI&RATION
Factors of physical
geography will often
determine the particular path that migration
takes. Some factors mountains, deserts, or
dense forests - may
pose natural barriers
to migration or shape
its course. People usually migrate through
valleys
and
along
water routes.
E
PACIFIC
o CE
AN
They
may also
cross "land bridges."
For example, thouI
I
Miles
3000
o
sands of years ago,
Siberia was connected
to Alaska by a land
passage. Asian hunters, following herds of animals, crossed this land passage to migrate to
Alaska. Gradually, these hunters spread throughout North and South America, becoming
Native American Indians. Later, the oceans prevented further migration into the Western
Hemisphere until European technological improvements led to the European conquest and
colonization of these regions after 1492.
PHYSICAL BARRIERS
In North America, the Appalachian Mountains once stood as a barrier to migration from the
East. Migration only occurred through specific mountain passes. Later, the Rocky Mountains
and deserts of the Southwest remained natural barriers to migration. To reach California
quickly, people sailed to Panama (8 weeks) or around South America (3 months); overland
travel took even longer, until the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869.
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In Africa, the Sahara Desert acted as a physical barrier limiting the amount of migration
between North and Sub-Saharan Africa. Instead, these regions developed separately, with
different groups of people migrating within each region. Physical barriers also once limited
migration to China. To prevent Central Asian tribes from crossing the Asian steppes and
mountains into China, China's emperors built the Great Wall. This human structure reinforced these natural barriers to migration.
THE DISTRIBUTION
OF HUMAN CULTURES TODAY
Most scientists believe that human beings first originated in East Africa. From there, people spread throughout the world. The result of all these migrations is the distribution of
cultural groups we find around the world today, which you studied in Chapter 9 (Cultural
Regions), earlier in this unit.
___
L:-IIIIfLEARNING
-'rr
WITH GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Complete the graphic organizer below. Identify each factor that sometimes causes people
to migrate. Then provide one or more examples of each.
Religious Persecution
Ethnic Persecution
Environmental Factors
Economic Motives
•
Political Factors
WHY
PEOPLE
MIGRATE
••
Forced Migration
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CHAPTER11: Migration
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APPLYING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
Classify these as "push" or "pull" factors causing groups to migrate.
Push
Pull
Both
ReLigious Persecution
D
D
D
PoLiticaL Factors
D
D
D
D
D
D
Ethnic Persecution
D
D
D
EnvironmentaL Factors
D
D
D
Forced Migration
D
D
D
Economic Motives
,
• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
: ACTING- AS AN AMATEUR G-EOG-RAPHER
~
•
: Select a person to interview, with the approval of your parents, who has
• migrated to the United States. Briefly summarize his/her responses:
•
: .• Why did you decide to come to the United States?
_
•
•
•
.. ~~
•
•
What route did you take to get here?
_
•
•• .• Were conditions in America what you expected them to be?
•
•
•
•
• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
_
CHAPtER StUDY CARDS
------------------------------~------------------------------,
PhysicaL Factors
Affecting Migration Routes
Factors that Lead to Migration
.•
.•
Push Factors. These are factors pushing
people to leave a place: to escape religious
persecution, oppression, poverty, political
conflicts, and environmental disasters.
Pull Factors. Factors attracting people to
a place: to search for greater political or
religious freedom, the search for economic
opportunity, and to reinforce cultural ties.
------------------------------
~
~
.•
.•
I
I
I
I
I
People often migrate through valleys, across
:~I
grasslands, and along water routes.
Groups of migrating people generally avoid
natural barriers like mountains, deserts, and
dense forests.
Some physical factors can change, i.e. the
land-bridge from Siberia to Alaska.
------------------------------~