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SUMMARY:Across the Oceans: Emigration from Cumberland and Westmorland Befo
 re 1914 - Dr Margaret E. Shepherd\, Wolfson Fellow Emerita
DTSTART:20120516T120000Z
DTEND:20120516T130000Z
UID:TALK37178@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Graham Allen
DESCRIPTION:Thousands of people emigrated from the UK from the 17th centur
 y onwards but the exodus developed into a flood in the nineteenth century.
  Many people have studied emigration at a national scale but there are few
  examples of work on particular regions as Dudley Baines and Charlotte Eri
 ckson\, both acknowledged experts in the field\, highlighted in their comm
 ents on the need for such work. The people of Cumberland and Westmorland\,
  in the far northwest of England\, (the county of Cumbria since 1974) were
  part of this exodus and this book is a rare example of a regional study o
 f emigration.\n\nThe work developed out of the research for my book on nor
 th Westmorland - From Hellgill to Bridge End (Hatfield 2003) in which I ha
 d used the census enumerations from 1841-1891 inclusive. I was struck by t
 he number of families in which at least one child had been born overseas. 
 Consequently the question arose that if these families had been overseas a
 nd returned home\, how many remained abroad\, where had they come from\, w
 hy did they leave and where did they go?\n\nThe aim was to write an academ
 ically acceptable book but one in which the people themselves\, not simply
  themes and numerical results would form the basis for the work. I collect
 ed the names and at least some details of more than 4\,000 emigrants toget
 her with many more simply as numbers who added to the possibilities for nu
 merical analysis. The project covered the regional economy\, the origins a
 nd destinations of the emigrants\, the journey\, life overseas\, returned 
 emigrants together with a section on sojourners – the many hundreds who 
 went as missionaries\, those in administration or on military service\, bu
 sinessmen or other temporary (though often long lasting) time overseas not
  forgetting those who were transported.\n \nAlthough the method of selecti
 on and collection of details means that the 4\,000+ do not form a scientif
 ic and therefore only a partial and probably biased sample\, the origins\,
  destinations and occupations are sufficiently varied and widespread to ma
 ke for a reasonable basis on which to investigate emigration from the two 
 counties.\n\nThe evidence suggests that although some emigrated to escape 
 from difficulties – or fear of difficulties in the future\, the vast maj
 ority chose to seek a new life because of what they perceived as opportuni
 ties for a better life overseas.
LOCATION:Combination Room\, Wolfson College
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