Immigration

Hi again everybody.

Since last time when I talked to you, I have experienced a lot. One thing I have thought of a lot was when I visited a school in New York. I was watching when they had class, and then they were talking about Immigration. I thought that was a very interesting theme, so I want to tell you a little bit about it.

 

When people move into another country or a region they are called Immigrants. Immigrants are motivated to leave their countries for a variety of reasons, including a desire for economic prosperity, political issues, family re-unification, escaping conflict or natural disaster, or simply the wish to change one's surroundings.1825 is recognized as the start of Norwegian emigration, when the ship Restauration set sail to the U.S. with 53 Norwegians aboard.

 

However, it was not until 1865, the end of the Civil War, that a large Norwegian immigration occurred, a mass immigration that lasted for eight years. During this time period, 110,000 Norwegians entered the United States. A second and larger wave of mass immigration took place from 1880 to 1893. Prior to 1880, the majority of immigrants migrated with their families, and in 1880 that changed. Immigrants were younger, educated, and moving without their family.

During the Viking Age, almost all Norwegian kings sought their wives from foreign countries, thus seeking allies in other royal houses. Social and economic innovation has frequently been connected to immigration: the Hanseatic League introduced large scale trade in Bergen and Northern Norway. Mining in Kongsberg, Røros and other places was made possible by immigrants from nearby countries, and from c. 1500 until the first university was established in Christiania (Oslo) in 1811, almost all civil servants were immigrants. During the 19th century the evolution of dairies and the industrial exploitation of waterfalls depended on immigrants.The immigrant population in Norway is approximately 759,000 people and the five largest immigrant groups in Norway are in turn Polish, Swedish, Somali, Lithuanian and Pakistani.

Ellis Island is in Upper New York Bay and was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with land reclamation between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and has hosted a museum of immigration since 1990.

 

Hugs and kisses Hannah