Irish Diaspora | Exodus: Movement of the People

An Italian immigrant was quoted as saying: “I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, found out three things: First, the streets weren’t paved with gold; second, they weren’t paved at all: and third, I was expected to pave them.” This sentiment was echoed by many who made the migratory voyage with high hopes, only to be disappointed upon arrival.

We hear many success stories of immigrants who left on a one-way trip and never looked back. We must consider though, that out of the hundreds of thousands who successfully emigrated from the UK and made new homes abroad, there were many who gave up and returned home. We have put much discussion into the decision to migrate; however, in this article, we look at some of the reasons that caused a large number of immigrants to return home.

How Frequent are Return Migrations?

Return migration can be somewhat difficult to measure. Some immigrants returned home to stay, while others returned to their home countries temporarily, only to emigrate once more.

Most countries also kept poor records on those leaving the country, focusing instead on those arriving. The US, for example, only started recording departing passengers in 1908. Even those statistics can be fairly misleading, as the records only state that an immigrant is leaving. No mention is made of whether the departure is permanent or temporary.

Prior to the 19^th century, return migration was far less frequent. Travel was expensive, time-consuming and dangerous, and immigrants tended to settle since returning was so difficult. In the late 19^th century, trips home became more frequent, and by the early 20^th century, we begin to see clear statistical patterns of return migration.

For example, some scholars have estimated that a full third of American immigrants returned home. During certain periods, such as the Great Depression, return trips were even higher.

Interestingly, however, immigrants from the UK had a fairly low return rate compared to many other nationalities. English immigrants returned at a rate of about 10.4%, while only 6.3% of Irish immigrants ever returned home.

Why Did Immigrants Return Home?

Reasons for return are almost as varied as the immigrants themselves. Some went with high hopes and gave up when those hopes were not realized. Others never intended to immigrate permanently in the first place.

“Birds of Passage”, for example, traveled purely for economic reasons. They intended to work long enough to make a bit of money so that they could better their lives back home.

Others returned due to family obligations. Many women emigrated to earn enough money for a dowry, and once that objective was achieved, they returned home. Others were forced to return home to care for parents or siblings they had left behind.

Others still had been unwilling emigrants in the first place. Shipped off as indigents, many in this group simply returned home as soon as they were able to earn passage.

Finally, a great number of immigrants were just unhappy in their new country. Instead of the easy life they had hoped for, the immigrants were faced with struggles and hostility. They looked back on their home with nostalgia and decided that perhaps things were better there after all.

The year 1847 was a year of deep tragedy for the nation of Ireland. The first half of the century had seen unprecedented demographic growth, with the population doubling from four to eight million by 1845. Naturally, the structures were not in place for such rapid growth. Agrarian land holdings became smaller as the population expanded. The remaining farms had to maximize their food production to keep up with the demand. Farms that were already in a precarious state financially due to heavy farm tariffs were put completely out of commission when a series of crop failures occurred in the late 1830s.

In 1845, problems were compounded further when Europe’s crops were ravaged by a potato blight. Ireland was the hardest hit, and its potato crops were decimated. The resultant famine combined with the precarious economic conditions triggered a huge wave of immigration and subsequent Irish diaspora.

Nearly 100,000 boarded ships bound for Canada and the United States. These ships soon became floating coffins as immigrants – already weakened by lack of sustenance – succumbed to disease.

On May 17, 1847, the Syria floated into Grosse Isle in Quebec. Sickness had wracked the passengers and 430 were down with fever. In the days that followed, eight more ships pulled into the harbor, each carrying even more typhus victims. A week later, 17 more vessels had arrived, each carrying passengers infected with the fever. At this point, 695 people were already in hospitals and the doctors hardly knew where to put the new arrivals.

The number of ships soon reached 30, and over 10,000 immigrants were aboard waiting to be processed through immigration. By the end of May, 40 ships were lined up along the St. Lawrence River, stretching along the banks for two miles. Each ship held passengers affected by typhus and dysentery. Soon 1100 infected passengers were laid out in tents and fever sheds.

The island was rapidly overwhelmed, and some immigrants were transferred to Montreal where three long fever sheds had been constructed. Thousands more continued to arrive, and soon there were 22 sheds full of invalids. Troops guarded the area so no one could escape; still, typhus quickly reached epidemic proportions in Montreal. Between 3,500 and 6,000 Irish immigrants died in Montreal’s fever sheds.

Other Canadian cities were affected as well. During the summer of 1847, 863 Irish immigrants died in the fever sheds of Toronto, and 2115 more died in New Brunswick. When over 3,000 Irish arrived in Bytown, fever broke out there as well. Fever sheds were erected and the Rideau Canal was shut down to prevent the spread of disease; still, approximately 200 died in quarantine. Kingston also was affected when fever-stricken immigrants passed through and took shelter in immigrant sheds. Some 1,400 immigrants died of fever there.

The consequences of the typhus epidemic hit Canada hard. Death and disease took their toll, but the country was also put under serious financial stress as much trade came to a standstill. In time, however, the country began to recover. Today there are 1,230,000 Irish descendants in Canada, many of whom can trace their lineage to the Immigrants of ’47.

Identifying Survivors of the Great Irish Famine

Irish Diaspora and the Typhus Epidemic of 1847

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