European immigration to the Americas

European immigration to the Americas was one of the largest migratory movements in human history. Between the years 1492 and 1930, more than 60 million Europeans immigrated to the American continent. Between 1492 and 1820, approximately 2.6 million Europeans immigrated to the Americas, of whom just under 50% were British, 40% were Spanish or Portuguese, 6% were Swiss or German, and 5% were French.

But it was in the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century that European immigration to the Americas reached its historic peak. Never before in human history have so many people immigrated to another continent. Between 1815 and 1930, 60 million Europeans emigrated, of which 71% went to North America, 21% to Latin America, and 7% to Australia.^[1] This mass immigration had as a backdrop economic and social problems in the Old World, allied to structural changes that facilitated the migratory movement between the two continents. British people and Iberians continued to immigrate, but influxes from other parts of Europe, particularly Germany, Italy, Ireland, Austria-Hungary, the Russian Empire and Scandinavian countries also became numerous.