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Migration is the movement of people from one place to another. People can move long or short distances and might move for a short period of time or might spend the rest of their lives in a new place.
In geographical terms, the push-pull factors are those that drive people away from a place and draw people to a new location. A combination of push-pull factors helps determine migration or immigration of particular populations from one land to another.
Push factors are often forceful, demanding that a certain person or group of people leave one country for another, or at least giving that person or people strong reasons to want to move—either because of a threat of violence or the loss of financial security. Pull factors, on the other hand, are often the positive aspects of a different country that encourage people to immigrate in order to seek a better life. While it may seem that push and pull factors are diametrically opposed, they both come into play when a population or person is considering migrating to a new location.
Any number of detrimental factors can be considered push factors, which essentially force a population or person from one country to seek refuge in another country. Conditions that drive people to leave their homes can include a sub-standard level of living, food, land or job scarcity, famine or drought, political or religious persecution, pollution, or even natural disasters. Under the worst circumstances, it may be difficult for a person or group to pick and choose a destination—speed out is more important than selecting the best option for relocation.
Although not all push factors require a person to leave a country, the conditions that contribute to a person leaving are often so dire that if they do not choose to leave, they will suffer financially, emotionally, or physically. The Great Potato Famine of the mid-19th century, for example, pushed thousands of Irish families to immigrate to the United States to avoid starvation.
Populations with refugee statuses are among the most affected by push factors in a country or region. Refugee populations are often faced with genocide-like conditions in their country of origin, usually because of authoritarian governments or populations opposed to religious or ethnic groups. For example, Jews leaving Germany during the Nazi era were threatened with violent death if they remained in their home country.
Pull factors are those that help a person or population determine whether relocating to a new country would provide a significant benefit. These factors attract populations to a new place largely because of what the country provides that is not available to them in their country of origin.
A promise of freedom from religious or political persecution, availability of career opportunities or cheap land, and an abundance of food could be considered pull factors for migrating to a new country. In each of these cases, a population will have more opportunity to pursue a better life compared to its home country. Students entering universities or seeking jobs in more developed countries, for example, might be able to receive larger salaries and greater opportunities than in their countries of origin.
For some individuals and groups, push and pull factors work together. This is particularly the case when push factors are relatively benign. For example, a young adult who cannot find a lucrative job in their home country may consider immigrating only if the opportunities are significantly better elsewhere.
There are many economic, social and physical reasons why people emigrate and they can usually be classified into push and pull factors.
What are push and pull factors?
- Push factors are those associated with the area of origin
- Pull factors are those that are associated with the area of destination
Economic reasons
Economic motives loom large in all human movements, but are particularly important with regards to migration.
Pull Factors
- More jobs
- Better jobs
- Higher wages
- The promise of a “better life”
Sometimes this is encouraged by the destination country for example, the 1960’s employment campaign in the Caribbean by London bus companies that actively recruited young men to move to London to work as bus drivers, who were then often followed by their families.
Another example might be the “brain drain” to America that occurred in the latter half of the 20th century from several other western countries.
Push Factors
Economic push factors tend to be the exact reversal of the pull factors:
- Overpopulation
- Few jobs
- Low wages
This lack of economic opportunity tends to push people to look for their futures outside the area of their origin.
An example of this is the migration of Mexicans and people from other Central American countries into the US, where they often work low-wage, long-hour jobs in farming, construction and domestic labour.
It’s difficult to classify this case purely with push factors though, because often the factors associated with the country of origin are just as important as the factors associated with the country of destination.
Forced migration has also been used for economic gain, such as the 20 million men, women and children who were forcibly carried as slaves to the Americas between the 16th and 18th centuries.
Social reasons
Social reasons tend to involve forced migration
Pull factors
- Principles of religious tolerance
For example the US attracted religious refugees, such as the Mennonites, who settled in Pennsylvania.
Push factors
- Intolerance towards a certain cultural group
- Active religious persecution
Examples being the Huguenots in 16th century France, the Puritans in 17th century England and the Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany.
Physical reasons
Pull factors
- Attractive environments, such as mountains, seasides and warm climates
For example the Alps pull French people to eastern France. Spain attracts migrants, especially retirees, who seek warmer winters
Push factors
Examples would be the east African drought of 2011 and the mass exodus from the island of Montserrat leading up to the eruption of the *La Soufriere Hills volcano in 1995, which led to two thirds of the population abandoning the island.
*(Don’t confuse with La Soufriere on the island of Saint Vincent, or La Grande Soufriere on the island of Basse-Terre.)
Newfoundland and Labrador's permanent population rapidly expanded during the first half of the 19th century, largely due to an influx of English, Irish, and Scottish immigrants. Until then, the colony primarily served as a seasonal fishing station for European countries and most of its population remained on a temporary basis only. During the early 1800s, however, the migratory fishery gave way to a resident one as more and more immigrants arrived from overseas to live in coastal communities on the island or in southern Labrador.
Trinity, NL, ca. 1840
Most of the permanent population settled in or near places like Trinity, St. John's or other such mercantile centres.
Artist unknown. From Philip Tocque, Wandering Thoughts (London: Thomas Richardson, 1846) 365.
A wide range of factors prompted immigrants to leave their homes and settle in Newfoundland and Labrador. Overpopulation in many British towns caused some residents to move elsewhere, while others wished to escape economic hardships brought on by poor harvests, job losses due to increased mechanization, the failure of local industries, and other factors.
In contrast, the early decades of the 19th century brought much economic prosperity to Newfoundland and Labrador. The Napoleonic Wars gave the colony a virtual monopoly of the salt cod trade, while the emergence of a shipbuilding industry, seal hunt, and winter trapping season helped diversity its economy and make year-round habitation possible. Well-established trade routes between the United Kingdom and Newfoundland and Labrador facilitated migration and made the latter a somewhat familiar destination to those wishing to leave their homes and settle elsewhere.
Push Factors
Push factors encourage people to leave their points of origin and settle elsewhere, while pull factors attract migrants to new areas. For example, high unemployment is a common push factor, while an abundance of jobs is an effective pull factor. Although it is impossible to know precisely why each immigrant decided to leave his or her home country to settle in Newfoundland and Labrador, it is possible to outline general push factors motivating emigration from different areas.
The period of most intense migration occurred during the first three decades of the 19th century, when Newfoundland and Labrador's population almost quadrupled from 19,000 in 1803 to 75,000 in 1836. Immigration into the country continued for the remainder of the 19th century, but not on as large a scale. Although people arrived from many places, including China, Lebanon, and Eastern Europe, most immigrants came from either southwest England or southeast Ireland.
The English West Country
Most immigrants to Newfoundland and Labrador during the first half of the 19th century came from southwest England or southeast Ireland.
Adapted by Tanya Saunders. ©2001 Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site.
A variety of push factors existed in England and Ireland during the early decades of the 19th century that would have motivated residents to move elsewhere. Foremost among these were economic and social stresses caused by high unemployment and expanding populations. In England, centralization and industrialization eliminated many regional jobs, particularly among the artisan class in the southwestern portion of the country. Unemployment also increased during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), when trade between Britain and continental Europe collapsed under France's foreign policy. Out of work and with few local options, many tradesmen and their families emigrated to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Similar socio-economic conditions existed in Ireland. The collapse of the textile industry in the southeast and a series of poor farming seasons between 1770 and 1830 resulted in much economic hardship for members of the working class. At the same time, the country's population jumped from about four million in 1771 to seven million by 1821, placing even greater pressures on Ireland's limited jobs and resources. During the first three decades of the 19th century, between 30,000 and 35,000 people left Ireland for Newfoundland and Labrador, often to escape hunger, poverty, and overcrowded living conditions.
Pull Factors
Newfoundland and Labrador's growing economy and small resident population made it more than capable of absorbing large numbers of immigrants during the early decades of the 19th century; these same factors also made it an attractive destination for migrants wishing to escape poverty and population congestion prevalent in their points of origin.
The Napoleonic and Anglo-American wars of the early 1800s brought much economic prosperity to Newfoundland and Labrador and helped turn its inshore fishery into a resident rather than migratory industry. As French and American fisheries declined between 1804 and 1815, Newfoundland and Labrador cod became more valuable on the international market and the colony's fish exports almost doubled from 625,519 quintals to approximately 1.2 million during the same time period (1 quintal = 50.8 kilograms). European fish merchants established premises on the island and expanded into the supply trade to make groceries, equipment, clothes, and other goods available year-round to the rising number of resident families.
Preparing Cod, Cape Rouge, NL, ca. 1857-1859
The Napoleonic and Anglo-American wars of the early 1800s gave the colony a virtual monopoly of the salt cod trade and prompted European fish merchants to establish premises on the island.
Photo by Paul-Émile Miot. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada (PA-202293), Ottawa, Ontario.
The growth of other industries supplemented the summer fishery and made permanent residence in Newfoundland and Labrador more attractive; these included a spring seal hunt, winter trapping season, and shipbuilding industry. Alongside making year-round occupancy possible, these industries allowed settlers to move into less-populated areas along the island's northeast coast and in southern Labrador.
The United Kingdom's well-established shipping routes with Newfoundland and Labrador also made the colony a popular destination for British migrants. Alongside sending regular shipments of goods to Newfoundland and Labrador ports, merchants in southwest England and southeast Ireland also sent workers overseas who often took up permanent residence in the colony. In addition, British vessels could not enter American ports during the Anglo-American War (1812-1814), making Newfoundland and Labrador a convenient alternative to migrants wishing to leave the Old World for the New.
Other Immigrants
It was not only people of English and Irish descent who moved to Newfoundland and Labrador during the 19th century. After 1840, many Highland Scots living in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia immigrated to Newfoundland's southwest coast. These were mostly agricultural families in search of land. Ommer (1977) argues the Scots left Cape Breton because of problems with land tenure arising from absentee landlordism and the possibility that confederation with Canada would lead to financial penalties on land not in production. Because many Scots used their property for woodcutting as well as farming, the Canadian land-use policy would have made tenure more expensive. Newfoundland and Labrador, however, had no such policy and was in reasonable travelling distance from Cape Breton. Most Scots settled in the Codroy Valley, where land was of good quality and similar to that in Cape Breton. A strong salmon fishery in the area was another pull factor.
Codroy Valley, pre-1936
Many Highland Scots living in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia immigrated to Newfoundland's southwest coast after 1840.
Photographer unknown. Reproduced by permission of Archives and Special Collections (Coll. 137 17.03.001), Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL.
While Highland Scots settled on the island's west coast, Lowland Scots arrived on its eastern shores during the late 18th and early 19th centuries to participate in the lucrative fish industry. Some were wealthy merchants wishing to take advantage of Newfoundland and Labrador's growing saltfish trade, while others were artisans, tradesmen, and labourers seeking employment in various merchant firms and commercial centres.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, small numbers of Chinese, Lebanese, and Jewish immigrants arrived at Newfoundland and Labrador, often in response to poor economic conditions in their points of origin or to religious persecution and unfriendly government regimes. After Chinese ports became open to foreign trade in the late 1800s, some of the first Chinese immigrants arrived at Newfoundland and Labrador in hopes of earning a better living. Most opened private businesses or worked in the fishery and at the Bell Island mines. Religious strife, military conscription, and poor economic conditions also prompted some Lebanese and Jewish immigrants to move to Newfoundland and Labrador during the last two decades of the 19th century; many new arrivals established private businesses or sought employment in the country's emerging mining industry or its well-established fishery.
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