Åter från den nya världen : En studie av emigrationens återinvandrare till Skövde under perioderna 1891 - 1900 och 1901 - 1910

Sammanfattning: The purpose of the essay has been to contribute to research by highlighting a part of the migration topic that has been somewhat overshadowed. The focus, instead of emigrants, has been on the people who re- immigrated to Sweden. The study is limited to two periods of time, 1891 – 1900 and 1901 – 1910, but also with a delimitation to the city of Skövde. The source material is based on summary population reports retrieved vis the Emiweb database but extracts from parish books and censuses from the National Archives (Riksarkivet) have also been used. The starting point for the qualitative elements has been in literature. Statistics have been compiled and presented in diagrams and tables, with an accompanying piece of text. In order to provide qualitative input to some of the re-immigrants, ten case studies have been conducted. Additional qualitative components are evident in the question of the connection between emigration, immigration and push and pull factors.  The result shows that there were more than double the number of re-immigrants to Skövde in the first period, with 125 people. The second period it was 53 people. The age, sex, marital status and occupation of the immigrants have been examined, and it was found that these largely correspond to the national pattern. Applicable push and pull factors it appeared to be mainly high and low economic cycles as important. Based on the literature used, it became clear how the economic cycles affected the relocation exchange. When times were worse on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, fewer emigrated and more re- immigrated. The main example of this is in 1894, when reimmigration was almost as high as emigration. More driving forces that are not infrequently mentioned are the letters sent between relatives and friends. Over time, it became increasingly common to also send pre-paid tickets home to Sweden, to get these people to move to America.