On Mar 25, 3:37 pm, Frannie <owl...@gmail.com> wrote: > I am trying to understand the life hardships for my Ggggfather Jose da > Silva Sampaio in Rabo de Peixe that caused him, his family and brother > Francisco and his family to sign up for a 3 year as contract workers for > the Hawaiian Kingdom. To leave their life style and family. Was there a > shortage of jobs there?
Hi Frannie, Robert Santos at Cal State Stanislaus has written about this: http://library.csustan.edu/bsantos/migrat.html And here is a link to an online version of a book written in 1886 called "The Azores: or Western Islands: a political, commercial, and geographical account". You can read it online or download the PDF: http://archive.org/details/azoresorwesterni00walk It doesn't seem to say anything specific about emigration to Hawaii, but here are few standout quotes: "These oft recurring failures of the crops are aggravated by the whole land being held and owned by the rich to the utter exclusion of the labourer, who, unable to rise above his even precarious lOd. a day wage, is condemned to a lifetime of ill-paid labour, and when the maize crops, their staple article of food, fail, and grain has to be imported at high prices, the labourer and his numerous progeny have a bad time of it here." "Emigration, generally clandestine, has of late years greatly relieved the necessitous condition of these poor islanders, but the difficulties in the way of the overplus population seeking their fortunes elsewhere hare been increased by a law passed in the Cortes in 1880, compelling all males, on attaining the age of 14, to deposit £40 with the State, before being allowed to leave the country ; this sum being kept in pawn with a view to providing a military substitute, should the emigrant not return when required to undergo the period of service in the army all Portuguese are liable to." "The total annual emigration from this archipelago fluctuates between two and three thousand of both sexes, but is continuous. Besides the English, German and Portuguese steamers which occasionally call at these islands for their living freights, there are three or four sailing vessels employed between them and Boston and New Bedford, U.S., carrying each about 170 passengers, and making five or six voyages in the year. " "Notwithstanding this constant flux of emigration, the population of the island would seem to be on the increase, for the census of 1864 showed that the number of inhabitants amounted to 106,000, whereas in the last census of 1878 they had increased to 120,000 approximately, distributed between thirty-five towns and villages." Best, Steve -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
