ABSTRACT
The periodic emigration and settlement overseas of some ten million Poles since the Partitions of the late eighteenth century have been fundamental to Poland's development as a state and nation, and provide the general historical context within which any single episode may be viewed. The main pressures behind this movement were, at different times, economic, social, political, ideological and military in nature, and usually a mixture of these. The expansionist ambitions and repressive policies of Poland's neighbours, and frequently occupiers, also played a decisive role. A distinction has to be made, of course, between voluntary and enforced emigration. An example of the former was the seasonal migration of Poles from the beginning of the nineteenth century to large estates and industrial centres in Germany, and subsequently to the factories and coal mines of northern France and Belgium. In the second half of the century, the United States became the principal destination of Polish emigrants. 1
