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“THE NEw MECCA OF IMMIGRANTS”...
work in the industrial and service sectors, and most importantly, the chronic
problems of Hungarian agriculture.° These issues were further complicated
after the First World War, when many Hungarians emigrated because
of the impact of the Treaty of Trianon and resulting ethnic conflicts with
neighboring countries. Simultaneously, American countries, employers, and
immigration agents looked to Eastern and Southern Europe as a possible
source of immigrants. The attraction of countries like the United States and
Canada stemmed from major industrial development (a second industrial
revolution resulting in a need for a larger labor force) and the availability
of land in the west, and it was further reinforced by news of prospects
disseminated both by former emigrants via letters and a range of literature
that promoted emigration to villagers. Thus the combination of push and pull
factors set in motion one of the largest waves of emigration in Hungarian
history, with the key destinations of Hungarians in North America being
the United States and later on Canada.
Trends in Hungarian emigration were shaped by the migration policies
of both the country of origin and the receiving nations. As emigration
represented a key (economic, social, and even military) issue and challenge
in Hungarian politics, the Hungarian government also attempted to regulate
emigration at various points. Due to the significant role ofimmigration agents
in this process in the Kingdom of Hungary, the first government measures
were targeted against their activities, as in Act XXX VIII of 1881.” A more
complex regulation of emigration soon followed as the topic became a focal
point of Hungarian politics at the time, thus addressing issues like border
control and passport regulations. As former acts and regulations could not
properly deal with the complex issue of emigration, a new Act was needed.
One of the main principles behind the legislation was that emigration itself
could not be prevented and people could not be forced to stay in the home
country: thus the primary objective was to somehow control, manage and
restrict the amount of emigration. Ihus Act IV of 1903 on Emigration was
enacted, which prevented some groups of people from leaving the country,
the use of passports was made compulsory and the activities of agents and
shipping companies were controlled more strictly, etc.?
° For more information see: Puskas, Hungary to the United States; Thirring, Magyarorszdgi
kivändorlés; Carmela Patria, The Hungarians in Canada, Ottawa, The Canadian Historical
Association, 1999.
The overview is based on: Janos Sallai, A ki és bevändorläs magyar szabályozása a 20. század
elején, in József Szalma (ed.), A magyar tudomány napja a délvidéken, Budapest, Dialóg
Campus, 2016, 359—373.
8 Preamble to Act IV of 1903 on Emigration, available at: https://net.jogtar.hu/ezer-ev-torveny?
docid=90300004.T VI&searchUrl=/ezer-ev-torvenyei%3Fpagenum%3D45 (accessed 10 May
2020).
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