Italians in Africa (1870s–1914), or How to Escape Poverty and Become a Landowner

From 1902 to 1907 Italian emigration to Africa reached its peak with an average of 12,770 emigrants per year. Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia were the main countries of destination and immigration had grown from previous decades thanks to well established ‘migration chains’. Information about opportunities and remittances from previous emigrants helped the poor siblings and friends left behind with their moves. Extremely poor Southern farmers and an uncommonly high proportion of females left for Africa in search for a job, better salaries, and the possibility of coming back to Italy with some savings. This article looks at the economic motives that pushed Italians to emigrate to Africa, but, in a very orginal way, it also looks at what Africa offered them in terms of better living conditions and wages. With method and rigourd this research investigates African economic opportunities offered to Italian migrants between 1870 and 1914. The historical records and data cleary show that for some years Africa represented a way out of a harsh life and hunger, which in the past had led either to a passive and fatalist acceptance of the situation, or to brigandage in the South.