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Rhode Island Emigration and Immigration (view source)
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*Pre-statehood settlers of Rhode Island generally were '''English Protestants''', but liberal policies attracted '''French Huguenots, Blacks, Jews, and other minorities'''. | *Pre-statehood settlers of Rhode Island generally were '''English Protestants''', but liberal policies attracted '''French Huguenots, Blacks, Jews, and other minorities'''. | ||
*Heavy '''Irish''' immigration began about 1830 and continued through the rest of the nineteenth century. | *Heavy '''Irish''' immigration began about 1830 and continued through the rest of the nineteenth century. | ||
*A great influx of '''French Canadians''' began after the Civil War and continued to the turn of the century. Rhode | *A great influx of '''French Canadians''' began after the Civil War and continued to the turn of the century. | ||
*The 50 years following the Civil War were a time of prosperity and affluence. This was a time of growth in textile mills and manufacturing. Thousands of '''French-Canadian, Italian, Irish, and Portuguese''' immigrants arrived to fill jobs in the textile and manufacturing mills in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket. | |||
*Beginning about 1880, overseas emigration shifted from northern Europe to southern and eastern Europe. The '''Italians''' were the largest ethnic group to arrive at this time. Other groups who arrived in Rhode Island between 1880 and 1915 include the '''Portuguese colonials, Poles, and Jews from Russia'''. | |||
*According to the 2010–2015 American Community Survey, the largest ancestry groups were I'''rish (18.3%), Italian (18.0%), English (10.5%), French (10.4%), and Portuguese (9.3%)'''. | |||
*Rhode Island has a higher percentage of Americans of '''Portuguese''' ancestry, including Portuguese Americans and Cape Verdean Americans than any other state in the nation. | |||
*Additionally, the state also has the highest percentage of '''Liberian''' immigrants, with more than 15,000 residing in the state. | |||
*'''Italian Americans''' make up a plurality in central and southern Providence County. | |||
*'''French-Canadian Americans''' form a large part of northern Providence County. | |||
*'''Irish Americans''' have a strong presence in Newport and Kent counties. | |||
*Americans of '''English''' ancestry still have a presence in the state as well, especially in Washington County, and are often referred to as "Swamp Yankees." <ref name="RI">"Rhode Island", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island, 1 April 2021.</ref> | |||
===African Americans=== | ===African Americans=== | ||
Slaves were introduced in Rhode Island in 1688, although there is no record of any law legalizing slave-holding. The colony later prospered under the slave trade, distilling rum to sell in Africa as part of a profitable triangular trade in slaves and sugar with the Caribbean. Rhode Island's legislative body passed an act in 1652 abolishing the holding of slaves (the first British colony to do so), but this edict was never enforced and Rhode Island continued to be heavily involved in the slave trade during the post-revolution era.In 1774, the slave population of Rhode Island was 6.3% of the total (nearly twice the ratio of other New England colonies). | *Slaves were introduced in Rhode Island in 1688, although there is no record of any law legalizing slave-holding. The colony later prospered under the slave trade, distilling rum to sell in Africa as part of a profitable triangular trade in slaves and sugar with the Caribbean. | ||
*Rhode Island's legislative body passed an act in 1652 abolishing the holding of slaves (the first British colony to do so), but this edict was never enforced and Rhode Island continued to be heavily involved in the slave trade during the post-revolution era. | |||
*In 1774, the slave population of Rhode Island was 6.3% of the total (nearly twice the ratio of other New England colonies). | |||
*African immigrants, including '''Cape Verdean Americans, Liberian Americans, Nigerian Americans and Ghanaian Americans''', form significant and growing communities in Rhode Island.<ref name="RI"/> | |||
==Immigration Records== | ==Immigration Records== | ||