Spain Emigration and Immigration

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How to Find the Records[edit | edit source]

Online Resources[edit | edit source]

Miscellaneous records created by embassies and consulates of Spain throughout the world and housed at the Archivo General de la Administración in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. These records include: passport registers, nationality cards, registers of citizens, military records, and civil registration births, marriages, and deaths. A

Offices and Archives to Contact[edit | edit source]

Arquivo da Emigración Galega (Archive of Galician Emigration)
Address: Cidade da Cultura de Galicia
Edificio da Biblioteca de Galicia, 1º andar
Monte Gaiás, s/n. CP 15707
Santiago de Compostela
Spain

Tel.: +34 881 995 143 | +34 881 995 148
E-mail: aemigracion@consellodacultura.org
Website: http://consellodacultura.gal/aeg/http://consellodacultura.gal/aeg/ One of the objectives of this archive is to recover and safeguard the documentation about Galician emigration. Some of the documentary collections which have been preserved are the emigrant books for certain municipalities, documentation from official bodies of the receiving countries, collections from Galician societies and personal archives of emigrants.

Centro de Documentación de las Migraciones (Migration Documentation Centre)
Address: Calle Arenal 11.
28013 Madrid
Spain

Tel.: +34 91 3640601
Fax: +34 91 3641350
E-mail: afernandez@1mayo.ccoo.es
Website: http://www.1mayo.ccoo.es/Centro_Documentacion_Migraciones
This centre is dedicated to recovering, organising and safeguarding the life testimonies of Spanish emigrants and their communities. It safeguards archives from Spanish emigrant associations and centres, as well as personal archives of emigrants and those exiled in Argentina, Cuba, Mexico and Uruguay.

Fundación Archivo de Indianos (Indianos Archive Foundation). Museo de la Emigración (Museum of Emigration)
Adress: Quinta Guadalupe. Columbres 33590 Colombres (Asturias), Spain
Tel.: +34 985 41 20 05
E-mail: info@archivodeindianos.es
Website: http://www.archivodeindianos.es/
One of the activities of this Foundation is to compile documents from various Spanish associations in America, especially Asturian associations. It also collects personal and family archives of emigrants.

Museo del Pueblo de Asturias (Museum of the Asturian People)
Address: Paseo del Doctor Fleming 877. La Güelga. 33203 Gijón (Asturias), Spain
Tel.: +34 985182960
E-mail: museopa@gijon.es
Website: http://museos.gijon.es/page/5285-museu-del-pueblu-d-asturies
Several personal and family archives of Asturian emigrants who migrated to America during the 19th and 20th centuries can be found in this museum. It also has an important collection of photographs and postcards from Asturians living in America, sent between 1840 and 1940.

Passenger lists (Listas de pasajeros)[edit | edit source]

Research use: Trace emigrants back to their ancestral origins.

Record type: Records of emigrant embarkation to depart the country.

General: Emigration has been a way of life in Spain for centuries. Originally, Sevilla was the only port legally authorized for ships sailing to America. In the last half of the eighteenth century the number of ports was increased to six: Alicante, Málaga, Cartagena, Barcelona, and La Coruña. In the latter half of the 19th century the popular destinations were Cuba and the Philippines, and in the early 20th century, Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, and Venezuela.

Time period: 1509-1900 (at least).

Contents: The early records in Sevilla contain the names of passengers and requests for permission to travel to America. Both identify the emigrant or the name of the head of household, birthplace and residence before embarkation.

Location: Third section, Archive of the Indies (Archivo General de Indias) in Sevilla for early records 1509-1790; municipal archives of port cities for later records.

Population coverage: As much as 30% of the historical population of Spain in earlier periods may have emigrated. Many of them did not register. It is estimated that as much as 20% of the population may be contained in the passenger lists.

Reliability: Good.

Accessibility: High. An index has been published for the records in early lists in Sevilla for the period 1509-1599--Catálogo de Pasajeros a Indias.[1]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. The Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Family History Record Profile: Spain,” Word document, private files of the FamilySearch Content Strategy Team, 1984-1999.