What was the cost of a typical voyage for migrants from Palermo to New York in the early 1900's?
My grandfather arrived in the the United States from Sciacca, Sicily for the first time in 1905, then made a return voyage to collect his wife and child in 1906. I know that they were poor and illiterate, yet they had the means for these crossings. I'd like to learn more about the cost structure of transatlantic crossings and how this contributed to that migration stream.
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https://www.eh.net/eha/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Weissetal.pdf
Above is a link to a very interesting research paper on this very subject. The paper is fascinating reading only if you are truly interested in all the factors affecting fares on ships in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But I think you may find the graphs after page 31 will be most effective in answering your query. Thank you for asking this question. I enjoyed the paper and learned a little more about how much some of my own ancestors had to save and sacrifice to come to this country.
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An economist by profession, I am eager to understand these data. Thank you.
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Good. I hope this helps. I appreciate your reply.
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The recommended source was very helpful. As academic work it is a good effort to expose trends in transatlantic fares over time. According to the authors, in 1905, the typical third-class fare might have been in the neighborhood of $30. Today that would be equivalent to around $900. Like my grandparents, many migrants might have had three crossings (one round trip, followed by a final one-way voyage. Considering the total expense (two adults, three crossing each), one can appreciate the enormous expense and risk associated with migration in the early 1900s. One wonders at the economic and social conditions that drove that kind of decision making by illiterate peasants, and one also cannot help making the comparison to desperate migrants today.
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