Abstract
There is a persistent notion that Galicia has changed from land of emigrants to a land of immigrants. Admittedly, during most of the recorded modern history, Galicia has been the origin par excellence of flows of emigrants going abroad and to other parts of Spain. But this portrayal of the recent migratory history is applied even more to Spain, because the country as a whole receives a much higher rate of immigration than Galicia. It is said that Spain has gone from being a country of emigration to a country of immigration, a claim that has also been made regarding a number of other countries such as Portugal, Slovenia, Germany, of Europe in general, and even India. Clearly, these arguments depend on how far back in history the analysis goes and also on what kinds of movements count as emigration and immigration. In any case, the figures are only a part of the story. The definition of a territory as being of “emigration” or “immigration” responds largely to a social construct that is only partially supported by evidence.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Indiano refers to a person who has resided abroad and returns home with great wealth. Their houses can be found in Galician and other parts of Spain that experienced major emigration movements during the same period. They represent the arrival of Modernism and other European architectural innovations from the early nineteenth century, such as the bathroom (Vila 2014).
- 2.
Even though it serves as an occasion for neighbours and family to gather outdoors all day, eating and drinking, the traditional romeria is often linked to a religious motive, and what is even more important, both the occasion and the denomination form part of the most deeply rooted Galician folklore (Valentine and Valentine 1998).
- 3.
Boats or rafts used by immigrants to illegally enter Spain.
- 4.
According to the 1991 Census, Galicia was the autonomous community with the highest number of “stateless” people (419). This number included the children of Cape Verdean immigrants (see Oca González, this volume). After the problem was resolved, the census for 2001 recorded only four stateless people in Galicia.
References
Cunha, L. M. (2007). Fronteira, memoria e narrativa. In J. Mª Uribe (Ed.), En-clave ibérica: vecinos, caminos y mudanzas culturales (pp. 71–84). Pamplona: Universidad Pública de Navarra.
Finotelli, C. et al. (2013). Brazil-Europe migration. The situation of Brazilian immigrants in Spain and Portugal, and Portuguese and Spanish immigrants in Brazil: Legal aspects and experiences. International centre for migration policy development (ICMPD). Retrieved May 31, 2016 from http://www.icmpd.org/fileadmin/ICMPD-Website/ICMPD-Website_2011/ICMPD_General/News/ITINERIS/Brazil_-_Europe_Migration.pdf.
Herrera Erazo, M. H. (2009). Os Heredeiros de Diego Sarmiento. A Emigración de Retorno Galega no Marco da Politica Migratoria Suiza. Estudos Migratorios II(1), 135–150.
Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (2015). Padrón Municipal de Habitantes. Madrid, INE. Retrieved from http://www.ine.es/inebmenu/mnu_padron.htm.
Lamela, C., López de Lera, D., & Oso, L. (2005). La inmigración internacional en Galicia: latinoamericanos, comunitarios y otros. In C. Solé & A. Izquierdo (Eds.), Integraciones diferenciadas (pp. 89–104). Bacelona: Anthropos.
Langewiesche, W. (2006). The Outlaw sea: Chaos and crime on the world’s oceans. London: Granta Books.
Lois Gonzalez, R., & Carballo Lomba, A. (2015). The Spanish-Portuguese Border Today: A Geographical View. Revista de Historiografía, 23, 191–214.
Miguelez-Carballeira, H. (2013). Galicia, a sentimental nation. Gender, culture and politics. Cardiff: University of Wales.
Nuñez Seixas, X. M. (2016). Migrant associations: The Spanish transatlantic experience, 1870–1970. Social History, 41(2), 136–154.
Oso Casas, L., Golías Pérez, M., & Villares Varela, M. (2008). Inmigrantes extranjeros y retornados en Galicia: la construcción del puente transnacional. Política y Sociedad, 45(1), 103–117.
Otero, A. (2006, December 3). El Rey Gallego de los Jibaros. El País. Retrieved May 31, 2016 from http://elpais.com/diario/2006/12/03/eps/1165130810_850215.html.
Pereira Castañares, J. C. (2001). Y al oeste, Portugal. Cuaderno de Historia Contemporánea, 23, 367–371.
Pereira, V. (2008). España como país de tránsito. El caso de la emigración portuguesa hacia Francia (1957–1974). Migraciones y Exilios, 9, 75–114.
Roberts, S. (2016, January 27). Concepcion Picciotto, Who kept vigil by white house for three decades, dies. The New York Times, p. B15.
Roseman, S. R., Herrero, N., & Wayne, F. (2008). The cultural politics of tourism and heritage in Galicia: Anthropological perspectives. International Journal of Iberian Studies, 21(2), 73–86.
Solé, C., Cavalcanti, L., & Parella, S. (2011). La inmigración brasileña en la estructura socioeconomica de España. Madrid: Secretaría de Estado de Inmigración.
Trillo-Santamaria, J. M., & García, J. (2015). Galicia-Minho: el cuetionamiento de una frontera. Debates en el discurso geográfico ibérico. Revista de Historiografía, 23, 159–189.
Trillo-Santamaria, J. M., & Paül, V. (2014). The oldest boundary in Europe? A critical approach to the Spanish-Portuguese border: The Raia between Galicia and Portugal. Geopolitics, 19, 161–181.
Urry, J. (2014). Offshoring. Polity Press.
Valentine, E., & Valentine, K. B. (1998). Dead or alive, you’re going to Teixido. The teller and the tale. In A. Banks & S. P. Banks (Eds.), Fiction and social research: By ice or fire (pp. 79–86). Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.
Vila, Xurxo A. (2014). Galician architecture: From foundations to roof. In H. Míguelez-Carballeira (Ed.), A companion to Galician culture (pp. 115–134). Suffolk: Tamesis Books.
Waldinger, R., & Fitzgerald, D. (2004). Transnationalism in question. British Journal of Sociology, 55(4), 1177–1195.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lamela, C. (2018). From a Land of Emigrants to a Land of Immigrants? The Complex Realities Behind a Common Perception. In: DePalma, R., Pérez-Caramés, A. (eds) Galician Migrations: A Case Study of Emerging Super-diversity. Migration, Minorities and Modernity, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66305-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66305-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-66304-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-66305-0
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)