Long distance emigration of agriculture workers or farmers is usually associated with seasonal migration. Permanent migration of farmers on the other hand, is considered to be a non-European phenomenon and commonly linked to migration to the New World where capital costs were relatively low and institutional barriers limited. Interestingly, in the early modern period, in the wake of the mass migration from continental north-western Europe to the urban areas of the Dutch Republic, a contingent of German market gardeners and their descendants were slowly able to take over the production of farmed vegetable goods for the nation's capital, Amsterdam. In the middle of one of Europe's most densely populated areas, in a polder called Watergraafsmeer, a parish neighbouring, and subsequently part of, Amsterdam, Germans dominated the agricultural sector for over a century. This article will try to answer the question of how these German migrants were able to control a sector that is usually run by locally born producers, for such a long period of time.
Kaal, H. G. J., & van Lottum, J. J. (2009). Immigrants in the Polder: Rural-rural long distance migration in North-western Europe: The case of Watergraafsmeer. Rural History, 20(1), 99-117.
DOI (behind paywall): https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956793308002604
Header afbeelding: Stadsarchief Amsterdam
Icon afbeelding: Stadsarchief Amsterdam