Abstract EN:

Basque migration in the nineteenth century was not simply the result of poverty and economic crises, and did not solely shape into a massive popular movement to america. Actually, the causes of migration originated in traditional family inheritance practices and family structures, the practices of single inheritance (ainesse integrate) and the stem family, which allowed the first, born child (male or female) to inherit the family property and raise his or her family in the family house, and one or several unmarried siblings to live with them temporarily or permanently. With higher fecondity rates and the enforcement of the civil code in the nineteenth century, families had to conceive new strategies to secure single inheritance, protect the family house from bankrupcy, and perpetuate their traditional property transmission practices. Thus, in order to preserve the family property and house intact, parents transmitted a larger share of the inheritance to one child (the first-born or cadet, male or female child) and then heirs purchased their siblings' shares of the inheritance (usually at a cheaper price than their real value, if at all) to encourage them to leave the house permanently. The departing siblings did not always venture to america for prospective success. Some wanted to live within their family environment at a short distance from their home, in their village or nearby villages as propertied farmers or sharecroppers, others moved to cities (mainly women and preferably in local towns rather than cities), and finally, others emigrated to america (mainly men). Their migration patterns did not only result from specific economic interests, but also from personal priorities, related to the type of relationship they wished to maintain with their family, village, property, and land. As their migration patterns and their social background differed, so did their professional, social and marital destiny.