Overseas Passenger Fares and Emigration from Germany in the Mid-Nineteenth Century

Abstract

Mid-nineteenth-century German immigrants who settled in the United States and other faraway destinations faced the formidable hurdle of crossing an ocean and coming up with the resources to pay for it. Using new data from German emigrant newspapers we provide more concrete information on the fares to various international ports, and how they varied seasonally and by method of transport (sail or steam). We do not observe fares declining in the late 1840s and 1850s. Unskilled German workers could not easily afford such a voyage, providing perspective on why German immigration to the United States was positively self-selected.

Time on the crossing: emigrant voyages across the Atlantic, 1853–1913

“…Killick (2014) found that westward fares across the Atlantic on Cope's shipping line fell steeply from the 1830s to the 1850s, suggesting that this contributed to the surge in emigration. On the other hand, Cohn and Wegge (2017) found no decline in fares on sailing ships from German ports from 1846 to 1857. And examining average passage costs for major steam shipping companies, Keeling (1999, p. 44) finds no downward trend from 1850 to 1913.…”

“…For example, the total cost would have declined more for a single migrant than for a family with one breadwinner, as foregone earnings would be a larger share of the total. Also, the decline in the passage costs relative to earnings, probably helped to stimulate emigration from continental Europe (Cohn and Wegge, 2017), especially when the improved efficiency and decreasing costs of overland travel are taken into account. In this context it is worth remembering that travel, board and lodging before and after the Atlantic crossing could cost as much as voyage itself (Keeling 2007, p. 135).…”

Cartel Organization, Price Discrimination, and Selection of Transatlantic Migrants: 1899–1911

“…Cohn and Wegge (), whose data are for the mid‐19th century, discuss the likely impact of high ocean fares on the observed positive selection of migrants from Germany.…”

“… We have examined data reported in Cohn and Wegge (), Feys (), DuPont, Gandhi, and Weiss (), and Killick (). These either overlapped with the data reported in Keeling or were not sufficient for regression analysis on their own.…”