Transnational mobility and cross-border family life cycles: A century of Welsh-Italian migration

Abstract

During the late 19 th century, Italian immigrant settlement in Wales took the form of 'chain' and 'clustered' migration, based on village of origin-centered networks of extended family members. The original migrants reliance on transnationalist family support networks endured and evolved through descendant generations. Endogamous family formation and the progression of life cycle care exchanges served as key drivers of migration between Wales and Italy. Many families established catering businesses in Wales that relied on staff recruitment from kin in Italy. Migrants' heritage and affective anchorage to Italy were maintained through 'circular' and 'return' migration premised on endogamy and shared language, which involved unimpeded border crossing except during World War II when many Welsh-Italians experienced alien internment. In recent decades, despite a decline in endogamous marriage, transnational family interaction has continued on the basis of the ease of European Union cross-border mobility. Changing modes and motives for cyclical and return migration encompass new forms of reproductive, professional and retirement migration.

Transnational families negotiating migration and care life cycles across nation-state borders

“…They are formed in the pursuit of educational advance, adventure or romance. Some come from families that have been dispersed abroad over generations due to peripatetic professions, overseas military service or diasporas of an ethnic or colonial nature (Bianchera et al, 2019;Vuorela 2002;Olwig 2007).…”

“…Brittle borders, surfacing in times of economic crisis and political stress, are illustrated by Bianchera et al's (2019) documentation of the internment of Welsh Italian men during World War II in Great Britain, as well as European Union border controls on the nonnational Asians, Africans and Latin Americans described by Poeze (2019), Martínez-Buján (2019) and Fernandez (2019).…”

A network analysis of international migration: Longitudinal trends and antecedent factors predicting migration

“…This process bolsters cultural ties and identity, encouraging transnational practices and connections. Furthermore, it allows migrants to participate in cross‐border economic activities, such as trade, investments and business ventures, promoting economic development in both home and host countries while exemplifying transnational engagement (Bianchera et al., 2019; Kardaszewicz, 2019; Vertovec, 2004; Waters and Jiménez, 2005). Chain migration can also spur transnationalism through the political involvement of migrants in their countries of origin (Bravo, 2009; Cordova & Hiskey, 2015; Pérez‐Armendáriz, 2014).…”

COVID‐19, (im)mobilities and blockages: Re‐thinking mobilities of migrant women in Northern Ireland

“…The idea of ‘going home’ can be then seen as a key ‘metaphor which orients the lives and desires of those who foster it’ (Baldassar, 2001 , p. 4). Similarly, Bianchera, Mann and Harper ( 2019 ) argue that although migration is often initiated for economic reasons, transnational mobility should be considered through the lens of family life cycles, family care needs and sentiments of ethnic memory and belonging. Mobility across borders is a highly emotional endeavour.…”