Überseeische Rückwanderung und sozialer Wandel in Spanien und Portugal, 1830–1970: Eine Forschungsbilanz

The article bridges a comparative overview of the state of he art of the historical analysis of overseas return migration from 1830 to 1970. First, the main themes and conclusions of comparative research on American return migration to Europe are sketched, covering the demographic, economic, social, political and cultural aspects of return. Second, an analytical overview is offered of the main thematic areas and research problems regarding return migration from America to Spain and Portugal. While economic history has focused on the question of money remittances and their distribution over time and space, social historians have attempted to measure the contribution of return migration to upwards social mobility in rural areas, and agrarian historians on their turn concentrated on how American returnees fostered rural protest. Cultural historians have insisted instead on the iconic ambiguity of the literary stereotype of the successful returnee (indiano or brasileiro). However, the best results have come from microhistorical analyses, which attempted at offering a multidisciplinary interpretation of the local and regional impact of return migration.