Balancing economic stress: The role of rural–urban migration in nineteenth-century East Belgium

Abstract

In this paper we propose an integrated view of both the rural and the urban sides of migration in 19th century East Belgium. We study two rural areas, Ardennes and the Pays de Herve, with diverging agrarian structures and pathways to modernization. Both areas faced the challenge of population pressure due to high fertility and falling mortality. Between them was a textile town, Verviers, which was one of the cradles of industrial revolution in continental Europe. Young people in rural areas engaged in circular migrations with the goal of marrying and establishing new households, which became increasingly difficult in communities with growing populations and diminishing opportunities. Moving from farm to farm also increased as the ownership of farmland became more concentrated and unequal. Those who did not succeed in the countryside moved to Verviers and rarely returned to their rural roots. Instead, they entered a different migratory system within the urban-industrial agglomeration. When urban economic conditions were bad, migrants from Ardennes and the Pays de Herve did not leave Verviers for other industrial areas. They preferred to remain close to kin living in the villages. Overall, migration flows responded weakly to short-term fluctuations in prices and industrial activity, but rural-urban migrations relieved growing economic stress in the countryside.