Portuguese emigration: the law and the numbers (1855-1914)

Abstract

The Portuguese statistics of emigration are available in a continuous series dating back to 1855, but they have been under suspicion because of clandestine emigration. Thus, the problem of numbers raises the issue of the clandestine emigrants, which in turn brings forth the question of the law and legal restrictions. The present essay attempts to show that in its historic context the Portuguese legislation was more bothersome than repressive, with the important exception of military law affecting young males from 14 to 21. As to clandestine emigration, it did not necessarily escape from registration, and the Portuguese statistics turn out to be more complete than their foreign counterparts. Critical sense cannot be dispensed with, but we may trust the Portuguese statistics to be on the whole an adequate numerical expression of emigration.