Immigration and the relational network: Considerations in the case of Geneva during the nineteenth century

This article attempts to illustrate the characteristics of immigration to G eneva during the first half of the nineteenth century in order to understan d the relational network that was built by these immigrants. The method use d to establish this is akin to biographical inquiry done by cross analysing several sources, namely the registry office, the census of the city and ce rtificates of registration. By means of these data, the paper strives to il lustrate the role that the socio economic and cultural profile played in th e flow of immigrants to the city from which an assessment is made to apprai se the influence of this variable in the establishment of a tangible migrat ory trend. Furthermore, the article also seeks to analyse the impact of fam ily strategies on the construction of their relational web. The result sugg est that professional specialization of immigrants (primarily manufacturing ) and the diversity of migratory projects may have influenced the construct ion of the trends as well as the structure of the family web within which t hey are located.