Recurrent Mobility Across Individual and Family Life Courses. Internal and Transatlantic Movements in Fafe, Northern Portugal, 1830–1920
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52024/hlcs28213Keywords:
Recurrent mobility, Life course, Historical demography, Internal mobility, Transatlantic migration, Family of originAbstract
This article examines recurrent mobility across individual life courses and departure sequences within families of origin in the municipality of Fafe, northern Portugal, between 1830 and 1920. Linking parish reconstitutions, external passports, internal travel permits, departure lists, and Brazilian arrival records identified 7,142 individuals and 9,993 movements. The analysis measures recurrent mobility, age at first departure, intervals between successive movements, transitions between internal and external mobility, and the timing of departures among people linked to the same parental couple. Recurrent mobility involved 23.5% of individuals and was strongly male-dominated. Among men with complete information, writing ability and lower-skilled non-manual occupations were positively associated with repeated movement. Intervals reveal both closely concentrated departures and trajectories resumed after many years. Combined trajectories included transitions in both directions between internal and external mobility, while family sequences unfolded across different times and geographical scales. The findings show that mobility was not adequately represented by a single departure: it accumulated unevenly across individual life courses and family-linked sequences, although the sources do not establish the mechanisms that sustained each movement.
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