Thanks John, Yes two million (left/departed) from Germany in a decade or so could be one million or more doing so over a decade. I really don't know much about it though. And as I wrote, I think I saw the info from McClelland, that 1850s was decade of high exodus from Germany. I've had a bit of a try to find out what drove people from Germany in the 1850s. I find people recognise the 1850s peak but also that there might have been an even bigger peak in 1880-1885 (peak in 1882). I've got no single major reference to the 1850s peak, just seeing mentions of it here and there, like: - "Nineteenth-century German immigrants came to Louisiana in three waves cresting in the 1850's" (ccet.louisiana.edu/03a_Cultural_Tourism_Files/01.02_The_People/German_Ameri cans.html); - "German immigration during this period was more widespread; during the 1850s" (www.city-data.com/states/New-York-Migration.html); - "German immigration peaked in the early 1850�s" (www.mohs.k12.hi.us/staffdevelopment/2004-sd/plp-sample/caption-p34-lesson.d oc). A few facts I found was the the peak leaving was in 1854 (American immigration numbers) and that time the German immigrants into Canada outnumbered those from Ireland by two to one. In the case of the Irish the driving force was the potato famine, 1845-1850. Germany seems to be more of a bag of reasons, but generally economic collapse and famine. The potato crop failed in Germany too. Although potatoes didn't dominate the diet for Germans as for the Irish, it still had an effect, coupled with civil war, that began a widespread decline in agriculture. Eventually, food prices and poverty rose dramatically as a result. Industrialisation is said to have swept Germany later than other places and so most still worked on the land. Farms failing caused massive unemployment and it hit 17% by the mid-1850s. The preponderance of Germans who left for better prospects did so for many of the same reasons as their Irish counterparts. Southwestern Germany is stated to have suffered most, and, consequently, many Germany's emigrants might have been from there. Other background factors included the faster industrialisation in England making it increasingly difficult for German artisans to compete with English prices and earn a decent living. Growth of free trade (removal of internal duties) particularly hurt artisans in the less industrially advanced regions of Germany (affecting trades like weavers). Seems there really was a surge in 1850s but I haven't seen any extensive explanation of why, apart from some possible factors like the above Regards, John (Sydney) ~~~~~~~~~~ At 05:45 PM 3/21/2007 +1100, you wrote: >I am afraid that my posting may have been taken the wrong way... >"2 million left in a decade or so mostly to America" >When I said about 2 million Germans left Germany over a couple of decades, >I was not saying that there were 2 million left in Germany. Therefore it >does tally with your statement that a million left between 1851 and 1860. >John Goswell >>I'd read somewhere that the peak period of leaving Germany was in the >>1850s, and that between 1851-1860 more than a million people left Germany, >>this being the peak decade of exodus >>(maybe in: McClelland, James, 1982. A history of Germany and guide to >>tracing immigrants who came to Australia from Germany). How does that >>tally with "2 million left", could that also be talking about the 1850s?