Was migrating way easier back then (e.g., people can just board a ship with their bags to the US and settle there)? What makes migrating to most countries so difficult now?

Question

Was migrating way easier back then (e.g., people can just board a ship with their bags to the US and settle there)? What makes migrating to most countries so difficult now?

In: 491

Answer 1

There have been brief periods of time where migrating was “easy”. The discovery of the Americas combined with manageable shipping was one of them. You also need a population sufficiently distressed to be willing to give up almost anything for a new life. I expect the death rate was higher than we would tolerate today even when it was “easy”.

For most of human history migrating was quite difficult.