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Spanish Immigrants

 * Spanish immigration was the most important during the colonial period.
 * Since Chile became an independent republic, Spanish immigration is estimated at 40,000 people settling between 1880 and 1940.
 * Almost 11,000 Spaniards also arrived in Araucanía between 1883 and 1901, after the Occupation of Araucanía. These colonists were given lands in the Chilean Central Valley and their descendants are principally found in Temuco, Concepción, and Ercilla.
 * The Spanish Civil War spurred some 3,000 people to immigrate to Chile at the end of the 1930s, primarily being Catalan and Basque.

Basque Immigrants
Estimates of the number of Chileans with Basque ancestry currently range from 10% (1,600,000) to as high as 27% (4,700,000). The Basque community in Chile is large, visible, and has existed since the 16th century.
 * The Basque presence in Chile began in the conquistador period. A contingent from the Basque Provinces, including Navarra, was part of the original Spanish army. In the 16th century, of the 157 families from the Iberian Peninsula that settled in Chile, 39 had Basque surnames. The number grew steadily, and many Chilean governors have been of Basque origin.
 * During the 18th century, Chile saw a mass immigration coming from the Basque country. By the end of the 18th century, Chileans with Basque surnames comprised 27% of the Chilean population. Basques became the most important regional group in the population. These immigrant families initially dedicated themselves to their preferred forms of business, and in successive years entered into many alliances with families of Castilian origin possessing lands and titles, giving birth to a new social group known in Chilean history as the "Castilian-Basque Aristocracy."
 * In the second half of the 19th century came a new wave of Basque immigration, with as many from the French Basque country as from the Spanish Basque country. The migratory flood continued, with varying intensity, almost until the end of the Spanish Civil War.

France

 * 800,000 are the descendants of French in Chile today. The French came to Chile in the 18th century, arriving at Concepción as merchants, and in the mid-19th century to cultivate vines in the haciendas of the 'Central Valley', the homebase of world-famous Chilean wine.
 * The Araucanía Region also has an important number of people of French ancestry, as the area hosted settlers arrived by the second half of the 19th century as farmers and shopkeepers.
 * By 1854 there were 1654 Frenchmen in Chile, by 1895 it rose to 8266; about 80% of them arrived 'from Southwestern France, especially from Basses-Pyrénées (Basque country and Béarn), Gironde, Charente-Inférieure and Charente and regions situated between Gers and Dordogne.

Germany

 * According to 2019 census and estimations, 9,689 German immigrants resided in Chile at that time, and their descendants are 800,000 people.[43] The origin of the massive immigration of Germans (includes Poles due to Partitions of Poland) to Chile is found in the so-called "Law of Selective Immigration" of 1845. The "law's" objective was to bring middle and upper-class people to colonize regions in the south of Chile, between Valdivia and Puerto Montt. More than 6,000 families arrived in Chile during this period alone.
 * Later years brought a new, great wave of German immigrants who settled throughout the country, especially in Temuco, Santiago, and in the country's principal commercial zones.
 * During World War II, many German Jews' settled in Chile, fleeing the Holocaust.
 * After the war, many leaders and collaborators from Nazi Germany sought to take refuge in the southern region of the country.

Britain and Ireland

 * British descendants in Chile are estimated to number between 350,000 and 420,000 to 700,000; with 120,000 Irish-Chileans. The English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish population rose to more than 32,000 during the port of Valparaíso's boom period at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century during the saltpeter bonanza.
 * The English immigration and influence was also important in the northern regions of the country during the saltpeter boom, in the ports of Iquique and Pisagua.

Croatia

 * One of the most important groups of European immigrants in Chile are the Croats, whose number of descendants today (2009) is estimated to be 400,000 persons. Other authors claim, on the other hand, that close to 4.6% of the Chilean population must have some Croatian ancestry. According to some references, up to 50% of the population of Punta Arenas are descendants of Croats. Chile is the second-ranked country in the world for number of Croatian descendants, after Croatia itself.
 * The first Croatian immigrants came from Dalmatia, arriving in the mid-19th century in escape from the wars unleashed in that region or from pestilence on the islands in the Adriatic Sea.
 * The major concentrations of Croatians can be found in Santiago, Antofagasta, and Punta Arenas, but a large concentration also exists in Viña del Mar, Porvenir, and La Serena.
 * Most Croatian immigrants, approximately 58,000, arrived in Chile at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, up until World War I. Consequently, the Croatian colony in Chile was officially considered Austro-Hungarian.
 * The Croatian immigrants dedicated themselves to business. In Punta Arenas, they dedicated themselves to the estates, or the extraction of gold, primarily found in Cañón Baquedano. In the north of Chile, they dedicated themselves to mining saltpeter.

Italy
In 1989, the estimated number of people of Italian descent in Chile was 300,000 persons.
 * After independence, the Chilean government encouraged Italian emigration especially in the 1860s and 1870s.
 * There was a substantial flow of migration 'from Liguria to the area of Valparaíso.
 * Larger numbers of Italian immigrants to Chile were from the Northern Italian regions such as Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Lombardy. Italian Chileans contributed to the development, cultivation and ownership of the world-famous Chilean wines from haciendas in the Central Valley.
 * At the end of the 19th century many Italian merchants are rooted in the northern part of Arica, where they began exploiting the rich mines of saltpetre.
 * Meanwhile, many Italian families settled in the capital Santiago, Concepción, Viña del Mar, La Serena and Punta Arenas.

Greece

 * The Greek community in Chile are estimated to number from 90,000 to 120,000, and reside either in the Santiago area or in the Antofagasta area, mostly. Chile is one of the 5 countries with the most descendants of Greeks in the world.
 * The majority of Greek immigrants arrived in Chile at the beginning of century, some as part of their spirit of adventure and escape from the rigors of World War I and the Great Fire of Smyrna in 1922, although many Greeks had already settled in Antofagasta, including crews of the ships for the Pacific War (1879–1883) in the naval battle of Iquique in 1879.

Switzerland

 * There are currently 5,000 Swiss citizens residing in Chile, and between 90,000 and 100,000 Swiss descendants, of whom 60,000 are from colonizations sponsored by the State of Chile in 19th century, and another 30,000 are emigrants during World War I and II.
 * Swiss migration to Chile took place at the end of the 19th century, between 1883 and 1900, particularly to the area of Araucanía, especially to Victoria and Traiguén. It is estimated that more than 8,000 Swiss families received grants of land.
 * The Federal Council in 1881 authorized specialized agencies to operate in Switzerland to recruit migrants.
 * The first group was composed of 1311 families who landed in a Chilean port 19 December 1883. Between 1883 and 1886 12,602 people, representing 7% of emigration from Switzerland overseas, traveled to the territory of Araucanía. The operations continued until 1890, when it was recorded that 22,708 Swiss had come to the heart of the Araucania.
 * Between 1915 and 1950, after the last recorded mass exodus of Swiss to Chile 30,000 Swiss residents were found to be installed in the central area of the country, primarily in Santiago and Valparaiso.

Argentina

 * The first Argentines arrived when the Organization of the Republic of Chile was launched in 1823 after Independence, as was the case with both Manuel Blanco Encalada and Bartolomé Mitre.
 * In the mid-1990s, when the first symptoms of the Argentine economic and social crises began to be noted, and especially when the crisis exploded at the end of 2001, over 100,000 left Argentina for Chile. As a result, in early 2005 they succeeded in becoming the first true foreign colony in the country.

Peru
3.5	Immigration from the USA and Canada
 * At the end of the 20th century, Chile's economic prosperity began to produce a rapid growth in Peruvian immigration to the central zone of the country. Although many Peruvian immigrants were professionals and held important positions in companies, the majority were of low socioeconomic origin in search of new opportunities for their families.
 * Peruvian immigrants formed one of the principal foreign colonies in Chile. Some groups of Peruvians have named one of the principal locations of the Peruvian colony "Little Lima" (Pequeña Lima). It is located in the vicinity of the Plaza de Armas in Santiago.
 * The number of Peruvians in Chile is estimated at 85,000, principally residing in Santiago.

Middle Eastern Immigrants

 * It is estimated that close to 4% of the Chilean population is of Asian origin, who are Asian immigrants and descendants, chiefly of the Middle East. There are a large community of Arab Chileans (i.e. Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese and Middle East Armenians), and the total number are around 800,000.
 * Chile is home to a large population of immigrants, mostly Christian, from the Levant. Roughly 500,000 Palestinian descendants are believed to reside in Chile. The earliest such migrants came in the 1850s, with others arriving during World War I and later after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Smaller Immigrant Groups
For background information on immmigration of smaller groups, see Immigration to Chilke in Wikipedia. This includes information on immigrants from the Netherlands,, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Online Sources
These sources cover multiple countries. Additional online sources unique to each country of destination are listed below.
 * 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Choose a volume and then choose Italy under "Listed by Port of Departure" or "Listed by Port of Arrival".

Finding the Town of Origin in Italy
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Italy, see Italy Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Italy Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. (See Immigration into Italy.) Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Argentina Online Sources

 * Argentina Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Italians

Argentina Background
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United States Online Sources

 * United States Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Italians

United States Background
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For Further Reading
There are additional sources listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:
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 * {{WorldCat||disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}
 * {{FHL|title number|item|disp=FHL book call#

Finding the Town of Origin
In order to research your family in their "old" country, it is essential that you have identified the place where they came from. You must know the city, town, or parish that they came from.

Important Tips
You must also know enough about the ancestor to positively identify him in the records. Dates (even if they are approximate), places, and familial connections are key to helping you decide if a person you find, who has the same name as your ancestor, really is your ancestor.


 * Do you know the name of his/her parents?
 * Do you know his/her birth, marriage, or death date or can you calculate an approximate range of years to search for his/her birth, marriage, or death?
 * Do you know the name of the spouse? Did they marry before or after coming to the United States?
 * Do you know the names of any of his/her siblings?
 * Do you know the names of any children born in before the family emigrated?

Search Home Sources
Thoroughly go over all home sources available to you, including family history papers, copies of records, pictures, old letters (i.e. with an old address), family bibles, journals/diaries, copies of vital record certificates and church records, memorabilia etc. Interview extended family and close relatives as well as former neighbors--all of which may prove very helpful in gathering as much knowledge about an ancestor as possible.
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part One: Home and Relative Sources
 * Gather Family Information

Emigration Questions to Ask Relatives
Find the oldest living relatives that you can and ask them:


 * 1)  What do you know about our first ancestor to immigrate? (open-ended)
 * 2)  Have you ever heard mention of towns in Italy where the family lived?
 * 3)  Do you have contact with any relatives in Italy?
 * 4)  Do you have contact with other branches of the family in other countries?
 * 5)  When _____________ came from Italy, did he travel with other family members?
 * 6)  Do you know when _________________ arrived and which port city?
 * 7)  Did _______________ever become a citizen?
 * 8)  Did_________________fight in World War I or II?
 * 9)  When they first came, were there already family members here who they joined?
 * 10)  Did_______________ever mention their parents in Italy?
 * 11)  Were they Catholic?
 * 12)  Do you have any old letters or postcards from Italy family?
 * 13)  Do you have any pictures of family members in Italy?

Search Genealogies Compiled by Others

 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Two: Online Family Tree Collections
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Three: Digitized Books
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Four: FamilySearch Wiki Tools

Make Sure You Found the Correct Entry for Your Ancestor

 * Make sure the person you found in Italian records left Italy. Look for them in marriage and death records of the same vicinity. See whether they have children a generation later in the vicinity. These things prove they remained in Italy and would rule them out as your ancestor.
 * Match any other relationships. If you already know the parents' names, spouse's name, and/or siblings' names, make sure they match the parents' names, spouse's name, and/or siblings' names of the person you are considering in the Italian records. The parents and grandparents will usually be listed in birth records found in church records or civil records. Search for siblings' birth records and any marriage before leaving Italy in the same index.
 * Study all available entries for that name born at the same approximate time, not just the first possible match you see.
 * Consider the coverage of the database you are using. Does it cover all of Italy? Or could there be many other records not covered that could hold your ancestor's record. For example, if the database is for just one province, there are 110 other provinces which could have your ancestor's record.
 * Make sure the details you have learned about the person after they immigrate have no discrepancies with the person you found in Italian records.

Italy Records Databases to Try

 * Italy Guided Research
 * Italy Civil Registration, government birth, marriage, and death records are available online for many provinces from the early 1800s to the early or mid-1900s. These records can name grandparents in addition to parents, and towns for residence and/or birth for both.
 * There are several Italy Church Records online.
 * See Italy Emigration and Immigration for records of Italians immigrating, including some online digitized records and indexes.
 * See Italy Online Genealogy Records for other databases that might hold clues.

Records of the Country of Destination

 * Church Records: If your ancestor immigrated to a European or a South American/Hispanic country, church records can be detailed enough to identify a former residence or birthplace in the home country. These countries, unlike the United States, had state churches. In many countries, these state churches were used by the country to keep birth, marriage, and death records. Even though your ancestor was born in his former country, he may have married, and certainly died in his new country. Marriage and death records can state birthplace.
 * Civil Registration: Eventually, most governments began keeping birth, marriage, and death records. These tend to be quite detailed. Again, if your ancestor was possibly married and certainly died in their new country, those records can state birthplace.
 * Citizenship Records: If your ancestor became a full citizen, those records probably name birthplace and former residence.
 * Online Genealogy Records: See Online Genealogy Records by Location and find the online genealogy record page for your country to see other indexed collections that can be consulted.

Records to Search Created in the United States

 * U. S. Immigration Records: Finding the Town of Origin