Greek Boys Clothes: Immigration


Figure 1.--.

Large numbers of Greeks immigrated to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. The United States was the primary destination, but other countries immograted to Germany, Canada, South Africa and Australia. Immigration is not a new development in Geece, evn in the ancient world the Greks spread out throughout the ancient world.

Ancient times to Ottoman Empire

During the 12th to 10th Centuries BC the Greeks migrated to Asia Minor and established the first colonies there. Southern Greece had become heavily populated and the establishment of colonies was deemed necaisairy. For the next centuries the City States of Minor Asia gained their indepedence and established their own colonies around the Mediterranean coasts. On the port of Marseille we can find the following inscription: "Ici, vers l'an 600 avant JC, des marins Grecs ont abordé venant de Phocèe, cité Grecové, d'asie minevre. Ils fonderent Marseille d'ov rayonna en occident la civilization." (Here, circa the year 600 BC, the Greek sailors coming from Phocea of Asia Minor, debarcated. They would found Marsaille that would bring the light of civilization to the west).

For the next 15 centuries, the Greeks, freely moved around Greek established cities (among them Marseille, Istanbul and Alexandria) and regarded the area of Mediterranean sea as their home. When the space of Eastern Mediterranean fall to the hands of the Ottomans, many Greeks migrated to big cities of Eastern and Western Europe as artists, students and merchants (El Greco in Italy and Spain, Adamantios Koraes in France and Ioannis Kapodistrias in Russia) establishing Greek communities. The most known were those of Odessa (Ukraine) and Venice (Italy).

19th and 20th Centuries

19th century

After the first Greeks sailed away from the Mediterranean sea, as early as the 16th century, a more organized wave of immigration to the new world started. However the numbers of the Greek immigrands was very small.

First half of 20th century

The first big wave of immigration to North America came in the 1920s with the Asia Minor war and the exchange and deportation of Greek populations. Greeks from Asia Minor went as refugees in Greece and Soviet Union or migrated to North and South America. Those who chose Soviet Union (Ukraine and Georgia) were further deported to Kazakstan and Uzbekistan.

Second half of 20th century

After World War too many Greeks went in Western European countries as workers (mainly Germany but also Belgium, France, Switzerland and Sweden while the Cypriots went to UK). Many of them took their families together and stayed there. During the Civil War many Greeks with communist beliefs chose to be political refugees in countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Large numbers of Greeks also migrated to the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa at the time.

Famous Greeks abroad

Some famous Greecks working aborad included: El Greco (painter: Spain), KP Cavafy (poet: Egypt), Costas Gavras (movie director: France), Elia Kazan (director: USA), Maria Kallas (soprano: USA), Aristotle Onassis (businessman: Argentina), and Cat Stevens (pop singer: UK),

Countries with more than 100,000 Greeks

Th primry counties with large Greek immigrant families are: the United States 3,000,000, Australia 700,000, Germany 354,500, Canada 350,000, Ukraine 250,000, UK 212,000, Russia 150,000, Georgia 120,000, and South Africa 120,000. The total is over 5.5 million people.

Boys clothing

In general Greek boys abroad tend to follow the fashions of the host county but sometimes the fashions were mixed with elements of Greek clothing styles (eg shorts instead of knickers in the United States. See for example the personal experiences of a Greek boy in the United States. Greek boys abroad often wear kilts and other traditional costumes in Greek cultural events and celebrations such as Greek Day (Independence Day in New York. In some prosperous Greek communities there are Greek schools founded and operated Australia, New Zealand, and the United States). Childremn at these schools engage in Greek damcing and celebrate Greek holidays, often by wearing Greek folk costumes. In some communities there are also Greek boy scout troops, in part because Scout troops are often sponsored by churches. The troops may wear a uniform that has garments of both the host country uniform and the Greek boy scout uniform.

Sources

Chasiotis I. K., Episkopisi tis istorias tin Hellinikis diasporas (Thessaloniki: 1993)

Stavropoulos K. and Egan D. (eds), O Hellinismos ston pagosmio choro (Thessaloniki: 1999)

"Pagosmioi Hellenes" Eleftherotypia, Special edition, November, 27, 1999









Christopher Wagner






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Created: May 12, 2002
Last updated: May 12, 2002