In the 1970s, Mau Piailug helped revive the navigation techniques ancient Polynesians used to cross thousands of miles of open ocean to settle Hawaii.

Humans are the only species that use language to share and store knowledge. This skill has driven human growth for over 100,000 years, allowing us to populate Earth.

In this era, people moved around a lot. Some migration was local; some was long distance. Many migrated voluntarily, but millions were forced to leave their homes.

In the era from 1750 to 1900 people packed up and moved from Europe and Asia to the Americas. But what were the causes and effects of this migration? These primary sources should help you answer that question.

Aminah and Grace are aliases given to two Ugandan women who are among the millions of migrants who leave their homes, temporarily or permanently, seeking work opportunities.

The world between 1880 and 1950 was a “world on the move.” Men and women—workers, merchants, officials, and more—crisscrossed the planet. This history of massive movement and migration was intricately tied to empire.

The first movements of large groups of people across the Atlantic Ocean had numerous causes. Migrants were escaping religious and political persecution. Imperialistic nations were competing economically. Forced migration drove convicts and enslaved laborers. Whatever the reason, migration from Africa and Eurasia to the New World increased significantly beginning in the late fifteenth century.