Introduction: Emigration from Vejle Amt

Authors

Keywords

Denmark, emigration, history

Abstract

Picture postcard regions of Denmark like Vejle Amt, "with idyllic little towns, without any new factories and workshops, usually produced a great number of emigrants," according to the Danish historian of emigration, Kristian Hvidt. Vejle Amt was a verdant land of deep fjords, rolling wooded hills, and ancient villages, giving way to wide stretches of heath and bog in the west. It remained an idyllic, old-fashioned area throughout the period of emigration. People streamed to America because the population of Vejle Amt was growing but few new jobs were being created. They also left out of discontent over life in a conservative old world, and because they had dreams of a better life in a bright new world.

Recommended Citation

(2002) "Introduction: Emigration from Vejle Amt," The Bridge: Vol. 25: No. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge/vol25/iss2/7